News from across the USA

ALABAMA Loxley: Authorities say an escaped Loxley Work Center inmate was caught by a Department of Corrections K9 unit about a mile away. ALASKA ordinance Fairbanks: proposes an A marijuana onsite consumption ban and a limit of 12 marijuana retail stores in the city. ARIZONA Flagstaff: A Northern Arizona University official is getting flak over a proposed $75 per semester fee that would raise $3.1 million a year for the athletics department. ARKANSAS Searcy: State highway officials plan to turn U.S. 67 into an extension of Interstate 57.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: The state will allow driverless car testing for the first time without a backup human driver in the car on April 2.

COLORADO Denver: The city has signed off on its first legal marijuana club, the Coffee Joint. CONNECTICUT Hartford: State officials say a cyberattack targeted about 160 computers at 12 state agencies. There were no reports of files being encrypted or of data loss. DELAWARE Dover: A federal appeals court has upheld a state practice on unclaimed property, allowing it to audit out-of-state subsidiary books of Delaware-based companies. That brought in $554 million last year.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Mayor Muriel Bowser reminded officials that city policy prohibits removing social media followers after Metro Police Chief Peter Newsham threatened to block people who post “cruel and nasty things” on his Twitter account. FLORIDA Eustis: Authorities say a man died after crashing a red-andwhite ultralight “trike aircraft” near a runway. GEORGIA Valdosta: Authorities are investigating the state’s sixth apparent inmate suicide this year, this one at Valdosta State Prison. HAWAII Honolulu: A state appeals court last week affirmed that Aloha Bed & Breakfast discriminated against two women by denying them a room because they’re gay. IDAHO Twin Falls: The Cassia County Sheriff ’s Office is recruiting technical center students to build shooting targets for its SWAT team. ILLINOIS Champaign: Graduate student workers at the University of Illinois went on strike after 11 months of unsuccessful contract talks. INDIANA South Bend: Stinson-Remick Hall of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame was evacuated after a small chemical explosion Monday in a laboratory. IOWA Burlington: A thaw at Bluff Harbor Marina left anglers and gulls with a surprise: thousands of tiny dead shad, the Hawk Eye reports. KANSAS Overland Park: The state medical board has fined a doctor $2,500 and put his license on probation for improper and potentially dangerous opioid prescribing. KENTUCKY Bowling Green: Western Kentucky University is eliminating its University College and cutting up to 140 jobs to make up a $15 million budget shortfall. LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A company building a crude oil pipeline asked a judge to suspend her order temporarily halting work pending an appeal. Bayou Bridge Pipeline says the halt will cost nearly $1 million a day. MAINE Rockport: The three-day Maine Fishermen’s Forum opens Thursday, bringing fishermen, lobstermen and clammers together to discuss issues such as “Can Right Whales and Fishing Rope Co-Exist?” MARYLAND Baltimore: A $37 million jury award to the family of a woman killed by a Baltimore County police officer will likely be capped at $800,000 if the verdict survives expected appeals. MASSACHUSETTS Andover: A teacher who says she was fired because of the high cost of her son’s cancer treatment has filed a discrimination complaint. MICHIGAN Traverse City: Some residents are upset that trees are being removed to accommodate an airport runway expansion, The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports. MINNESOTA Orono: A fundraising campaign has tallied more than $25,000 for the family of an autistic student whose social media posts prompted a school lockdown.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Authorities say a driver seen in a video ramming a car into barricades at a Walmart was arrested. Police say the car’s original owner had given it to the driver and wanted it back. MISSOURI Kingsville: A botanical garden has raised concern about the potential impact of a cattle feedlot expansion only three miles away that would produce about 13,000 tons of manure each year, The Kansas City Star reports. MONTANA Billings: A man is charged with deliberate homicide in the fatal beating of a woman with a frying pan. Big Horn County officials say James Isaiah Brien’s bail was set at $1 million. NEBRASKA Lincoln: The harsh winter has forced the city to replenish its supply of road salt, the Lincoln Star Journal reports. The city has a $250,000-a-year salt budget and typically uses about 4,800 tons but has already used about 6,000 tons. NEVADA Las Vegas: A jury says the homeowners’ association at Lamplight Village at Centennial Springs must pay a man $20 million after a

