News from across the USA

ALABAMA Dothan: Steve Hardwick learned about loss when he was a teenager and his best friend drowned on a fishing trip. Last weekend, Hardwick helped open a place in Dothan for all people who have lost someone. An “Angel of Hope” statue was dedicated at the city’s Westgate Park.

ALASKA Juneau: The Blood Bank of Alaska is defending itself against claims that it mismanaged the state’s blood supply this summer. Blood bank CEO Bob Scanlon said an investigation proves the claims are unfounded, KTOO-FM reports.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Gov. Doug Ducey is offering to allow a southern Arizona tribe to operate full-fledged Indian gambling at its casino in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. The offer to the Tohono O’odham Nation is part of a deal with 10 other tribes that gives them expanding gambling opportunities.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Arkansas ranks fourth nationally in its rate of divorce. Family law attorneys tell the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that more people marry younger in Arkansas than in other states and couples often have clashing expectations, contributing to divorce.

CALIFORNIA Sacramento: A group calling for California to secede from the U.S. has submitted a new petition asking voters to start the process. The Yes California Independence Campaign hopes to put a question on the November 2018 ballot authorizing an independence vote in 2019.

COLORADO Denver: The Denver Sheriff ’s Department will pay $10,000 and change its hiring practices after the Justice Department found it broke the law by excluding job candidates who weren’t U.S. citizens.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: State officials have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s restrictions on magnet schools, charter schools and school choice programs. The suit argues that state policy has forced thousands of low-income and minority students to attend low-performing schools.

DELAWARE Dover: A renovated runway and a new aircraft maintenance hangar are in the works for Dover Air Force Base. The

Dover Post reports those projects were in the spotlight at a meeting this week with 436th Airlift Wing commander Col. Ethan Griffin.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser this week launched the District of Columbia’s fourth Alley-Palooza campaign. Previous efforts have focused on repair and renovations to the city’s alleys.

FLORIDA Jacksonville: Tourists continued to pour into Florida throughout the summer and early fall despite fears that visitors would shun the state in the aftermath of a mass shooting and warnings about the Zika virus. Gov. Rick Scott announced this week that 85 million tourists visited the state during the first nine months of 2016.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Atlanta’s zoo is inviting the public to vote on names for twin giant panda cubs born in September. The zoo says the pandas will be named on their 100th day of life, which falls on Dec. 12, in accordance with Chinese tradition.

HAWAII Kailua- Kona: Work to widen the Queen Kaahumanu Highway will last more than a year beyond the original completion date. West Hawaii Today reports that the updated completion date is November 2018.

IDAHO Coeur d’Alene: A company plans a major marine center where the Spokane River meets Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Coeur

d’Alene Press reports that Hagadone Marine Group will expand its Blackwell Island site, a project that’s expected to be completed by April.

ILLINOIS Chicago: Six firefighters who reported feeling ill after extinguishing a fire were taken to hospitals for treatment of chest pains and breathing problems. The cause may have been an irritant released into the air at a furnace-related West Town neighborhood fire.

INDIANA Indianapolis: An Indianapolis man contends that the state’s religious freedom law protects him from paying taxes. Rodney Tyms-Bey was charged in 2014 with three counts of felony tax evasion.

IOWA Zwingle: The bell of a 165-year-old Iowa church has been removed ahead of the church’s closing. The Telegraph Herald reports that Harmony United Church of Christ is set to close Jan. 8 due to the declining number of congregation members.

KANSAS Stafford: Some communities in Kansas are grappling with how to save their historic railroad depots. The state had nearly 2,000 depots less than a century ago, but now has fewer than 180 remaining landmarks, according to Kansas Historical Society estimates.In Stafford, the 105-year-old brick depot is on its way out. The windows have been removed, and demolition is underway.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Families who lost loved ones in combat took center stage this week at a Kentucky center that became a symbol in the feud between Gov. Matt Bevin and his predecessor. Bevin paid tribute to Gold Star families at a rededication of the building previously named for Jane Beshear, the wife of former Gov. Steve Beshear.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: Police say four women in a fake Uber kidnapped a woman in the French Quarter last week. The victim said the women took her cellphone and forced her to purchase items and to withdraw money from ATMs.

MAINE Saco: A farm owner is offering a $5,000 reward for information on the death of a German shepherd that authorities say was stolen and abandoned 30 miles from the owner’s home. Timber Ridge Farm owner Doreen Metcalf posted the offer on Facebook.

MARYLAND Towson: Authorities arrested a man who they say burglarized a Towson pizza shop in the nude. Baltimore County police say Jonathan K. Newman’s pants ripped off as he entered the store from a roof vent.

MASSACHUSETTS Webster: A man sick of the mess that seagulls leave at his dock and boat wants the neighbor he blames for attracting the birds to pay up. The Telegram &

Gazette reports that Frank Yacino sued Lisa Pezzella for $1,500 to replace his boat’s seat covers and $500 for time spent pressure-washing his dock. Her lawyer calls the case silly.

MICHIGAN Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan is partnering with the city of Ann Arbor on efforts to reduce and control the area’s deer population. The Ann Arbor News reports that cooperation includes allowing sharpshooters hired by the city to kill deer on university property.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: The state is seeking applicants to help set Minnesota lawmakers’ salaries. Gov. Mark Dayton sent out the request to fill half of a new 16person commission charged with determining legislator pay.

