STATE-BY-STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: Alabama officials have confirmed bird flu in two poultry flocks. The state veterinarian says the chickens are under quarantine after testing positive at a commercial breeding operation in Pickens County.

ALASKA Ketchikan: Construction is expected to start later this year on a nearly $6 million overhaul of the University of Alaska’s Regional Maritime and Career Center at Ketchikan, The Ketchikan Daily News reports.

ARIZONA Flagstaff: A scenic Arizona canyon will soon have much-needed cellphone coverage thanks to a newly approved tower. But The Arizona Daily Sun reports fierce opposition from residents who say it’s too close to their homes.

ARKANSAS Texarkana: Texarkana has passed an ordinance banning the chaining of dogs to anything other than a pulley system that allows more freedom of movement, the Texarkana Gazette reports.

CALIFORNIA Santa Monica: California firefighters spent 20 minutes performing mouth-to-snout resuscitation on a dog rescued from a burning apartment, and the dog survived.

COLORADO Colorado Springs: Officials say fires near Colorado Springs homeless camps in recent weeks are most likely accidental, The Gazette reports. Officials blame record-high temperatures and weeks of dry, windy conditions.

CONNECTICUT Avon: Connecticut police say a school bus driver was killed when a tree limb fell on the vehicle as strong winds swept through the area.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Drivers in Wilmington ticketed by cameras for turning right on a red light last year could get their money back. City officials admit ignoring a state mandate to either suspend the program or justify how the infraction makes streets safer.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The National Park Service says Washington’s cherry trees are blooming again after a killing frost.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: Florida is investigating whether school districts are moving students around to manipulate graduation rates.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Georgia lawmakers have approved a brewery bill. Starting Sept. 1, visitors to breweries will be able to down a few ales and take up to a case of beer home.

HAWAII Honolulu: Hawaii law enforcement agents cleared dozens of homeless camps in Oahu’s Diamond Head State Monument last week. Citations were issued to seven people. The state has identified at least 40 camps on Diamond Head.

IDAHO Lewiston: About 600,000 young spring chinook salmon died at an Idaho fish hatchery after an electrical problem stopped water from circulating. The Nez Perce Tribe tells the

Lewiston Tribune that the salmon were scheduled to be released next spring.

ILLINOIS Chicago: A hospital system’s study of Chicago neighborhoods finds wide health disparities. The Sinai Urban Health Institute found that residents in some neighborhoods report PTSD symptoms at more than four times the national rate of 7%.

INDIANA Ellettsville: The new Ellettsville Town Hall is open, replacing offices that were badly damaged by flash flooding more than three years ago, The (Bloomington) Herald-Times reports.

IOWA Oskaloosa: Another Iowa hospital is closing its inpatient psychiatric care unit, this time in Oskaloosa. The Mahaska Health Partnership discharged its last psychiatric inpatient last week.

KANSAS Topeka: Kansas lawmakers are pushing to ramp up amusement ride inspection requirements after a boy was killed on a water slide last year.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The Kentucky Derby Museum is planning an exhibit next month on one of thoroughbred racing ’s most famous horses: Man o’ War. This year marks what would have been Man o’ War’s 100th birthday.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Gov. John Bel Edwards has chosen a 26-year Louisiana State Police veteran to lead the agency as interim superintendent. Maj. Kevin Reeves took over Saturday from Col. Mike Edmonson, who retired.

MAINE Augusta: Loggers are refusing to deliver wood chips and other biomass fuel to Maine power generator Stored Solar. The loggers say they haven’t been paid since mid-February, The Portland Press Herald reports.

MARYLAND Annapolis: State lawmakers may revive the role of cash bail. The state’s highest court approved a rule change aimed at preventing people from being held simply because they’re poor. Judges would need to set bail that an arrestee could afford.

MASSACHUSETTS Wenham: An associate professor at Gordon College, a Christian school, says she was denied a promotion to full professor for denouncing its LGBT policies, The Salem News reports.

MICHIGAN Clarkston: A man who embezzled nearly $19 million from a suburban Detroit credit union has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. Authorities say Michael La Joice bought a luxurious home and traveled by private jet during the dozen years he took funds from Clarkston Brandon Community Credit Union.

MINNESOTA St. Peter: A student organization says it posted provocative signs about illegal immigrants at Gustavus Adolphus College as part of a social experiment. The signs said “white Americans” had a “civic duty to report any and all illegal aliens.” Students tore down the signs, KMSP-TV reports.

MISSISSIPPI Gautier: A nearly century-old log cabin in Jackson County is making its way to a state park, The Sun Herald reports. The Wilson House will become a welcome center.

MISSOURI Columbia: The University of Missouri has unveiled plans for a music school that includes a 500-seat concert hall, The Columbia Daily Tribune reports.

MONTANA Helena: For the first time in 24 years, the Montana House is calling for a fuel tax hike. The 8-cents-a-gallon gasoline boost and 7.25 cents for diesel would help fix roads and bridges.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Nebraska lawmakers have tentatively approved a proposal to merge two state agencies that serve veterans. The merger would go into effect July 1.

