News from across the USA
ALABAMA Birmingham: More than 50 animals, some dead and some alive, were abandoned in a Jefferson County home for weeks, which led to the largest single animal seizure in the history of the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, AL.com reported.
ALASKA Fairbanks: A jury convicted Nathanial Kangas of two counts of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of state trooper Sgt. Scott Johnson and trooper Gabe Rich in the village of Tanana two years ago, newsminer.com reported.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Puente Arizona, an immigrant rights group, asked a federal court to reconsider its decision to overturn a ban on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial workplace raids, according to The Arizona Republic.
ARKANSAS Newton County: After more than a month on the market, Dogpatch USA is still for sale at a reduced price of $2.75 million. Several buyers have expressed interest in purchasing the former theme park based on the Li’l Abner comic strip, co-owner, Charles “Bud” Pelsor told Arkansas Online.
CALIFORNIA San Mateo: Juan Zarate, 38, a PetSmart worker, was arrested after a 1-year-old dachshund died following a grooming session, the Los Angeles Times reported.
COLORADO Fort Collins: Work began on the $10.3 million “Berthoud Hill” climbing lane on southbound Interstate 25, The Coloradoan reported. The yearlong project will add a third lane to a 2-mile stretch of interstate south of the Berthoud exit.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: The Department of Motor Vehicles and secretary of the State have worked out previous differences and signed an agreement to implement a “streamlined motor voter system” that will automatically register eligible citizens to vote when they go to DMV for a driver’s license or state-issued ID, the Hartford Courant reported.
DELAWARE Georgetown: Twenty-seven high school students from the state were chosen for the Delaware Summer Chinese Language Initiative for Communicating STEM, The Daily Times reported.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A super majority of the D.C. Council said it will overhaul Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to lease private property for homeless shelters, calling it a waste of tax dollars, The Washington Post reported.
FLORIDA Cocoa: Brevard County commissioners promised residents of predominantly black neighborhoods near a sheriff ’s office gun range west of Cocoa that they would look into ways to mitigate the noise emanating day and night from the range, but didn’t offer guarantees, Florida Today reported.
GEORGIA Macon: An insurance company for a youth center will pay $80,000 to an 8-year-old girl to settle a lawsuit over a spanking by ex-NFL player Roger Jackson in 2015, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
HAWAII Honolulu: City transportation officials may have to scale back Oahu’s 20-mile, 21 transit station rail project following new federal projections that came in $1 billion higher than the agency’s latest estimate, Hawaii News Now reported. New estimated cost: $8.1 billion.
IDAHO Fort Hall: A police officer was hospitalized after being struck by a fleeing pickup during a high-speed chase. Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen told the Idaho State Journal that the officer was taken to Portneuf Medical Center and is expected to survive.
ILLINOIS Chicago: A 13-year-old girl was charged with fatally stabbing a 16-year-old girl during a fight on the South Side, according to the Chicago Tribune.
INDIANA Lafayette: Mark Speer received a 42-year prison sentence for child molesting, attempted child molesting and criminal confinement, The Journal & Courier reported. In July 2014, police discovered video of a naked 3-year-old girl, featuring inappropriate touching and comments by Speer, on Speer’s cellphone.
IOWA Des Moines: Polk County authorities are investigating a student-created blog that includes photos showing the backsides of multiple girls at Saydel High School, KCCI-TV reported.
KANSAS Augusta: No federal charges will be filed against a concealed weapon permit-holder who wounded himself and a bystander when the gun he stuffed into his sock accidentally discharged at the Augusta High School commencement, The Wichita Eagle reported.
KENTUCKY Georgetown: A man has been arrested after police say he stole an RV and led officials on a chase. WKYT-TV reported that 30-year-old Jason Judd faces charges of fleeing police and wanton endangerment.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: Jason Adams, 30, the driver of a Lamborghini that crashed this month, killing a female passenger, was booked on a vehicular homicide charge, The Times-Picayune reported.
MAINE Bangor: The Bangor Police Department is the latest to get an armored vehicle. The City Council voted unanimously to spend $208,000 for the vehicle.
MARYLAND Mechanicsville: Albert Eugene Hayden — killed in the WWII attack on Pearl Harbor — is coming home to St. Mary’s County to be buried beside his mother and father, The Baltimore Sun reported. The Defense Department expects the service for Hayden, who had been buried in a mass grave in Hawaii, to be attended by at least 100 people.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is investigating after discovering discrepancies between how many cars were parking in some of its contractor-managed lots and how much money was being collected, The Boston Globe reported.
MICHIGAN Alpena: A mural that outlines the history of Alpena Power Co. and the city will be removed and preserved before demolition of the former Alpena Power building begins this summer, The Alpena News reported. The mural was painted in 12-foot sections in 1989.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: Globe University and the Minnesota School of Business are closing campuses and laying off employees in the wake of a fraud lawsuit brought by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, the Pioneer Press reported. The forprofit college chain will close schools in Lakeville, Brooklyn Center, Elk River and Plymouth.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A new state law will allow a pharmacy in a network to decline to provide drugs or service if the pharmacy is paid less than the acquisition cost for the product, The Clarion-Ledger reported.
