STATE-BY-STATE
ALABAMA Guntersville: Attacks by four dogs left a woman dead and another injured, WAFF-TV reports. ALASKA Anchorage: State labor officials say the number of jobs in the Prudhoe Bay region dropped this year to the lowest level since 2007.
ARIZONA Phoenix: The city and the FAA are working to resolve a flap over noisy takeoffs and landings at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport without canceling recent changes to airport flight routes and procedures.
ARKANSAS McCrory: The city has settled a civil rights lawsuit challenging an attempt to ban mobile homes worth less than $7,500, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
CALIFORNIA San Francisco: State utility regulators say San Diego Gas & Electric shareholders, not ratepayers, must pay $379 million in costs from three blazes ignited by power lines. COLORADO Fort Collins: A mountain lion suspected of killing several alpacas and goats was killed by a wildlife officer, The Coloradoan reports.
CONNECTICUT Waterbury: The Children’s Community School shut down last week after asbestos was found in a lead paint check, WFSB-TV reports.
DELAWARE New Castle: A man riding a dirt bike that police say had been reported stolen was injured when he hit a car. Troopers say the dirt bike was speeding, didn’t have lights, and the driver wasn’t wearing a helmet.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: New federal employees may soon get longer probations. The House last week passed a bill to extend the probation period for most federal employees from one year to two, WTOP radio reports. FLORIDA Miami: The University of Miami is investigating after one of its medical students was accused of posting pictures of female classmates on various websites for sexual fetishes, The Miami Herald reports.
GEORGIA Augusta: A factory that looks like a giant paper cup is closing, The Augusta Chronicle reports. Dart Container plans to close the 70-year-old plant by early 2019.
HAWAII Honolulu: Siren warnings for an impending nuclear attack sound like a vestige of the Cold War. But Hawaii revived the tests last week to prepare for the possibility of a nuclear strike from North Korea.
IDAHO Idaho Falls: The electric grid testing area of Idaho National Laboratory underwent recent infrastructure upgrades, The Post Register says.
ILLINOIS Chicago: A judge says Cook County jail detainees facing public indecency accusations must be handcuffed to prevent misbehavior, the Chicago Tribune reports.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The Indiana AIDS Memorial underwent a $75,000 upgrade ahead of a rededication ceremony last week on World AIDS Day, The Indianapolis Star reports. IOWA Johnston: The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy is evaluating whether to fix its moldy facility or move, The Des Moines Register says.
KANSAS Wichita: The agency that oversees state psychiatric facilities sent a memo last month to Larned State Hospital workers warning them not to speak with state lawmakers without the agency’s permission, The Kansas City Star reports. KENTUCKY Lexington: The state Supreme Court will hear a case challenging a company’s refusal on religious grounds to print gay pride festi- val T-shirts.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: The state Board of Regents plans to choose a new higher education commissioner in April, The Advocate reports. MAINE Portland: Police temporarily closed the state’s largest movable bridge last week because of a possible gas leak. The Casco Bay Bridge links Portland and South Portland.
MARYLAND Baltimore: For the second time this year, a giraffe has died at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Authorities say Juma was treated for gastrointestinal problems this year.
MASSACHUSETTS Revere: Authorities say a bank robbery suspect who fled with about $1,000 in cash and later abandoned his vehicle was found hiding in a portable toilet. MICHIGAN Lansing: State lawmakers have advanced a bill to eliminate police immunity for having sex with prostitutes during undercover investigations.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: A probe of the foster home death of a toddler led state regulators to temporarily suspend the caregivers’ license.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The state Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a man who said he helped kill someone who owed him money for yard work they did together. The victim was stabbed with hedge clippers.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: Three
state parks will close for winter deer hunts, Columbia Missourian says.
MONTANA Missoula: The City Council will hold a public hearing Dec. 18 on limiting people’s ability to live in an RV, The Missoulian says.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Prison officials won’t identify the supplier who recently sold the state lethal injection drugs, despite releasing such information in the past, The Omaha World-Herald reports. NEVADA Elko County: Authorities say equipment failure drained the popular Willow Creek Reservoir, and the fish couldn’t be saved. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state recommends that fire departments test their drinking water for a toxic chemical linked to cancer and used in firefighting foam.
NEW JERSEY Newark: The Regional Plan Association has proposed turning a swath of New Jersey’s Meadowlands into a national park to help combat sea level rise. NEW MEXICO Carlsbad: Officials say several firms submitted proposals for a project to prevent the brine well in Carlsbad from collapsing, Carlsbad Current-Argus reports.
NEW YORK New Windsor: Investigators say a cosmetics factory fire that left one person dead and sent 125 people to the hospital was ignited by static electricity, The Times Herald-Record reports.
NORTH CAROLINA Jacksonville: State officials say an estimated 315,000 gallons of untreated wastewater was discharged into a tributary of Rocky Run Creek.
NORTH DAKOTA Minot: Officials are working to address properties that were neglected after a devastating flood hit the city five years ago, The Minot Daily News reports. The City Council proposes using an $800,000 federal grant to purchase what are known as “zombie” homes.
OHIO Toledo: A brewery is drawing attention to toxic algae in Lake Erie by making a batch of green-colored beer called “Algae Blooms.” Maumee Bay Brewing Co. says the green color in its brew comes from powdered green tea and kiwi. OKLAHOMA Tulsa: An affidavit says officials at Bixby High School failed to promptly report that a 16-year-old football player was sexually assaulted by several teammates during an event at the superintendent’s house. OREGON Portland: A suit against the Northern Oregon regional jail argues that it’s violating state sanctuary law by holding detainees of immigration officials, KOPB-FM reports. PENNSYLVANIA State College: A Penn State fraternity is facing charges over a woman’s alcohol consumption at the frat house, The Centre Daily Times reports. The 19-year-old woman was treated for alcohol overdose Nov. 11. RHODE ISLAND Providence: UberEATS has launched its food-delivery service in Rhode Island, The Providence Journal reports.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: A man was sentenced to five years in prison for using bombs to damage two car washes in 2014 and 2015. SOUTH DAKOTA Wessington Springs: Voters narrowly defeated a $4.5 million bond issue to upgrade the high school here, The Daily Republic reports. TENNESSEE Gatlinburg: A year after deadly wildfires, the community has come together to remember the 14 people who died.
TEXAS Miami: Oilfield wildcatter T. Boone Pickens wants to sell his Texas Panhandle ranch for $250 million. UTAH Salt Lake City: San Juan County is suing for control of a road that’s on federal land.
VERMONT Burlington: A state commission is backing the idea of supervised drug injection sites to reduce overdose risks and help get people into treatment. VIRGINIA Richmond: State officials plan to break ground on a monument that will feature 12 bronze statues of women important to state history.
WASHINGTON Bellingham: Three people suffered minor injuries when a bus jumped a curb, drove onto a sidewalk and crashed through a glass and metal enclosure for waiting passengers, The Bellingham Herald reports. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The state prison agency is closing an inmate work-release center after an inspection identified structural and fire code problems.
WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Scott Walker has requested a disaster declaration for Rusk and Sawyer counties due to flooding earlier this year.
WYOMING Cheyenne: Building officials posted code violation notices on four trailers, a step that could lead to condemning the structures, The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports.
Compiled from staff, wire reports.