News from across the USA
ALABAMA Mobile: An Alabama park will cease greyhound races by the end of the month, requiring new homes for nearly 400 dogs, WALA-TV reports. Declining market demand is the reason cited by Wind Creek Hospitality for closing Mobile Greyhound Park. Most of the dogs will go to homes.
ALASKA Wrangell: Plans by Alaska to store contaminated soil near a recreation area in the Panhandle could be stalled by the U.S. Forest Service. Coast-Alaska News reports that the Tongass National Forest may require a review that could take up to two years for a permit to use its road to move lead-laced soil in a rock quarry.
ARIZONA Tucson: Recent bee attacks in the Tucson area are likely the result of a warm winter and recent rain. One expert says the bees are big and nasty because there were no freezes last winter. Two attacks were fatal.
ARKANSAS Fort Smith: A new medical school has opened in Arkansas. The Times Record reports that the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Smith began classes last week.
CALIFORNIA Montclair: Police seeking to serve a warrant stumbled across a trash-strewn industrial building crammed with more than 1,000 snakes, parrots, chickens and other animals. Many were dead.
COLORADO Glenwood Spring: The Aspen Daily News reports that Japan’s Kiroro Ski Resort will team with Sunlight Mountain Resort outside of Glenwood Springs. As part of the partnership, Sunlight season-pass holders are eligible for three free ski days at Kiroro.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: State officials are temporarily banning alcohol at Gardner Lake State Park in Salem. The 90-day ban on possession and consumption stems from large numbers of people at the park who’ve been consuming large volumes of alcohol.
DELAWARE Newark: Delaware officials say a nonprofit is selected to run a medical marijuana growing and dispensary operation. Compassionate Care Research Institute was selected in May without competitive bidding, The News Journal reports. The contract is for two years.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Officials say 100 pounds of goose meat was donated to a group that distributes food to the homeless and others. The National Park Service says geese were caught in Anacostia Park and euthanized in July as part of an effort to manage the park’s wetlands.
FLORIDA Daytona Beach: A 73-year-old man is banned from a Florida beach after a parent complained that he was handing out business cards that read, “Sugardaddy seeking his sugarbaby.” Officials say Richard Basaraba has to stay off the beach six months for soliciting.
GEORGIA Marietta: A traveling nurse pleaded guilty to stealing bank cards from two patients. Authorities say April Echols used the cards to make purchases and withdrawals of more than $9,000 over four days last December.
HAWAII Wailuku: A shortage of bus drivers on Maui has forced state officials to suspend rides for students at three schools and limit rides at one school. Monday is the first day for students, and the restrictions will remain until more drivers are hired.
IDAHO Idaho Falls: The Idaho National Laboratory nuclear facility is banning hunting on Aug. 21, the day of the solar eclipse. High numbers of eclipse watchers are expected along roads in the area.
ILLINOIS Champaign: The University of Illinois’ museum has revamped its website to allow online visitors to access information about pieces in its collection, The News-Gazette reports. The Krannert Art Museum will offer access to 2,700 of the 10,000 pieces.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Authorities say no one was injured when a network of pipes collapsed outside a Rolls-Royce aircraft engine assembly plant in Indianapolis. The plant has about 4,000 workers.
IOWA Des Moines: Lottery players have cooled to the Hot Lotto game, so it’s ending. Iowa Lottery officials say the last drawing will be Oct. 28.
KANSAS Kansas City: Former Lawrence Mayor Jeremy Farmer is asking for probation as he awaits sentencing Aug. 15 for stealing money from a food pantry where he served as executive director, The Lawrence Journal-World reports.
KENTUCKY Munfordville: Kentucky charges against a man accused of putting glass shards in cups that were to be sent to restaurants have been dismissed so that federal charges can proceed, The Glasgow Daily Times reports.
LOUISIANA Grand Isle: A tiny building sporting a painting of a blonde, blue-tailed mermaid apparently drifted 200 miles from Florida to south of Louisiana. The Coast Guard released a photo of the floating dock found 180 miles south of Grand Isle.
MAINE Portland: The minor league Portland Sea Dogs will give away bobbleheads of the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress. The dolls of Margaret Chase Smith will be given out Aug. 26 as part of a celebration of Women’s Equality Day, The Morning Sentinel reports.
MARYLAND College Park: A construction worker died last week after falling down an elevator shaft on the University of Maryland College Park campus. Authorities say university police and Maryland Occupational Safety and Health officials will investigate.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The historic Union Oyster House was damaged in a fire that apparently started on the outside of the building near light fixtures. Smoke poured into the restaurant and it was evacuated.
MICHIGAN Ferndale: A temporary traffic control order will be in place for the annual Woodward Dream Cruise north of Detroit. Commercial vehicles and vehicles with trailers are among those prohibited Aug. 19 to enhance viewing of the vintage cars.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: The Minneapolis City Council has voted to restrict the sale of menthol cigarettes to tobacco shops and off-sale liquor stores starting in August 2018. The limit is meant to prevent nicotine addiction and tobacco use by youth.
