STATE-BY-STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Athens: The Tennessee Valley Authority was fined $140,000 for fire violations at an Alabama nuclear power plant. The Chattanooga Times Free

Press reports that an investigation found that five contract workers deliberately failed to perform required fire watches at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Station near Athens. ALASKA Anchorage: Four Alaskans have died this year in an outbreak of invasive strep bacteria that has mostly affected the homeless and Alaska Natives in the state’s two largest cities. State epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin says there have been 28 confirmed hospitalization cases. ARIZONA Phoenix: Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio has a new trial date. The sheriff ’s criminal contempt-of-court case that was to be heard this week has been moved to April 4. ARKANSAS Texarkana: The city’s Board of Directors has endorsed a tax incentive to help bring jobs. The Texarkana Gazette reports that a state tax break will help defray the cost of Union Tank Car’s plan to refurbish the former General Electric Railcar Repair Services plant. CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: The unclaimed remains of 1,430 people have been buried in a Los Angeles County cemetery. The county holds unclaimed remains for about two years before conducting annual mass burials. COLORADO Denver: An effort to bring black-footed ferrets back from the brink of extinction is showing promise. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counts 47 ferrets at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge outside Denver. CONNECTICUT Middletown: Connecticut State Police are warning travelers about a scam along the state’s highways. Police say strangers approach travelers at rest areas and ask for money, claiming they left their wallets at home and need cash for gas. DELAWARE Dover: Delaware drivers can now reserve a retro, five-digit license plate number. A limited number of plates are being made available for purchase at all Division of Motor Vehicles locations on a firstcome, first-served basis. The cost is $110, plus fees. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Police have arrested three men in the 2007 carjacking and fatal shooting of a short-order cook in the District of Columbia outside the Anacostia Metro station. FLORIDA Miami: The son of Opa-locka’s mayor is charged in a federal corruption investigation.

The Miami Herald reports that Demetrius Corleon Taylor conspired with others to shake down local business owners. GEORGIA Jonesboro: Attorneys for Clayton County psychiatrist Narendra Nagareddy are seeking a more flexible bond arrangement. Nagareddy is accused of causing patient overdose deaths. HAWAII Hilo: Native Hawaiian communities on the Big Island plan to fight a proposed $10.5 million composting facility adjacent to the Hilo landfill. West

Hawaii Today reports that residents oppose a draft assessment that found the project will have no significant impact. IDAHO Lewiston: The Lewiston City Council has approved a 182-day moratorium on new or expanded homeless shelters. The

Lewiston Tribune reports that officials want time to enact new zoning codes and standards. ILLINOIS Urbana: A University of Illinois working group will study legal ramifications of making the campus a sanctuary for students living in the U.S. without legal permission. Chancellor Robert Jones says the school is doing “a thoughtful analysis.” INDIANA Anderson: A new scholarship program seeks to give students money to attend college if they commit to teaching in Indiana for five years after completing their degrees. Up to 200 scholarships will be awarded. IOWA Fort Dodge: Webster County officials are seeking changes to Iowa’s process for reviewing hog confinement operations. The Messenger reports that recommended changes include more distance from confinements to residential properties and waterways. KANSAS Wichita: A spring trial date is set for three men accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex where Somali immigrants live. Prosecutors say the defendants are part of a militia group called The Crusaders. KENTUCKY Louisville: A group of current and retired public school teachers filed a lawsuit asking a judge to order state leaders to adequately fund the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System, which had an unfunded liability exceeding $24.4 billion by mid-2015. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Enforcement agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have cited two men for alleged migratory game bird violations in St. John Parish. MAINE Portland: The hearty souls who dive for scallops off Maine’s coast launched a new season last week. Meantime, the season for scallop fishermen who use dragger boats gets underway Monday.

MARYLAND Linthicum

Heights: Maryland held its first food recovery summit last week. Maryland produces nearly 1 million tons of food scraps every year. MASSACHUSETTS Salem: A Salem State University art exhibit that was closed when some students complained about a painting depicting Ku Klux Klan members has reopened with changes. Garry Harley’s KKK piece will be draped off so that only people who want to see it will be able to do so. MICHIGAN Lansing: Gov. Rick Snyder has signed legislation to limit the number of state-sponsored license plates that raise money for groups and causes. The cap of 20 does not include Michigan’s 15 university plates. MINNESOTA St. Paul: Gov. Mark Dayton’s office says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has reversed itself and approved aid for Minnesota individuals and households hit by heavy rain and flooding in September. MISSISSIPPI Oxford: Lafayette County planners are recommending approval of a drug and alcohol treatment center for teenage boys in Oxford. The Stonewater Addiction Recovery Center would have 10 full-time and two part-time staff members. MISSOURI Kansas City: Police say a woman allowed her intoxicated boyfriend to cut her arm and drink her blood while discussing vampires, and then stabbed him during an ensuing argument. Victoria Vanatter, 19, of Springfield, told investigators she routinely cut herself so she could drink her own blood and “believed she could become a serial killer.” MONTANA Missoula: Modular homes left from the boom in the Bakken oilfields will soon help house people in Missoula. The

