STATE-BY-STATE
News from across the USA
ALABAMA Birmingham: The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and Bessemer police arrested Ashia Christine Huddleston, 29, in her mother’s stabbing death in a Walmart parking lot, AL.com reported.
ALASKA Fairbanks: State troopers rescued Matthew Sharp, 22, of Manitoba after he was unable to hike back from the “Magic Bus” on Stampede Trail, newsminer.com reported. The former Fairbanks Transit bus 142 is an informal shelter about 20 miles from the Parks Highway. In 1992, hitchhiker Christopher McCandless lived in the bus for two months before reportedly starving to death, an incident made famous by the book and film Into the Wild.
ARIZONA Phoenix: Ticket refunds for the Juan Gabriel concert scheduled for Oct. 23 at Talking Stick Resort Arena are available through points of purchase, The Arizona Republic reported. The singer, who died Aug. 28, had recently kicked off a tour.
ARKANSAS Conway: Police officers described former state senator Gilbert Baker as “verbally belligerent and emotional” when he was taken to a booking area after his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to the department’s incident report cited by Arkansas Online.
CALIFORNIA Fremont: Two men riding a Bay Area Rapid Transit train were stabbed in the head by a screwdriver-wielding robber, the Los Angeles Times reported. COLORADO Fort Collins: A cleanup is underway at the 17,000-acre Roberts Ranch, which became a dumping site for tires, The Coloradoan reported. The land is under a conservation easement to Larimer County and the Colorado Department of Health and Environment awarded a $495,000 grant for its cleanup.
CONNECTICUT Farmington: Two cars were engulfed in flames and several others were damaged after a 70-year-old motorist crashed into a pump at a gas station. Police say the driver backed into the pump after accidentally hitting the gas instead of the brake.
DELAWARE Dover: The Department of Transportation received a $1.49 million federal grant for a pilot study regarding the feasibility of charging drivers a mileage-based user fee to help pay for road projects. The grant provides funding for on-board mileage counters in 50 vehicles to explore the feasibility of replacing the gas tax with a mileage-based user fee.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A tree fell on a car in Rock Creek Park, trapping a man inside, and police recruited about 30 onlookers to help lift the tree off, The Washington Post reported.
FLORIDA Cape Coral: The forces behind hipster punk-rock restaurants Nevermind and Nice Guys have united, The News
Press reported, to form Danger, Danger, a tiny lunch-dinner, takeout-delivery joint coming to Cape Coral Parkway this fall.
GEORGIA Macon: The Bibb County Sheriff ’s Office plans for the first time to auction off dozens of guns seized by its law officers. The Telegraph reported that pistols, rifles and shotguns are among 60 firearms to be sold Sept. 10 at T. Lynn Davis Realty and Auction.
HAWAII Honolulu: The state will pay out an additional $85 million over the next 10 years to foster parents as part of a settlement,
Hawaii News Now reported. The settlement, which is subject to legislative approval, was brought by foster parents who argued the state’s foster care payments were woefully inadequate.
IDAHO Lewiston: Outdoor recreation company Vista Outdoors is planning a $70 million expansion to its ammunition plant in Lewiston, the Lewiston Tribune reported.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans’ office announced that Rhonda Crawford “is no longer employed as a law clerk/staff attorney.” Crawford allegedly had put on a robe and heard cases, the Chicago Tribune reported.
INDIANA Noblesville: McDonald’s said they are unable to substantiate Nicole Eliason’s claims that she found an earthworm in a large cup of Diet Coke last week, The Indianapolis Star reported.
IOWA Iowa City: Chester Britt, chairman of the Iowa State Department of Sociology died Tuesday after a severe reaction to a wasp sting earlier this month, the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported.
KANSAS Lawrence: The city plans another $1 million of repair work on a 130-year-old dam across the Kansas River, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. The goal is to reinforce the southernmost third of Bowersock Dam.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Midea America Corp., a subsidiary of a China-based appliance maker, broke ground on a $10 million research and development center in Louisville, The Courier-Journal reported.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The Baton Rouge Area Foundation distributed more than $1.6 million to non-profit groups helping people affected by the floods, including more than $600,000 to schools and groups focused on education.
MAINE Portland: The Maine Responder, a massive spill-response vessel capable of skimming and recovering 444,000 gallons of oil and water per day, was removed from service in the state, the Portland Press Herald reported. Company spokeswoman Judith Roos said the decision was made because trading patterns have shifted recently.
MARYLAND Annapolis: Gov. Hogan said the state will begin studying locations and exploring potential funding options for a new Chesapeake Bay crossing, The Daily Times reported.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Gas prices went up 4 cents since last week. AAA Northeast said its weekly survey found self-serve, regular gas selling for an average of $2.11 per gallon. That’s the lowest prices have been around Labor Day since 2004.
MICHIGAN Clinton Township: The Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office is accepting registrations for a law enforcement academy for senior citizens. The free fourweek series of classes is presented by Sheriff Anthony Wickersham and focuses on sheriff ’s office operations.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: Dozens of Minnesota state city councils, township board and mayoral elections are without candidates this year. Minnesota Public Radio analyzed candidate filings and found more than 250 instances in which no one is seeking the job.