MISSISSIPPI Pascagoula: The Mississippi Department of Transportation is selling a bridge, The Sun Herald of Gulfport reports. The state says it will even pay the buyer what it would cost to tear down the Highway 57 bridge over Red Creek in Jackson County.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: The St. Louis County branch of the NAACP is objecting to an advisory supported by state and national NAACP leaders that urges caution while traveling in Missouri. The county group says the advisory could hurt hospitality industry workers.
MONTANA Bozeman: Yellowstone National Park is converting part of its bison trap into a temporary brucellosis quarantine facility, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports. Officials expect to complete the work in the fall.
NEBRASKA Omaha: A man capped off 365 days of charity work by donating a car to someone in need, The Omaha World- Herald reports. Mickey Manley made it his goal last July to spend an hour each day making a difference in the Omaha community.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The casino industry’s largest U.S. lobbying group has unveiled a code of conduct with consumer protection measures. It calls on casino operators to not use ads that claim gambling guarantees social, financial or personal success.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Newbury: The 84th annual League of New Hampshire Craftsmen’s Fair is underway. Gov. Chris Sununu blew a ceremonial handcrafted horn Saturday, the traditional opening of the event that runs through Aug. 13.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: The state Supreme Court says local governments have to maintain step pay raises during contract lapses. The court found that Atlantic County and Bridgewater Township conducted unfair labor practices when they stopped paying step increases after contracts expired.
NEW MEXICO Carlsbad: The fatal shootings of cows have sparked fears of a serial cattle killer in New Mexico, The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports.
NEW YORK Saratoga Springs: Officials are catching some heat for deciding to close the Peerless Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park three weeks early for renovations. The closing is set for Aug. 14.
NORTH CAROLINA Fayetteville: A candidate for mayor of this North Carolina city was arrested twice in 55 days for allegedly tampering with water company equipment, The Fayetteville Observer reports. But Quancidine Gribble says she’s not guilty of the charges.
NORTH DAKOTA Minot: The City Council is taking steps to review Minot’s banned animal list, the Minot Daily News reports. Banned animals include crocodiles, felines other than house cats, goats, horses, mules and rabbits.
OHIO Elyria: Authorities charged two babysitters with child endangerment after finding five children in the back of a U-Haul truck infested with fleas, bedbugs and lice, The Chronicle-Telegram reports.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is investigating a boat collision on Lake Wister that left one man dead and another injured. Authorities say the boats were traveling in opposite directions while coming around a point.
OREGON Portland: Police responding to a complaint about a naked man turning on water faucets arrested a suspect Friday and accused him of trying to flood basements in a Portland neighborhood.
PENNSYLVANIA Lancaster: A couple of local businesses are holding “Swine and Wine” fundraisers to help cover medical expenses for a piglet that fell from a livestock truck. A woman rescued the piglet last month as it darted in and out of rush-hour traffic, LNP reports.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: A federal judge has temporarily barred Cranston from enforcing a ban on panhandling at busy intersections. The city says the ban is a safety measure, passed after a broader ban was declared unconstitutional.
SOUTH CAROLINA Conway: A dog team is credited with finding a missing toddler more than a mile in the woods from his home. The Sun News reports that the 2-year-old boy was in good health.
SOUTH DAKOTA Aberdeen: Some farmers in Brown County say their soybean crops were damaged by a drifting herbicide. The South Dakota Agriculture Department is investigating, The American News reports.
TENNESSEE Jackson: A highranking member of an organized criminal gang pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, The Jackson Sun reports. Byron Purdy will be sentenced Dec. 1.
TEXAS Lufkin: A Texas minister and his family have been convicted of using hurricane relief funds for personal expenses and to fund operations of their church.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A state commission recommends preserving the name of Utah’s Negro Bill Canyon. The canyon is named for a black cowboy whose cattle grazed there in the 1870s.
VERMONT Montpelier: The state attorney general’s office says a legal settlement with a group working to develop a 93-mile recreation trail across northern Vermont will help develop it faster. The settlement sets limits on ATVs and noise on the trail.
VIRGINIA Portsmouth: Several bomb threats interrupted Navy facilities last week. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth found a threat written on a bathroom wall in a complex of work trailers. Naval Station Norfolk and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach also received threats. No bombs were found.
WASHINGTON Spokane: Environmental groups demand that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildfire be more transparent about managing the state’s growing population of wolves.
WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Marshall University is receiving a grant to enhance an app created by history professor David Trowbridge. The app provides GPS-guided information on historical and cultural landmarks across the United States.
WISCONSIN Green Bay: The football season at Lombardi Middle School is back on track. The school named for legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi had been unable to land a coach, despite its namesake. But some 15 offers poured in after the dilemma became public, WLUK-TV reports.
WYOMING Cheyenne: The lone Wyoming provider of health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is hiking rates nearly 50%. A Blue Cross Blue Shield spokeswoman tells Wyoming Public Radio that the company is nervous about proposed changes, particularly the removal of subsidies for low-income enrollees.