Missoulian reports that the nonprofit Homeword has acquired 10 of the small units and will offer them as affordable housing. NEBRASKA Omaha: A man who lost a lawsuit over the golf putting green, pool and other outdoor amenities he added to his suburban property has refused to abide by a court order to remove some of them. Eric Marsh tells the Omaha World-Herald that he’ll continue to fight the case brought by the Fire Ridge homeowners association. NEVADA Las Vegas: The student newspaper at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is changing its name from “Rebel Yell” to “The Scarlet & Gray Free Press.” Officials said the change is aimed at ending criticism that the old name evokes the Civil War Confederacy. NEW HAMPSHIRE Andover: Wildlife officials say an adult loon was found dead from a gunshot wound over the summer at Bradley Lake in Andover, WMUR-TV reports. Loons are a threatened species in New Hampshire. NEW JERSEY Bridgeton: A lawsuit claims that inmates of the now-closed Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center were forced to fight each other for the guards’ enjoyment. NEW MEXICO Silver City: A 96-year-old World War II veteran will receive an honorary degree on Friday from Western New Mexico University. The school says Leonard Pritikin is a fixture at every Mustang home basketball and volleyball game. NEW YORK Greece: Health officials closed a suburban Rochester restaurant after dozens of people who ate there on Thanksgiving reported getting sick. Food samples were sent to the state Department of Health laboratory in Albany for testing.

NORTH CAROLINA Greens

boro: A graduate of North Carolina A&T University is giving the school $1 million for scholarships and to help fight Alzheimer’s disease. Willie Deese graduated in 1977 with a business administration degree. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A federal judge has granted another trial delay for a flight attendant accused of disrupting SkyWest flights with bogus bomb threats last year. Justin Cox-Sever was to stand trial this week — a year after his original trial was scheduled. OHIO Cleveland: MetroHealth System officials have announced plans for the Ohio health care cooperative to borrow $1.25 billion for the construction of a new hospital on its main campus in Cleveland. By 2022, MetroHealth officials hope to move patients out of its iconic twin round towers and into the new nine-story facility. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Construction of the American Indian Cultural Center and Museum near downtown is expected to resume in the spring after the last of several obstacles are dealt with. OREGON Salem: The Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed not to house foster children in hotels or its offices unless it’s an emergency. In September, lawyers for foster children filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the agency failed to find appropriate housing. PENNSYLVANIA Moscow: Police are searching for two people who stole a dump truck from a housing development and then used it to drag an automatic teller machine out of a grocery store. The stolen truck was later recovered, along with part of the ATM.

RHODE ISLAND South Kings

town: A Rhode Island judge says a licensed medical marijuana growing operation on the site of a former movie theater can stay.

The Providence Journal reports that a zoning board incorrectly concluded that the operation constituted “agricultural products manufacturing.” SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: Federal prosecutors say three men pleaded guilty to trafficking more than $740,000 worth of juvenile American eels. The men each face a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Seven people face federal charges after two severely malnourished children were found on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The girls, ages 2 and 3, weighed 13 pounds each when they were found Nov. 11. TENNESSEE Nashville: Officials say there are more than 800 staff vacancies in Tennessee’s public and private prisons amid ongoing complaints about pay, benefits, safety and other concerns. The state is looking at new ways to recruit and retain workers. TEXAS Dallas: Prosecutors say a Texas woman who operated a home health care company has pleaded guilty in a case linked to more than $40 million in fraudulent services. Myrna S. Parcon pleaded guilty last week to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. UTAH Orem: This Utah city is offering a $2,500 reward to find a “phantom dumper” who illegally dumps fibrous sludge into the sewer system. VERMONT Burlington: The U.S Attorney’s Office in Vermont has hired a new assistant U.S. attorney who will focus on civil rights issues. U.S. Attorney Eric Miller says his office and the Justice Department are “committed to a level playing field for all Vermont residents.” VIRGINIA Richmond: Police are investigating vandalism to the Christopher Columbus statue in Richmond’s Byrd Park. Police spokesman James Mercante says officers found red paint covering the front of the statue and its base. WASHINGTON Yakima: A national environmental group has donated $75,000 to help pay for the removal of the Nelson Dam on the Naches River. The dam hampers salmon trying to migrate upstream. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The West Virginia Department of Agriculture is accepting nominations for the state Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame. Nomination forms must be received by Feb. 17. WISCONSIN Milwaukee: A new organization is seeking to honor deceased nurses in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that members of the Wisconsin Nurses Honor Guard will attend funerals of nurses to honor the work they did during their lifetime. WYOMING Jackson: A battle is shaping up over a $200,000-plus bridge repair. The Jackson Hole

News & Guide reports that Teton County filed a court complaint to get a landscraping company whose truck damaged the span to pay for the repair.