STATE-BY-STATE
News from across the USA
ALABAMA Mobile: Police called the operation that led to the seizure of gambling machines at several businesses “Little Vegas,” AL.com reported. The Police Department’s Tactical Unit executed search warrants at five bars and four residences in possession and operation of illegal gaming machines. ALASKA Fairbanks: Nathan Carroll, 33, was charged with felony second-degree assault for allegedly stabbing his neighbor in the head while he shoveled snow, newsminer.com reported. ARIZONA Phoenix: Along with holiday cheer, December brings an abundance of critics’ Year in Review lists. The Arizona Republic counted down the best 30 songs of 2015, including Destroyer’s Dream Lover and The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face. ARKANSAS Little Rock: Republican Gov. Hutchinson called for more “teeth” in the state’s criminal sentencing guidelines and corrective action to reduce disparity in jail time ordered for the same crime, Arkansas-Online reported. CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: For the first time since the state’s emergency drought rules took effect, it failed to reduce its monthly water consumption by 25%. The state cut its urban water use in October by 22.2%, the Los Angeles Times reported. COLORADO Fort Collins: Fort Collins is preparing to tap into its Land Bank for the first time in hopes of adding to the city’s stock of affordable housing. The city received three proposals to develop an 8.3-acre parcel of Land Bank property Monday. A lack of affordable housing, especially in the rental market, has been identified by city officials and residents as a major issue, The Coloradoan reported.
CONNECTICUT
Norwalk: Local officials are blaming squirrels for chewing through the wires on several strands of lights on the Christmas tree outside city hall. Ken Hughes, Norwalk’s superintendent of parks, told The Hour. DELAWARE Wilmington: Police are searching for two teenage boys who broke into a Dollar Tree last month and stole candy from a display, The News Journal reported. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Residents support a proposal before the D.C. Council to give workers 16 weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn or dying family member, but they don’t want the program funded through a new tax, according to a Washington Post poll. FLORIDA Fort Myers: California-based environmental group Earthjustice says U.S. Sugar is polluting South Florida air with carcinogens by burning sugar cane prior to harvest, The NewsPress reported. GEORGIA Savannah: Fire Marshal Craig Landolt earned the highest recognition from the state Fire Inspectors Association, which selected him as Fire Inspector of the Year, the Morning News reported. HAWAII Honolulu: An American Airlines passenger’s pet took something of an unplanned vacation when the corgi was placed on the wrong flight and ended up in Honolulu. Hawaii News Now reported that Bethany the Pembroke Welsh corgi was headed with her owner from Seattle to their new home in Jackson, Miss., when she was placed on the wrong connecting flight in Dallas. IDAHO Lewiston: The City Council approved a contract for wireless automatic water meters, The Lewiston Tribune reported. ILLINOIS Chicago: Jabari Dean, 21, who is accused of posting an online threat that shut down the University of Chicago, was ordered released from federal jail and into his mother’s custody, the Tribune reported.
INDIANA Lafayette: Eighteen burglaries were reported across Tippecanoe County during a five-day period encompassing Thanksgiving weekend, and eight took place at a West Lafayette apartment complex on Thanksgiving day, The Journal & Courier reported. IOWA Johnston: As Jeff Schulte and girlfriend Jenna Reitz drove to her parents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner in Johnston, bad luck crept up — Schulte, 29, got pulled over for speeding, then accused of theft. But what seemed like an unfortunate situation for the Grimes couple quickly turned into a lifetime memory. With the help of Johnston Police Officer Matt Chiles, Schulte surprised Reitz, 30, and proposed to her during the stop with alleged “stolen merchandise,” a ring she was asked to identify. In the summer, Schulte was legitimately pulled over by Chiles for speeding while driving to Reitz’s parents’ home for the first time. That’s why, months later, Schulte asked Johnston Police to pull off a reenactment of the traffic stop for a surprise proposal, The Des Moines Register reported.
KANSAS Lawrence: Public records advocates are pushing state legislators to bring the Kansas Open Records Act more in line with open record laws in other states, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Ford executives delivered a glowing forecast for the Kentucky Truck Plant, unveiling plans to hire 2,000 employees for a new crew, invest $1.3 billion in upgrades and launch a lighter Super Duty truck by late summer, The Courier-Journal reported.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: The City Council cleared the way for Deep South Studios to begin building in Algiers a project billed as the largest moviemaking complex between Atlanta and Albuquerque, The Times-Picayune reported. MAINE Portland: A federal magistrate judge ruled that the Nova Star ferry may be released from custody after the ship was seized while the ferry service settled its financial affairs. Edward MacColl, attorney for Singaporetold the Portland TechnologiesPress Herald Maine, his client’s vessel is expected to depart Portland Harbor within the next few days for warmer waters.
MARYLAND Salisbury: The business-oriented social network Foursquare ranked Salisbury third in the nation for the biggest surge in retail visits during Black Friday, The Daily Times reported.
MASSACHUSETTS Salisbury: A rescue group removed 67 cats from an 84-year-old man’s mobile home.