swing set collapsed on him in 2013 and left him with brain damage. NEW HAMPSHIRE Groton: A couple who like to hike, hunt and crosscountry ski bought and donated a 204-acre densely forested parcel to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. NEW JERSEY Mahwah: Police helped rescue an 11-year-old boy who was trapped hip-deep in mud at a marshy area, The Record reports. Officers wrapped a rope under the boy’s arms to pull him out. NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Officials say the city received 16 complaints last year alleging an employer was violating the local minimum wage law, which rose to $11.40 last week, one of the highest in the country.

NEW YORK New York: A woman who was seriously injured by a falling elm tree while strolling in Central Park with her children has filed a $200 million lawsuit. Anne Monoky says she suffered spinal fractures and her 2-year-old son had a serious head injury. NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: A Mecklenburg County Sheriff ’s Department jail officer is accused of making personal expenses on a travel card he obtained to attend training sessions. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Staff members at Custer Health, the state’s first syringe exchange program, say it’s going to take time to build trust with the people they hope to serve, The Bismarck Tribune reports. Four people enrolled in the first month. OHIO Columbus: Three of four faces will be new next Wednesday as Democrats continue a series of governor’s primary debates, this one in Toledo. OKLAHOMA Pauls Valley: The owners of a legal hemp store pleaded not guilty to accusations of growing marijuana in their home. Authorities say they recovered 65 marijuana plants, smoking devices and scales. OREGON have sent Salem: Gov. Kate State Brown lawmakers a bill to let Portland coordinate with the Department of Transportation to remove homeless camps. PENNSYLVANIA Coatesville: State police say a man was arrested on animal cruelty and other charges after troopers making a traffic stop spotted an injured dog, apparently from dog fighting. A search of the driver’s home turned up six pit bulls. RHODE ISLAND Providence: Gov. Gina Raimondo signed an executive order Monday establishing a “red flag” policy that lets relatives or police ask judges to temporarily strip gun rights from people who show warning signs of violence. SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: Authorities say a fishing crew off the South Carolina coast was issued fishing citations by a Coast Guard boarding team that found illegally caught sea bass on their vessel.

SOUTH DAKOTA Howard: The investigation of 44 cattle that were mysteriously poisoned by tainted water on Halloween remains open. Samples from a water tank were tested but haven’t confirmed what chemical was used or suggested who was responsible, KELO-TV reports. TENNESSEE Nashville: Jack Daniel’s wants state lawmakers to ensure that distillers aren’t subject to a state property tax on whiskey barrels. TEXAS Dallas: Federal investigators are looking into a suspected natural gas leak that caused an explosion at a newly renovated house, killing a 12year-old girl and injuring four family members. UTAH Salt Lake City: State lawmakers want to amend the Utah constitution to let them call themselves into a special session instead of relying on the governor. Such a change would have to be approved by state voters in November. VERMONT say a North Montpelier: Carolina man Authorities traveled to Vermont pounds of to counterfeit try to steal Xanax almost pills 200 that a Canadian smuggler was trying to bring to the United States on a sled. VIRGINIA Richmond: State lawmakers are warming up to the idea of allowing more gambling with legislation to allow race terminals at the recently shuttered Colonial Downs. WASHINGTON Snoqualmie Pass: Authorities say two teenagers who went missing during a snowshoeing trip near Snoqualmie Pass were killed in an avalanche on Sunday. Searchers found the boys, ages 17 and 18, the next day. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Women’s History Month in West Virginia begins Thursday with an event at the Capitol to commemorate it.

WISCONSIN Monona: Authorities say two people arrested for trying to pass a forged check at a Walmart are likely part of a national gang that has defrauded the company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. WYOMING Cheyenne: The Wyoming Military Department and the state Game and Fish Department are studying the elk population. A three-year study includes using GPS radio collars to monitor elk movements.