STATE-BY-STATE
ALABAMA Montgomery: Zestlan Simmons, an advanced placement English teacher at Booker T. Washington Magnet High School, was honored this week as Alabama Teacher of the Year.
ALASKA Fairbanks: Teachers are using personalized learning for a school district’s K-12 students, including small groups and allowing students to set their own pace.
ARIZONA Tucson: A man riding a horse was killed in a collision with a pickup truck. The horse also died.
ARKANSAS Fayetteville: A former IRS agent was sentenced to more than four years in prison for stealing the identity of a man.
CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Los Angeles County was told to fix a problem that led to the wrongful cancellation of Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid, for thousands of residents.
COLORADO Grand Junction: A 5year-old girl is hospitalized after being attacked by a bear.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: The new chief justice says his top priorities include improving public confidence in the judiciary and ensuring equal access to the justice system.
DELAWARE Dover: The state Supreme Court denied the appeal of a gang member serving life.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: City leaders are accused of violating people’s liberties in conducting stop-andfrisks.
FLORIDA Marathon: A 150-pound loggerhead sea turtle was released off the Florida Keys after convalescing for about three months.
GEORGIA Brunswick: An adoption program has been launched to find human companions for “barn cats.”
HAWAII Honolulu: Virginia Pressler, head of the State Department of Health, will retire at the end of May.
IDAHO Caldwell: Parts of the state are facing a shortage of volunteers who serve as special advocates for kids entering foster care.
ILLINOIS Chicago: A program to give non-violent suspects a chance to avoid prison has held its first graduation.
INDIANA Kokomo: The Kokomo Automotive Museum will close its doors Friday.
IOWA Des Moines: Most Iowans can expect to see savings with income tax cuts of $2.8 billion awaiting Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature.
KANSAS Salina: Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus is offering new degree options, including a bachelor of science in robotics.
KENTUCKY Louisa: Officials say a man died in a lawn mower accident.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: The New Orleans Regional Transit Authority will get $2.4 million to modernize the ferry terminal on the west bank.
MAINE Augusta: State lawmakers and Gov. Paul LePage blame each other for limited action on significant measures this year.
MARYLAND Baltimore: An appeals court says Baltimore police followed procedure in 2016 in firing an officer accused of excessive force.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Lawmakers are considering a ban on “meal shaming,” denying hot lunches to children because of financial hardships.
MICHIGAN Muskegon: A museum is showing an exhibit about the closed B.C. Cobb power plant.
MINNESOTA Itasca State Park: Three men set off from here last week on what they hope will be a record-setting journey paddling down the Mississippi River.
MISSISSIPPI Grenada: The Chakchiuma Swamp Natural Area will be renamed the Lee Tartt Nature Preserve for a state Bureau of Narcotics agent who died in a 2016 shootout.
MISSOURI Lebanon: A student who graduated from high school with a 3.97 GPA and with perfect attendance over 13 years received a check for $1,300 from a local bank.
MONTANA Missoula: The Clark Fork River receded after hitting its highest level in a century.
NEBRASKA La Vista: The state treasurer wants to make financial literacy a required course for high school graduation.
NEVADA Las Vegas: Police say a 20-year-old man survived a fall from a fourth-story balcony inside Luxor casino-hotel.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Portsmouth: Lawmakers want an investigation into the financial operations of a group charged with cleaning up the Coakley landfill.
NEW JERSEY Trenton: Gun control advocates are hailing the state’s release of near real-time firearms trafficking data as trailblazing.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: University of New Mexico regents approved a $2.96 billion budget for fiscal 2019.
NEW YORK Goshen: Fourteen deck panels salvaged from the old Tappan Zee Bridge are heading to Orange County for use in new projects.
NORTH CAROLINA Spindale: A father and son who belong to the Word of Faith Fellowship face criminal charges in an alleged scheme that former congregants said was intended to keep money flowing to the evangelical church.
NORTH DAKOTA New Town: The Three Affiliated Tribes Police Department says its Belgian Malinois police dog, Tigris, is missing.
OHIO Cleveland: The state attorney general says a local tavern’s jackpot game appears to be legal if all proceeds eventually go to participants.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: About half of Oklahoma is experiencing drought conditions, and western Oklahoma is having exceptional drought.
OREGON Portland: A judge says the city’s schools must disclose employee names and durations of paid administrative leaves.
PENNSYLVANIA East Huntingdon: Christ Reform Church is closed temporarily after its steeple was struck by lightning, sparking a fire.
RHODE ISLAND Cranston: A 79-yearold inmate serving a life term for the 1973 murder of a correctional officer is accused of stabbing another officer.
SOUTH CAROLINA Spartanburg: Authorities are investigating the death of a pregnant woman whose body was found in a lake.
SOUTH DAKOTA Deadwood: Officials are crafting a master plan for their busiest street.
TENNESSEE Nashville: About 35 people protested at the headquarters of private corrections contractor CoreCivic. There were three arrests.
TEXAS Wayside: Authorities say a wildfire blackened more than 60,000 acres in the Texas Panhandle.
UTAH Logan: An alternative prom to make LGBTQ students feel comfortable was held last weekend.
VERMONT Newfane: Two investors have expressed interest in the private Hermitage Club ski resort that filed for foreclosure earlier this year.
VIRGINIA Richmond: The state government faces a possible shutdown July 1 as lawmakers struggle to compromise on a budget.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Officials are working to enhance the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: A divided state Supreme Court says children can’t inherit from a biological parent’s estate if that parent has no will and had their rights terminated.
WISCONSIN Madison: A University of Wisconsin professor who studied more than 1,800 municipalities in the state says he found only 280 that were gaining and maintaining their young-adult populations.
WYOMING Jackson: The National Parks Conservation Association petitioned Gov. Matt Mead to put off or curtail a planned grizzly bear hunt.