50 ☆ States

ALABAMA Boaz: This city that used to be a regional destination for outlet shoppers is converting one of those old, shuttered outlet centers into a recreation center.

ALASKA Anchorage: A single- use plastic bag ban in the city took effect Sunday.

ARIZONA Tucson: Testing of zeroemission electric shuttles has begun at Sabino Canyon, a population outdoor recreation site outside the city.

ARKANSAS Bentonville: The Walton Family Foundation says Caryl M. Stern, a longtime advocate for civil and children’s rights, will become the executive director in January 2020 of the nonprofit established by the family of Walmart’s founder.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked President Donald Trump to approve more housing vouchers as his administration weighs in on the most populous state’s huge homelessness problem.

COLORADO Boulder: A report says the state has one of the nation’s worst backlogs of unprocessed U. S. naturalization applications.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Data from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness shows nearly 50% of people in homeless shelters in the state over the past three years were also incarcerated at some point.

DELAWARE Wilmington: More than 40,000 Delmarva Power customers in the state are about to get a refund. The company will start issuing the one- time refunds tied to overbilling this week. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing

ton: About 140 U. S. flags bearing an extra star are flying along Pennsylvania Avenue as the district prepares for its first House hearing on U. S. statehood in a quarter- century. The bill set to be discussed Thursday has more than 200 cosponsors and the support of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

FLORIDA Orlando: A foundation has purchased land to build a museum about the 2016 massacre that killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.

GEORGIA Savannah: Conservation groups say they “remain skeptical” that machines injecting oxygen into the city’s harbor will offset threats to fish caused by deepening the busy shipping channel, but the Southern Environmental Law Center says the groups won’t return to court to fight the $ 973 million expansion.

HAWAII Honolulu: Officials say the state has amassed a backlog of property title certificates stretching back six years.

IDAHO Boise: Federal authorities want to store the partially melted core from Three Mile Island, one of the nation’s worst nuclear power accidents, in the state for another 20 years.

ILLINOIS Chicago: City officials say crews will install hundreds of yards of barriers along Lake Michigan to guard against flood damage from storms in the fall and winter.

INDIANA Gary: A utility wants to demolish a historic water tower that’s been part of the skyline since 1909.

IOWA Des Moines: The Blank Park Zoo’s newest seal pup needs a name, and the public is invited to have its say. The finalists for the name of the female seal pup born Aug. 20: Rose, Desi, Lucy and Penny.

KANSAS Lawrence: The University of Kansas plans to close its Center for STEM Learning and a program designed to attract math and science teachers.

KENTUCKY Harrodsburg: Apple has deepened its ties with Corning Inc.’ s plant in the state by awarding $ 250 million to support continued work to develop glass for iPhones.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: Storyland will reopen Sept. 28, with an $ 800,000 renovation nearly done. It’s the first makeover in 35 years for the playground in City Park that has been closed since July.

MAINE Augusta: The state’s marijuana policy office is seeking to curb confusion about the new track- andtrace system, which is required by law. The Portland Press Herald reports some the office clarified that individual products for sale would not require individual labels.

MARYLAND Annapolis: State officials say regulations for the upcoming oyster season aim to reduce the harvest by 26%.

MASSACHUSETTS Methuen: A funeral director has been writing obituaries and inviting strangers to veterans’ burials. Aaron Mizen of Kenneth H. Pollard Funeral Home says he’s stepped up for them because they had no one else to do it.

MICHIGAN Dearborn: The Henry Ford history attraction has acquired a major collection of photographs, menus, clothing and other items related to American diners.

MINNESOTA Duluth: Some residents along Lake Superior’s north shoreline say the proliferation of stacks of rocks, or cairns, despoils nature’s beauty and creates monuments to the human ego. Locals say the cairns began appearing more often about five years ago, possibly tied to the rise of Instagram, Minnesota Public Radio News reports.