MISSISSIPPI Starkville: Mississippi State University and the Mississippi University for Women have stopped flying the state’s flag featuring the Confederate battle emblem. Delta State University is the only one of the state’s eight public universities still flying the banner. The universities’ actions came after state lawmakers failed to act on changing the flag this year.
MISSOURI St. Louis: Building inspectors took a close look at a 103-year-old, five-story building downtown after a large chunk of concrete fell and smashed a car parked on the street, KMOX-AM reported. No one was inside the car when the concrete chunk fell Monday from the building at 511 Olive Street.
MONTANA Billings: A breach in the main canal bank of the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project flooded a sheep farm, The Billings Gazette reported. Sidney Sugars agricultural manager Duane Peters said the breach affects about 13,000 acres of beets.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Sen. Bill Kintner, who had cybersex on a state laptop, has until Friday to resign or face consequences such as expulsion or impeachment, a legislative panel said.
NEVADA Las Vegas: Police are moving into a new substation to handle an area west of the Strip. The department said the command will have about 100 officers covering 31 square miles of residential and commercial areas.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Manchester: Eversource, the largest energy provider in the New England region, will spend $30 million this year to trim trees along
2,800 miles of power lines, WMUR-TV reported. The utility has hired a team of arborists tasked with examining trees along power lines in an effort to spot any issues before a power outage could occur.
NEW JERSEY Bethlehem: MyCentralJersey.com reported the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals discovererd guinea pigs, a calf and about 300 rabbits at a home here.
NEW MEXICO Aztec: More than a dozen immigrants took the oath of citizenship at a special Aztec Ruins National Monument ceremony. The 18 residents from Guatemala, Iraq, Mexico and the Philippines took part in the event as part of an effort to highlight the nation’s parks.
NEW YORK New York: Police say 21-year-old Zaida Pugh was arrested after police say she tossed hundreds of live crickets and worms on a crowded subway train as part of a video prank.
NORTH CAROLINA Durham:
The News & Observer encouraged readers to bring friends and family to the Labor Day Weekend Food Truck Rodeo, which will feature 50-plus food trucks and craft beer.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the spring wheat harvest was 82% complete, well ahead of the 55% average. Barley harvested was at 90%, ahead of the 66% average.
OHIO Columbus: The Ohio Department of Transportation’s Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative is holding its annual milkweed pod collection campaign that runs for two months starting Thursday. Seeds will be used to establish new plantings for the monarch butterfly.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: State regulators say more than 450,000 gallons of gasoline containing three times the acceptable level of ethanol was delivered to retailers across the metropolitan area over the last week.
OREGON Pendleton: The Unmanned Aerial Systems Range won approval to fly large drones as high as 9,999 feet, the East
Oregonian reported. Previously, the Federal Aviation Administration said commercial drones had to weigh less than 55 pounds and fly under 400 feet.
PENNSYLVANIA Connellsville: The city declared a state of emergency because of flooding that dumped more than 5 inches of rain on the area within two hours.
RHODE ISLAND Tiverton: Two workers were rescued after their bucket truck overturned on the Sakonnet River Bridge as they inspected the underside of the bridge.
SOUTH CAROLINA North
Charleston: The American Red Cross seeks volunteers to help when people have to leave their homes during a hurricane. Spokeswoman Jennifer Heisler told the Post and Courier that up to 500 people would be needed to staff 22 shelters in the Lowcountry.
SOUTH DAKOTA North Sioux City: The state Department of Transportation said repair work began on Interstate 29. Repairing concrete pavement and resealing joints will run from the Iowa state line to north of Exit 4 for the north and southbound lanes.
TENNESSEE Chattanooga: Volkswagen plans to expand the test track at its plant so it can better evaluate the new SUV that is scheduled to be built at the facility later this year, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported. The expanded track could include a new figure-eight course, a brake-test hill and an inspection pit shelter.
TEXAS Longview: Police investigated several cases of fake movie cash passed in Lufkin, Diboll and Jasper, The Longview News-Journal reported. Fake movie money, which can be bought online, lacks certain cash markings.
UTAH Park City: U.S. Forest Service officials closed a reservoir to boats, so helicopters can scoop up water and drop it on a wildfire that’s been burning for a month.
VERMONT Burlington: NECN reported that the Coast Guard has responded to a total of 19 groundings on Lake Champlain this summer because of the low water level. That figure is up from just eight last year.
VIRGINIA Amherst County: An employee of Sweet Briar College received a non-specific threatening email. The Sheriff ’s Office investigated the email, college spokeswoman Jennifer McManamay said, and will conduct periodic drive-through patrols.
WASHINGTON Walla Walla: The City Council voted to annex the 90 acres south of State Route 125, adding 123 properties and an estimated 285 residents to the city, the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin reported.
WEST VIRGINIA Kanawha County: A water main break along Corridor G shot water at least 50 feet into the air, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.
WISCONSIN Madison: The state Elections Commission approved mailing postcards to more than a million unregistered voters.
WYOMING Jackson: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials authorized the removal of four wolves from a pack that has been seen on private land south of Grand Teton National Park, the Jackson Hole News and Guide reported. In two attacks, wolves have killed two adult cows and injured four calves over the past two weeks.