MISSISSIPPI Poplarville: County supervisors and engineers will meet with state officials next month to discuss Mississippi’s aging roads and bridges.

MISSOURI Houston : Two Texas County jail employees have been fired after an inmate accused in a killing escaped. The inmate was found the next day.

MONTANA Kalispell: A U.S. Forest Service road has been renamed in honor of an officer who was killed by a grizzly bear near Glacier National Park. The

Flathead Beacon reports that Brad Treat was attacked while riding his mountain bike in June.

NEBRASKA Beatrice: Authorities say a trucker dumped his load on a Nebraska highway after learning he was fired. Court records say Darren Walp, 36, is charged with felony criminal mischief and a related misdemeanor for spilling about $3,100 worth of corn.

NEVADA Las Vegas: An Asianthemed casino-hotel catering to Chinese guests has become the first new gambling property to open in nearly six years along the Las Vegas Strip. The Lucky Dragon began operations last weekend. The property is small by Las Vegas standards with about 200 hotel rooms, 300 slot machines and more baccarat than blackjack.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: This week marked the 212th birthday of the nation’s only president from New Hampshire. Franklin Pierce was honored in Old North Cemetery in Concord in a gravesite wreath-laying ceremony.

NEW JERSEY Jersey City: A foster mother who has cared for nearly 100 children over more than two decades was honored by the state Department of Children and Family Services. Nearly a dozen of Mattie Walker’s foster children attended the ceremony.

NEW MEXICO Farmington: San Juan College has been awarded more than $2 million to help Native American students complete their degrees and to fund scholarships for students in the nursing program.

NEW YORK New York: The artsy, one-ring Big Apple Circus is filing for bankruptcy protection. Circus officials say the troupe, which set up each year at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, has run out of money.

NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: The City Council is considering whether to protect one of the oldest African-American cemeteries of the post-Civil War era. The Biddleville Cemetery was founded in 1873.

NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: A North Dakota family will travel to Hawaii to place the remains of a relative who died last year with those of his identical twin, who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

OHIO Toledo: A judge has ordered state officials to return six tigers and four other exotic animals to a roadside sanctuary where they were seized nearly two years ago. State officials will appeal the ruling, saying Kenny Hetrick ignored permit warnings.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Military records show that a man who police say shot and killed a former co-worker outside the city airport last week was a decorated Army marksman. Lloyd Dean Buie, 45, was later found dead in his pickup truck from a selfinflicted gunshot wound.

OREGON Medford: A judge has denied a request to identify a person as neither male nor female. Jackson County Circuit Judge Benjamin Bloom said he doesn’t believe Oregon law allows him to grant a neutral gender designation to Amiko- Gabriel Oscar Blue, who claims to have never identified as male or female..

PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: A noisy rooster’s piercing calls will no longer plague Pittsburgh. Henry Gaston was facing fines for having a rooster on his property, but after several weeks on the lam it was scooped up by a chicken rescuer.

RHODE ISLAND Cranston: Two men charged in the theft of two city-owned trucks fitted with snowplows have pleaded not guilty. Authorities say the trucks were found abandoned, but the plows were missing.

SOUTH CAROLINA Fort Jackson: The general in charge of the Army’s largest training installation says his post is on track to train an additional 2,000 soldiers next year. Maj. Gen. Pete Johnson says Fort Jackson is adding an eleventh training battalion.

SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: State officials say the odds of encountering a deer while driving in South Dakota rise dramatically in late November. That’s when mating season is in full force.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Two state commissions are taking applications for the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund. Only projects associated with the 38 most significant Civil War battlefields in the state are eligible.

TEXAS Dallas: Items related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were auctioned this week. Tuesday marked the 53rd anniversary of the president’s assassination.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Utah is giving Union Pacific Railroad the go-ahead to begin breaking up a 21-mile causeway on the Great Salt Lake next month.

VERMONT Montpelier: A group seeking to put an outdoor ice rink on the lawn of the Statehouse is seeking state approval. Montpelier Alive’s Put a Rink on It Committee plans to have the rink built by the beginning of January.

VIRGINIA Williamsburg: Next year will mark 50 years since the College of William & Mary welcomed its first black residential students. The university says it’s planning to commemorate the event throughout the next academic year.

WASHINGTON Everett: A mile-long stretch of trail has been rebuilt after it was wiped out by Washington’s deadly 2014 Oso mudslide. Snohomish County parks director Tom Teigen tells The Everett Herald that the new section of Whitehorse Trail will probably open in March.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The West Virginia Department of Commerce says more than $1.4 million has been awarded to small businesses in 11 counties in the state’s long-term recovery initiative following last June’s flooding.

WISCONSIN Madison: Wisconsin is on track for a nearly $700 million budget shortfall by mid-2019. Some lawmakers want to explore raising the gas tax to keep road projects on time. But Gov. Scott Walker has said he won’t raise gas taxes without a corresponding tax cut elsewhere.

WYOMING Casper: A group of Wyoming lawmakers is proposing changes to how nonviolent, first-time offenders are sentenced. The Casper Star-Tribune says a bill would allow judges to put such defendants on probation for three to five years.

Compiled from staff and wire reports by Joe Taylor, with Jim Cheng, Brett Hait, Peter Mathews, Tom Schmitz, Joe Peterson and Paul Rolfes. Design by Tiffany Reusser. Graphics by Karl Gelles.