Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Montgomery: A national developer plans to build a senior living facility next to a bustling retail hub in east Montgomery’s Eastchase area, with work starting soon.
ALASKA Juneau: Alcohol regulators will consider a recommendation to reject the renewal of the Alaska State Fair’s liquor license, a move fair officials say would be “devastating.”
ARIZONA Phoenix: A recent report on the state’s criminal-justice system has found incarcerations are increasing sharply for women, spurred by the state’s tough drug laws. It found that Arizona’s female prisoner population more than doubled from 1,964 in 2000 to 4,090 in 2018.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: A federal judge is allowing the Satanic Temple to join a lawsuit challenging a Ten Commandments monument installed near the state Capitol.
CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara: An elderly gibbon recently transferred to the Santa Barbara Zoo from Northern California has died unexpectedly, possibly from cancer, authorities say.
COLORADO Denver: State transportation officials say Los Angelesbased Arrivo has backed out of plans to build and test a futuristic “hyperloop” transit system east of Denver.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: A new federal report says the state experienced a 17.4 percent increase in homelessness one night in January compared to the previous year. Connecticut’s Department of Housing says the uptick is mostly due to large numbers of Hurricane Maria evacuees.
DELAWARE Fenwick Island: Delmarva residents are invited to say “good riddance” to the 70-year-old Sands Motel as its owners begin its new chapter. “It comes with a minimum of sadness that we announce the passing of the not-so-loved Sands Motel,” begins the announcement on the motel’s Facebook page.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: The City Council passed a bill allowing law enforcement to temporarily seize guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: It’s been a deadly year for manatees, but state wildlife officials believe there are more of the threatened marine mammals than they previously thought.
GEORGIA Atlanta: Rapper T.I. is paying a $300 fine after pleading no contest to violating a local law in a suburb that prohibits public cursing.
HAWAII Honolulu: Tulsi Gabbard, a 37-year-old Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, is eyeing a White House run.
IDAHO Boise: Mayor Dave Bieter announced the Boise Kind initiative, which would promote and protect the city’s values of civility, kindness and neighborliness. The program will formally launch during Treefort Music Fest in March.
ILLINOIS Springfield: A state report says nearly 187,000 residents have registered to vote through a new automatic voter registration system. The system went online July 1.
INDIANA Goshen: Trees have dropped cash in an Indiana county. Elkhart County distributed tens of thousands of dollars Tuesday to church groups and community organizations for collecting tons of leaves. Officials wanted to provide an incentive to reduce leaf burning.
IOWA Des Moines: The Animal Rescue League of Iowa will soon begin rounding up feral cats after the City Council approved a new approach this week to handling so-called community cats. Animal control officers will capture the animals, spay or neuter them, and return them to neighborhoods.
KANSAS Wichita: The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism wants to charge $50 a day for access to fragile rock formations at the state’s newest park, Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park, which is expected to open next year, the Wichita Eagle reports.
KENTUCKY Murray: Murray State University is launching an initiative to boost student enrollment. The program calls school officials to make a concentrated effort to be more personal in mailings, texts messages and video messages.
LOUISIANA Shreveport: The Salvation Army says friendly competition between two sheriff ’s offices has raised $2,900 for the charity.
MAINE Portland: The state has shut down a Facebook page detailing the potential dangers of marijuana use in response to a satirical page launched by pro-pot critics in a state where it’s legal for medical and recreational uses.
MARYLAND Princess Anne: A family is receiving a life-changing gift in the new year. Charlotte Rice, 2, was born with cystic dysplastic kidney and has been waiting to weigh enough to be eligible for a kidney transplant. She’s now 22.5 pounds. Her donor will be her father.
MASSACHUSETTS Hyannis: A study by outside consultants has found that a beleaguered steamship agency is cheap and plagued by in-fighting. The report cites “penny pinching” at the authority that provides ferry service between Cape Cod and its islands.