MICHIGAN Detroit: Edward Belczak, 70, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for stealing $573,000 from the St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Troy, where he had served as pastor for almost 30 years, the Detroit Free Press reported.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Institute of Art is rewriting labels alongside paintings and sculptures, hoping to increase the time visitors will linger, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. MISSISSIPPI Natchez: Officials cut the ribbon on the Adams County Community Safe Room, which cost $3.4 million. Emergency Management Director Robert Bradford told The Natchez Democrat the safe room, a 10,000-square foot building, is built to house between 50 and 700 people for two to 24 hours during an extreme wind event.
MISSOURI St. Louis: A temporary homeless shelter will be in service this month on Market Street, KTVI-TV reported. MONTANA Helena: A 56-yearold man died after he crashed into a 1-ton truck pulling out of a private driveway, the Independent Record reported.
NEBRASKA Omaha: The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider a proposed two-year extension for Hank Bounds, the university’s president, the Omaha World-Herald reported.
NEVADA Reno: Authorities arrested a 31-year-old man accused of starting a fire inside a dumpster and then stealing a Reno Fire Department vehicle, KRNV-TV reported.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: New Hampshire will be getting nearly $23 million from the Environmental Protection Agency to upgrade water systems.
NEW JERSEY Vineland: The boyfriend of a woman who — along with her 3-month-old daughter — was reported missing has been arrested after police say
they recovered the woman and infant girl’s remains in western Cumberland County, The Daily
Journal reported.
NEW MEXICO Hobbs: A black walnut altar imported from France is becoming a key attraction at St. Helena’s Catholic Church here, the Hobbs News
Sun reported. Local artist Lawrence Wilcox has been working to restore the altar, which features columns, for three months.
NEW YORK Albany: Gov. Cuomo nominated Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to head the state Court of Appeals, the Gannett Albany bureau reported.
NORTH CAROLINA Fayette
ville: Most members of the City Council oppose the building a $3 million aquarium as part of a
new park, The Fayetteville Observer reported. In March, voters will consider borrowing $35 million for parks that includes the aquarium. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: North Dakota’s darkhouse spearfishing season is underway on most state waters, and the Game and Fish Department is reminding anglers that they need to register. OHIO North Ridgeville: Foster the 3-year-old kangaroo took a bit of a walkabout last week, where a driver saw him hopping on a major street about an hour before sunrise, The Plain Dealer reported. OKLAHOMA McAlester: Police are investigating nude photos found on a computer at a local public technology education center, the McAlester NewsCapital reported.
OREGON Portland: Two fires at Madison High School that forced classes to be dismissed have been ruled arson and are connected to two other recent fires at the school, KOIN-TV reported.
PENNSYLVANIA Enon Valley: A Wisconsin man was in intensive care with head injuries after a deer jumped through his windshield while he was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. RHODE Officials ISLANDplan to rebuildHope Valley:a deterioratingan initiative Hope to Valley repair dam or as replacepart of failingThe Westerlydams throughoutSun reported. the state,
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SOUTHU.S. Supreme DAKOTA Court Sioux Justice Falls: Antonin titled Scalia “Whetherwill give the an U.S. address Constitution March is 9 a at Living Augustana Document” University.on
TENNESSEE Nashville: Field workers in at least three state departments are working remotely full time to save the state on rent, WPLN-FM reported. Several state agencies have reduced their footprints in the capital city by more than half.
TEXAS Austin: Gov. Abbott met with officials in Cuba from to discuss business if the trade embargo is lifted. Abbott also said Texas is interested in expanding travel and tourism with Cuba, The Texas Tribune reported.
UTAH Ogden: A mother was charged with driving around town with her daughter and other children throwing eggs at homes and cars, the Standard-Examiner reported. Investigators say Jennifer Terry and the girls threw eggs at as many as 20 homes in the Ogden area. The vandalism occurred on Aug. 20.
VERMONT Rutland: In a pilot program beginning in January, opiate-addicted inmates scheduled for release from the Marble Valley Correctional Facility will be offered naltrexone, a monthly injection that blocks the euphoric effects of certain drugs, like heroin, Burlington Free Press reported. Inmates eligible for the voluntary program will likely begin treatments one month before release to ease their transition back into society where opiates are more available.
VIRGINIA Richmond: More than 1,000 people have signed petitions to protect an oak at the intersections of Broad Street, Brook Road and Adams Street from being cut down to make way for a statue of Maggie Walker, a pioneering black businesswoman, the Times-Dispatch reported. WASHINGTON Kahlotus: The state erected fences closing some trails around Palouse Falls as a safety measure, the Tri-City Herald reported.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: In a sign that the state’s economy is not rebounding in tune with the nation’s, charitable giving declined by about 2%, even as it increased nationwide, according to a report from Philanthropy West Virginia cited by the Gazette-Mail.
WISCONSIN Green Bay: Lifelong Packers fan Andrew Smith will be content to put nearly three decades of Los Angeles behind him when he takes the reins of the Green Bay Police Department next year, Green Bay Press-Gazette reported. “I could not be happier,” said Smith, 53, a commander with the Los Angeles Police Department who learned this week that the Green Bay Police & Fire Commission selected him as the city’s new police chief. “I always knew some day I’d move home.” WYOMING Casper: State wildlife managers are working on a new plan to prevent the spread of a deadly disease that affects elk, deer and moose, the Casper StarTribune reported.