News from across the USA
ALABAMA Birmingham: The state leads the nation in disability rates. Nearly a third of residents require some assistance to negotiate basic daily life, AL.com reported, based on a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ALASKA Juneau: The three men who climbed the Capitol and stole the American and Alaskan flags turned themselves in to police, the Juneau Empire reported. They were caught on security cameras cutting through a chainlink fence that leads to the building July 31.
ARIZONA Gilbert: St. Xavier University, the town’s first higher-education institution, officially opened its campus, The Arizona Republic reported.
ARKANSAS Hope: The Watermelon Festival is the city’s pride and joy, Mark Keith, executive director of the Hope/Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce, told ArkansasOnline. “It’s just small-town America at its best,” Keith said about the event, taking place through Saturday.
CALIFORNIA Anaheim: The Walt Disney Co. purchased three parcels of land near its resort, sparking speculation about a park expansion involving Star Wars or Marvel comics characters, the Los Angeles Times reported.
COLORADO Boulder: A Boulder resident became the fourth Coloradan to contract the plague this year after catching the disease from a chipmunk, KUSA-TV reported. The person, who was not identified, was given antibiotics and is recovering at home.
CONNECTICUT New Haven: The Labor Department is eliminating 95 positions as part of a cost saving and consolidation effort in response to a drop in federal funding, the New Haven Register reported.
DELAWARE Wilmington: The chairwoman of the Wilmington City Council Community and Economic Development Committee raised questions about the use of taxpayer funds to advertise for the ride-hailing service Uber,
The News Journal reported.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: There are more than 20,000 snakeheads in the Potomac River, The Washington Post reported, and the invasive species recently achieved another beachhead: The National Park Service announced that since last fall, the snakehead has been spotted numerous times above Great Falls, where it had not ventured before.
FLORIDA Melbourne: Myrtle and Dash, two female loggerhead sea turtles, were equipped with satellite transmitters and returned to the ocean near Bonsteel Park in Brevard County’s South Beaches during the eighth annual Tour de Turtles migration-tracking contest, according to Florida Today.
GEORGIA Dunwoody: Two shoplifting suspects claimed a misunderstanding led to their arrest, the Journal-Constitution reported.
HAWAII Honolulu: The Hawaii Office of Elections and Offices of the City/County Clerks have launched an online voter registration system, KHON-TV reported. The system cost $500,000 to build and is open to residents with a Hawaii driver’s license or state ID.
IDAHO Boise: A Derringer pistol and tomahawk stolen from the Idaho Museum of Mining and Geology have been recovered, the
Boise Weekly reported. In addition, a suspect has been identified.
ILLINOIS Chicago: The city’s first adults-only camp-in is coming to Northerly Island on Aug. 21, the Tribune reported. A two-person tent will cost $250, a four-person tent $500 and a six-person tent $750. The fee covers a camp happy hour, a pig roast, a twilight hike, sunrise yoga and other activities.
INDIANA Richmond: A fight between father and son resulted in the father sustaining fatal injuries and the son facing three felony charges, the Palladium
Item reported.
IOWA Des Moines: After announcing Wednesday he will step down as speaker of the House of Representatives, Kraig Paulsen will return for the 2016 legislative session as a rank-and-file member to finish out his term. He said he will not seek re-election when his term expires next year, The Des Moines Register reported.
KANSAS Kingman: A singleengine plane overturned after striking a deer during takeoff, KAKE-TV reported. The pilot was treated for minor injuries.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Greg Bourke, who helped win the right of gays and lesbians to marry, said he learned that he still can’t be a Boy Scout leader in a local Catholic parish troop, The Courier-Journal reported.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: The state is about to run out of number and letter combinations for license plates. Probably next year, the Department of Public Safety will reverse the three-letter, three-number format and go to three numbers followed by three letters (123ABC instead of ABC123), The Times-Picayune reported.
MAINE Peaks Island: The remains of the pleasure craft Argo washed up ashore here, the Portland Press Herald reported. The Coast Guard said that the vessel broke from its mooring on Tuesday. Officials responded to make sure no passengers were in danger and discovered that it had not been manned.
MARYLAND Prince George’s County: Activists and domestic violence survivors cut the ribbon on a transitional home for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, WUSA-TV reported.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Life insurance company John Hancock has built two of the Back Bay’s most iconic towers and now it wants to add a third high-rise, The Boston Globe reported. The $350 million project at 380 Stuart St. will be 26 stories tall.
MICHIGAN Lansing: No one stepped forward by 4:45 p.m. ET Wednesday with the winning $1 million Mega Millions ticket from a year ago, so the money goes to the School Aid Fund, Michigan Lottery officials said. The ticket, sold at a CVS in Grand Rapids, is not the largest prize to go unclaimed; in 1998 someone failed to turn in a $34 million ticket sold in East Lansing.
MINNESOTA Bloomington: Three packages that were sent to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are being tested by the Minnesota Department of Health, after authorities say they were suspicious in nature, KARETV reported.