MICHIGAN Lansing: The state Senate gave final approval to a bill that eliminates a tinted-window ban for cars, citing new technology and the need to filter out the sun’s heat and harmful ultraviolet rays.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: A golden ball swiped from the top of the conservatory at Como Park has been returned, gift wrapped in a giant Christmas stocking.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A Christmas tree in a government building is decorated to honor crime victims.
MISSOURI St. Louis: Police say they’ve tracked down a tiny home that was stolen in the city. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak says detectives found the home about 30 miles from St. Louis.
MONTANA Bozeman: November was not an abnormally busy month for Yellowstone National Park, but about 3,000 more people visited than in the same month last year.
NEBRASKA Overton: A February sentencing has been scheduled for one of three family members charged with animal cruelty following the deaths of dozens of cattle on their farm. Court records say Eugene Wempen Sr., 60, of Overton, pleaded no contest to a lone count of animal abandonment or cruelty resulting in death.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The state became the first in the U.S. with an overall female majority in the Legislature on Tuesday when officials in Las Vegas appointed two women to fill vacancies in the state Assembly.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Officials say the state’s unemployment rate for November was 2.5 percent, a low that hasn’t been reached since August 1988.
NEW JERSEY Princeton: The leader of the Eastern Orthodox churches is suing Princeton University, seeking the return of four historic manuscripts allegedly stolen from a Greek monastery during World War I.
NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: Insurify has announced the city is a recipient of its Season of Giving Award.
NEW YORK Irvington: The estate built a century ago by Madam C.J. Walker, a daughter of slaves who made her fortune selling hair care products for black women, has been bought by the owner of Essence magazine and his family.
NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: Security video has caught a small pack of coyotes prowling near downtown. Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation says encounters with coyotes should be treated just like any wild animal, meaning keep your distance and leave them alone.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Farmers who are looking for innovative ways to keep their soil healthy are gathering at a sold-out conference in Fargo.
OHIO Waverly: An inmate is back in custody after being found soaking in a hot tub at a senior living community, still wearing her yellow jail outfit.
OKLAHOMA Stillwater: Faculty and staff at Oklahoma State University will have to wait for performancebased pay raises after low enrollment numbers led to a budget shortfall.
OREGON Salem: After years of struggling to figure out what to do with the Elliott State Forest, Oregon officials now have a proposal they like. Members of the State Land Board voted to start work on a plan to transfer the 80,000-acre forest near Coos Bay to Oregon State University. The university’s idea is to create the “Elliott State Research Forest.”
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: A homeless advocacy group and a business improvement district have teamed up in an outreach effort that highlights five formerly homeless Philadelphians.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state has introduced a new evaluation system for schools that moves its focus away from standardized tests.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: The federal government has awarded Greenville County a portion of $16 million that will go to study a possible elevated fixed-rail system.
TENNESSEE Memphis: Elvis Presley Enterprises spokesman Joel Weinshanker says the Hallmark television network plans to film two more movies in Memphis, following “Christmas at Graceland.”
TEXAS El Paso: The iconic Concordia Cemetery has been named Best Historic Cemetery of the West by True West magazine.
UTAH St. George: The St. George Art Museum and St. George Opera Company celebrate “Light the Night: A Winter Solstice Luminary Festival” this Friday.
VERMONT Burlington: The rollout of the aircraft noise map for the Burlington International Airport is delayed until February.
VIRGINIA Lynchburg: The Lynchburg Museum has halted plans to display a battle flag used by a Confederate regiment.
WASHINGTON Seattle: A new study says teen marijuana use appears to have dropped after the state legalized adult use of the drug in 2012.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Gov. Jim Justice has issued proclamations declaring Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve as full-day state holidays for public employees.
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: This isn’t just Brew City. It’s also a “Surge City,” according to an Inc. Magazine ranking of the best places to start a business in the U.S.
Cheyenne: A utility proposes to build a wind farm in the state to serve electricity customers.