MISSOURI Valley Park: Officials are trying to determine why a small lake in Lone Elk Park near here is disappearing, KMOV-TV reported.
MONTANA Missoula: An investigation by a digital forensics company into the release of sensitive student information from Hellgate High School found that “user error” led to the data breach, the Missoulian reported.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Rodney Reuter, 53, has been named a county judge for the Third Judicial District of Nebraska, the Journal Star reported.
NEVADA Carson City: Officials are warning residents to be on the lookout after a reported sighting of a female bear with cubs near Fuji Park. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has been notified and will install bear warning signs at the park.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: New Hampshire will remain a single-area-code state for now. The state Public Utilities Commission says the North American Numbering Plan Administrator indicates New Hampshire’s 603 area code has enough available numbers until 2032.
NEW JERSEY Lacey: Bruce Post, a suspected white supremacist linked to a 1995 murder, was arrested on weapons charges after police stumbled across him with a cache of guns and ammunition during a search of the Pinelands, Asbury Park Post reported.
NEW MEXICO Bloomfield: A breach in an irrigation ditch has cut off the water supply here, The Daily Times reported. City officials are urging residents to take conservation measures after an 80-foot stretch of bank along the Bloomfield Irrigation Ditch collapsed.
NEW YORK Greene County: A missing zebra was found dead in the Kaaterskill Clove section of the Catskill Preserve, the Times Union reported.
NORTH CAROLINA Garner: A 2-month-old puppy snatched from an animal rescue was returned less than 24 hours after the puppy was reported stolen, The News & Observer reported.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Two men suffered only minor injuries after being trapped during a fire in a house converted into apartments.
OHIO Nelsonville: Wayne National Forest is trying to ward off ginseng poachers by requiring a $20 permit to harvest the root plant that’s thought to have medicinal properties and can sell for hundreds of dollars a pound, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
OKLAHOMA Tahlequah: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services will pay $435,000 to settle a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against it and a dozen child welfare workers after a 2-year-old girl was murdered by her foster mom, The Oklahoman reported.
OREGON Portland: Beginning July 1, local utility customers will pay upward of $100 a month for water, sewer and stormwater services, The Oregonian reported. The combined utility bill for a typical customer will reach $103.63, up 4.5% from the current $99.21.
PENNSYLVANIA Liverpool: Excel Homes, a modular homes company, has filed for bankruptcy and is closing its plant here, idling 280 workers, The Daily Item reported.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The Rhode Island Public Transit Agency says the transit authority has filled the estimated $2 million funding gap officials projected this past winter, the Providence Journal reported.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The State House voted 79-29 to pass a bill that would ban abortion at 20 weeks or later, The State reported. After it is ratified, the bill will head to Gov. Haley’s desk. She said in March she will almost certainly sign it.
SOUTH DAKOTA Mitchell: A proposal by Mayor Jerry Toomey to change the murals on the Corn Palace tourist attraction only every other year is receiving mixed reviews. At least two City Council members want to keep the tradition of changing the murals annually, The Daily Republic reported.
TENNESSEE Knoxville: Republican Rep. John Duncan Jr. was diagnosed with prostate cancer six or seven months ago and decided not to be treated because tests showed the cancer is isolated, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
TEXAS Austin: Improvements to avoid storm-related flooding here could cost up to $4 billion, the Austin American-Statesman reported.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A ruptured water line caused a small landslide that sent mud and debris barreling down a hill, much of it settling onto the backyard and porch of a local home.
VERMONT South Burlington: Video cameras at Burlington International Airport in South Burlington captured three spectacular views of a meteor that lit up the night sky over New England early Tuesday morning, Burlington Free Press reported.
VIRGINIA Virginia Beach: A retired Navy veteran must pay for two American flags after stealing one from his neighbor because it wasn’t being illuminated at night. John Parmele Jr. was ordered to pay a $300 fine and reimburse Anderson $99.98.
WASHINGTON Seattle: One of China’s biggest homebuilders is looking to build a 43-story apartment tower near the Space Needle. Vanke China would be an investor in the residential building on a lot next to Denny Way, near the start of the Highway 99 tunnel, The Seattle Times reported. Mayor Ed Murray announced the deal last week during a trade mission to China.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: After 82 years of business, Kelley’s men’s shop will close its doors at the end of the month, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported. According to Kristi Walker, daughter of store owner Kenneth Waldeck, none of the family members wanted to continue running the business.
WISCONSIN Appleton: Cheers? Appleton, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, La Crosse, Madison and Oshkosh all cracked the top 10 in the Top 20 Drunkest Cities in America list compiled by 24/7 Wall St. The group analyzed selfreported data on binge drinking and bar density from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, The Post-Crescent reported.
WYOMING Powell: Powell Valley Healthcare’s board of directors approved filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Powell Tribune reported. The board said in a statement the lawsuits from former patients of Dr. Jeffrey Hansen are the reason for the decision. Hansen was employed by Powell Valley Healthcare from 2006 to 2014 and resigned after being suspended.