NEVADA Las Vegas: A woman whose daughter died after treatment at Centennial Hills Hospital in Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit claiming lack of appropriate screening. Amy Vilela tells KLASTV that her 22-year-old daughter, who died of a pulmonary embolism, was unfairly treated because she couldn’t provide proof of health insurance.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: New Hampshire’s Democratic Party says Republican Gov. Chris Sununu improperly promotes his family business by tweeting about the Waterville Valley ski resort from his official account.

NEW JERSEY Newton: The owners of New Jersey’s Jerzeez Diner admit burning it down a year ago to collect insurance. Sussex County prosecutors say Tina Diakos and Ozkan Cengiz pleaded guilty last week to arson.

NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: An Albuquerque man is accused of committing 47 armed robberies in a five-month period. Police say Paul Salas was arrested earlier this month after brandishing a gun at a Verizon Wireless store and fleeing with cash, 22 iPhones and a tracking device, the Albuquerque Journal reports.

NEW YORK Buffalo: A former postal worker pleaded guilty to scamming more than $1.2 million in federal benefits. Authorities say Richard Klaffka claimed injuries related to military service and while working for the post office.

NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: School officials in Charlotte have dropped plans to have some elementary school students read a book about a boy who likes to dress as a girl. Some state lawmakers complained about plans to use Jacob’s New Dress as part of an anti-bullying program.

NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: North Dakota was tops in the nation in honey production in 2016 for the 13th consecutive year. Producers with five or more colonies made 37.8 million pounds of honey last year, up 4% from 2015.

OHIO Cleveland: A Cleveland councilman who unsuccessfully pushed to lower speed limits on a heavily traveled road says someone took the matter into his own hands. WEWS-TV reports that an unidentified man in a hard hat and reflective vest was photographed replacing 35 mph signs with 25 mph signs.

OKLAHOMA McAlester: A death row inmate convicted of killing three people in Oklahoma City died in prison last week. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death of 37-year-old Jared Jones, who was found unresponsive in his cell.

OREGON Portland: An Oregon judge says it’s OK for a Portland resident to be “agender.” The ruling in Multnomah County makes Patrick Abbatiello genderless. And the 27-year-old video game writer and designer dropped that name for the single name Patch.

PENNSYLVANIA Reduction: “The Town That Garbage Built” is for sale. A family that has owned the village of Reduction in Pennsylvania for nearly 70 years has decided to sell the 75-acre property that once had a plant processing tons of Pittsburgh garbage daily. The $1.5 million asking price includes farmland, 19 single-family homes and a 1914 one-room schoolhouse.

RHODE ISLAND Middletown: A coyote caught in an illegal trap was euthanized by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Officials determined that the coyote’s right leg sustained numerous fractures from the trap, which was still attached and was malnourished because it could no longer hunt.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: A broadening probe into Statehouse corruption has caused a screening panel to delay voting on Gov. Henry McMaster’s picks for the South Carolina Ports Authority board. A special prosecutor asked the Ports Authority for records of payments to a political consultant whose name surfaced in the probe.

SOUTH DAKOTA Aberdeen: A decision on a planned hog operation in South Dakota’s Brown County has been delayed until next month. The Aberdeen American News says about 30 owners of nearby properties voiced concerns last week.

TENNESSEE Johnson City: A grand jury indicted a former East Tennessee State University student who police said disrupted a campus Black Lives Matter rally last September while wearing a gorilla mask and carrying a rope and bananas. Tristan Rettke faces charges of civil rights intimidation, disorderly conduct and disrupting a meeting.

TEXAS Dallas: The mayor of Dallas says he hopes the city can offer identification cards to all residents, including people living in the country illegally, The Dal

las Morning News reports. Mayor Mike Rawlings’ announcement last week coincided with the “Cities’ Day of Immigration Action” organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Gov. Gary Herbert says he’ll sign legislation giving Utah the strictest DUI threshold in the country at .05%. Restaurant and resort groups urged Herbert to veto the measure, saying it would punish responsible adults who drink.

VERMONT Montpelier: The executive director of the Vermont Arts Council is stepping down after 20 years. The nonprofit says Alex Aldrich will leave on April 14. The board of trustees has hired Teri Bordenave to serve as interim executive director while a national search is conducted.

VIRGINIA Lynchburg: President Trump will deliver the keynote address at Liberty University’s commencement ceremony on May 13. Jerry Falwell Jr., president of the Christian university in Lynchburg, was a close ally of Trump during last year’s presidential campaign.

WASHINGTON Spokane: Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane has added nine air refueling tankers and their personnel as the Air Force prepares to take delivery of a new generation of air tankers, the KC-46A Pegasus, at other locations.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: U.S. Census figures show population declines in West Virginia’s southern coal-producing counties led to an overall drop in the state’s population last year. The figures also show 47 of West Virginia’s 55 counties lost population from 2015 to 2016.

WISCONSIN Madison: Sweet news for Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker says Germany-based candy maker Haribo will build its first North American plant, employing 400 people in Pleasant Prairie, near Kenosha. The plant is expected to open by 2020.

WYOMING Cheyenne: President Trump has approved a federal disaster declaration for damage caused by a winter storm in Wyoming’s Teton County in early February. The storm cut power to the Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Resort and nearby residential areas.