MISSISSIPPI Natchez: Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield came in third in a three-candidate Democratic primary race for sheriff, the Natchez Democrat reported. Top vote getter Travis Patten, a Natchez police officer, and Randy Freeman, a deputy sheriff, will face off in a runoff election Aug. 25.
MISSOURI Potosi: State investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that killed a 67-year-old woman, the Daily Journal reported.
MONTANA Great Falls: A carnival worker faces charges after allegedly stealing 14 turkey legs from a food booth at the Montana State Fair. Other food items were strewn about the booth, causing $1,775 in product loss, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
NEBRASKA Columbus: Nearly 300 jobs will be lost with the closing of the Apogee Retail call center here. The Columbus Telegram reported that the closing is planned for Oct. 4.
NEVADA Elko: Authorities are searching for one of two teenagers who escaped from a local juvenile justice center, the Elko Daily Free Press reported.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Deerfield: Eversource Energy says its willing to bury more transmission lines in the Northern Pass hydroelectric project, which spans 187 miles from the Canadian border to Deerfield, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
NEW JERSEY Little Egg Harbor: A police officer arrested for drunken driving last week had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal state limit, the Asbury Park Press reported.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The Santa Fe Opera has commissioned a production about Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. The Revolution of Steve Jobs will premiere during the company’s 2017 season and will be written by composer Mason Bates and librettist Mark Campbell.
NEW YORK West Nyack: The driver of a tractor-trailer struck by a CSX freight train Wednesday evening told police that he thought the train was not moving, The Journal News reported.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The City Council restricted the use of downtown sidewalks by bars and restaurants at night because of residents’ complaints about patrons being too loud and disruptive, The News & Observer reported.
NORTH DAKOTA Dickinson: The Bismarck Tribune reported that the Dakota Prairie Refinery near here lost nearly $3.9 million in the second quarter. MDU Resources Group cited poor market conditions for diesel fuel.
OHIO Mansfield: A drone that delivered a package to Mansfield Correctional Institution’s outdoor area last week dropped 144.5 grams of tobacco, 65.4 grams of marijuana and 6.6 grams of heroin, the News Journal reported.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A new Oklahoma State University economic forecast says the state could lose more than 20,000 jobs because of energy price volatility through 2016. The Journal Record reported that the state’s mining sector, which is dominated by oil and gas operations, already has lost 8,400 jobs since employment peaked at 63,000 in November.
OREGON The Dalles: The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife lifted fishing restrictions on the lower Deschutes River, the Statesman Journal reported.
PENNSYLVANIA Latrobe: Spirit Airlines plans to discontinue non-stop flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport here to Chicago and Las Vegas effective Nov. 12, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
RHODE ISLAND Coventry: A fire destroyed a barn on Log Bridge Road, the Providence Journal reported.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Shoppers are expected to pack stores this weekend for South Carolina’s second-largest retail event of the year. The state’s tax-free weekend is the busiest annual shopping event after Black Friday, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Friday through Sunday, sales tax is suspended on school supplies, technology and apparel, The Greenville News reported.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sturgis: The number of traffic fatalities tied to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has risen to nine, the Rapid City Journal reported. The record for rally-related fatalities is believed to be 11 during the 50th anniversary rally in 1990. This year’s event is the 75th anniversary.
TENNESSEE Chattanooga: Kenneth Stephen Fagin Jr., 39, of South Pittsburg and Terry Bruce Tate, 61, of Manchester were sentenced earlier this week to 30 months in a federal prison for illegally excavating Civil War artifacts from Tennessee Valley Authority and National Park Service property, WRCB-TV reported.
TEXAS Austin: A $350 million cut to Medicaid is set for Sept. 1, affecting 445,000 Texans. More than 30 lawmakers have asked Gov. Abbott and Republican leaders to delay the cut and seek alternatives, The Dallas Morning News reported.
UTAH West Valley City: Granger Medical Clinic plans to construct a $25 million, four-story office building at Fairbourne, covering 4 acres, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
VERMONT Burlington: Keurig Green Mountain reported a 5% decline in sales in its third quarter earnings, as well as a cut in its North American workforce of about 330 jobs, the largest in the company’s history, the Burlington Free Press reported.
VIRGINIA Blacksburg: Virginia Tech sold the naming rights to the basketball court at Cassell Coliseum to Roanoke-based health care provider Carilion Clinic, agreeing to a 10-year deal that will bring the Hokies $500,000 annually, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
WASHINGTON Spokane: The Mann- Grandstaff VA Medical Center is having difficulty recruiting emergency room doctors as patient visits remain steady since its 24-hour staffing was cut in December. The Spokesman-Review reported that the facility has been advertising and working with a national recruiter but hasn’t filled vacant positions for emergency room doctors since December.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Orchard Manor drew dozens of people for a National Night Out Against Crime, an event to strengthen relationships between police and the community and build neighborhood camaraderie, the Gazette-Mail reported.
WISCONSIN Appleton: Mile of Music, a four-day festival held downtown, officially opened Wednesday, The Post-Crescent reported. It runs through Sunday evening.
WYOMING Cody: The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has trapped and relocated an adult grizzly bear that had been killing cattle, the Cody Enterprise reported.