MISSISSIPPI Oxford: A Lafayette County Sheriff ’ s official tells The Oxford Eagle that Michael Lippert, 33, was arrested Monday on grand larceny charges, accused of stealing a historic bell outside the Sand Springs Presbyterian Church.

MISSOURI St. Louis: Varsity Tutors, based in the city’s suburbs, is offering free test- prep classes for high schoolers in the wake of the collegead-missions scandal. It says the online classes seek to help prepare students for the ACT or SAT exams.

MONTANA Kalispell: State wildlife officials are urging residents to pick low- hanging fruit from backyard trees to avoid drawing hungry bears.

NEBRASKA Bellevue: This Omaha suburb plans to scrap bicycle lanes along one of its main thoroughfares in favor of more lanes for cars.

NEVADA Las Vegas: As more electric vehicles hit the streets, additional places to charge them are popping up around the city. The Las Vegas Sun reports casinos, Clark County, shopping centers and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, now offer charging stations.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The U. S. Supreme Court has asked the state to respond to an appeal of three women who were arrested for going topless at a beach.

NEW JERSEY Asbury Park: The Sea. Hear. Now music, art and surfing fest will be held Saturday and Sunday on the North Beach.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The state’s largest electric utility is recalculating costs and benefits tied to the planned closure of the coalfired San Juan Generating Station after finding a modeling error in its scenarios for replacing capacity.

NEW YORK New York: A “topping out” ceremony was held Tuesday to celebrate the fact that the Central Park Tower, which will be the world’s tallest predominantly residential building when it opens next year, has reached its full height.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: A budget veto has slowed state government for months, so lawmakers have sent Gov. Roy Cooper more stand- alone legislation containing popular provisions from that spending plan. Cooper now has four spending bills on his desk that address school and prison safety, disaster relief and testing sexual assault evidence kits. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: State regulators say drillers set a record for oil production in July.

OHIO Dayton: The factory where the Wright brothers built many of their planes has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

OKLAHOMA Tulsa: The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a $ 160 million plan to shore up levees around the city that have been weakened by periodic flooding.

OREGON Salem: Willamette University is prepared to give thousands of dollars per semester per eligible student as part of a new financial aid partnership with the state to encourage college savings.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The Wolf administration is moving to limit the number of people at rallies in the Capitol Rotunda.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state is offering $ 5 million to help communities acquire or improve outdoor recreational facilities.

SOUTH CAROLINA James Island: About $ 490,800 has been earmarked to restore a hotel that was one of the few places black people could relax by the shore during the civil rights era. News outlets report the National Park Service on Monday announced the African American Civil Rights grant to help restore the Pine Tree Hotel on Mosquito Beach.

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: Landowners have been awarded more than $ 700,000 in a lawsuit accusing a federal agency of burning their properties in April 2013, when a prescribed fire blazed out of control.

TENNESSEE Memphis: Officials say a sensor attached to the American Queen steamboat will give scientists and cities a better understanding of nutrient levels and water quality along the Mississippi River.

TEXAS Seguin: A water agency will relent to pressure from property owners and not drain four lakes east of San Antonio, but all recreational activity will be temporarily banned.

UTAH Salt Lake City: State legislators have passed a measure to make it easier for businesses to prepare to sell higher- strength beer.

VERMONT Montpelier: Police say the lockdown of some government buildings in the capital last month was prompted by two people who likely saw an umbrella and not a gun.

VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam has issued an executive order setting a goal for the state to produce 100% of its electricity from carbon- free sources by 2050.

WASHINGTON Olympic National

Park: The park is seeing an increase in search- and- rescue operations this year. KOMO- TV reports the park averages about 50 to 60 incidents per year. But rangers say several incidents over the Labor Day weekend brought the total for this year to 71.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: An attorney for the state Division of Highways has asked for permission to deny paid time off, as required by law, for employees who plan to attend an upcoming grievance hearing.

WYOMING Laramie: The University of Wyoming’s new $ 105 million engineering education building has opened for classes this fall.