Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA woman Linden: who took An over African-American the helm of a small-town called for newspaper the Ku Klux that Klan recently to “ride few weeks, again” citing has stepped interference down from after a the published newspaper’s the KKK owner, editorial. who had ALASKA Juneau:
be permanently declared November Alaska would Native in the Heritage state Senate. Month under legislation ARIZONA Tucson:
years after it was brazenly More than stolen 30 from de Kooning a museum, reportedly a painting worth by Willem $100 where million it all began. is going The on University display back of Arizona Museum of Art in Tucson threw a fundraiser and homecoming party of sorts for “Woman-Ochre” on Sunday before it’s whisked away for months of restoration work.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state House of Representatives has approved legislation that would require public school districts to develop policies to allow home- and privateschooled students to enroll for individual classes.
CALIFORNIA Riverside: A new survey has found a sharp decline in desert bighorn sheep in Southern California, and biologists suspect the cause is a disease contracted from domestic animals.
COLORADO Fort Collins: Colorado State University could have its first female president, pending the approval of the school’s governing board. Joyce McConnell has been chosen to replace outgoing President Tony Frank.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: A lawmaker who supports eliminating the religious exemption from vaccinations for public school students is holding an informational forum on the science behind vaccines. Democratic Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden says he’s concerned about the “pseudo-science” fueling fear among a “vocal minority” about vaccine safety. He’s organized a forum with experts Tuesday at the Legislative Office Building.
DELAWARE Dover: Lawmakers have given final approval for the state to give its Electoral College presidential votes to whoever wins the national popular vote. The House voted 24-17 to join a popular-vote compact.
FLORIDA Fort Myers: Florida Gulf Coast University research released Friday shows airborne cyanobacteria toxins can travel more than a mile inland, raising questions about health consequences for those exposed to the region’s massive bluegreen algae blooms last year.
GEORGIA Savannah: State wildlife officials say a South American lizard could be establishing a breeding population in south Georgia. The lizards – known as tegus – can grow up to 4 feet long. The Savannah Morning News reports that talk of large, oddlooking lizards has been circulating in eastern Toombs and western Tattnall counties. People have reported seeing them crossing dirt roads, and they’ve shown up on trail cameras.
HAWAII Honolulu: A judge is allowing the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to continue its lawsuit over the University of Hawaii’s management of Mauna Kea. Amid a raging controversy over building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, OHA filed the lawsuit in 2017, accusing the university of developing the mountain for astronomy at the expense of its environment and cultural significance.
IDAHO Moscow: The University of Idaho in Moscow is poised to get a new $46 million basketball arena. The Lewiston Tribune reports that the Idaho State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to support the new construction project, pending final approval from the university’s new president. Plans to build such a venue have been considered since the 1950s.
ILLINOIS Springfield: Country Music Hall of Fame legend Reba McEntire will perform this summer at the Illinois State Fair. Officials say she will close out the lineup at the Illinois Lottery Grandstand Stage with a concert Aug. 18.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis removed three Michael Jackson items from exhibits this month, joining a handful of organizations that have reassessed connections to the late
singer following HBO’s airing of documentary “Leaving Neverland.” A fedora and glove he wore onstage as well as a Jackson poster are no longer on display at the museum.
IOWA Iowa City: Uniquely trained dogs will converge upon Johnson County this spring to round up a rare turtle species for a wildlife conservation project of Bur Oak Land Trust. The ornate box turtle is Iowa’s only native terrestrial turtle.
KANSAS Dodge City: Officials say the town’s recent economic growth is endangered by the lack of a fouryear college.
KENTUCKY Fort Mitchell: About half of Kentuckians surveyed about needle exchanges support the programs that let drug users trade used syringes for sterile ones, a new Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham is urging President Donald Trump to consider the state for the future headquarters of his proposed Space Force. The Republican congressman wrote a letter to the president, suggesting Louisiana was an “ideal location” because of its strong existing relationships with the military and NASA.
MAINE Bangor: Sen. Angus King said after a meeting with the acting interior secretary that the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument’s existence is settled. King, who met Friday with Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, said there’s a line for the monument in the president’s budget.
MARYLAND Ocean City: The state has already lost over half a billion dollars in property value because growth has been impeded by increased tidal flooding linked to sea level rise, according to a study. Crisfield, Ocean City and West Ocean City top the chart for the state with a combined $87 million in unrealized growth from 2005 to 2017.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Native American leaders are teaming with the U.S., British and Dutch governments on next year’s commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim landing. Organizers gathered Thursday at the New England Historical Genealogical Society to firm up plans for remembrances of the Mayflower’s voyage – and the disease, racism and oppression native people suffered after the European settlers arrived.
MICHIGAN Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan says popping balloons may have sparked an “active shooter” alert at a building on campus over the weekend.
MINNESOTA Morris: Some cities in the North Star State are grappling with how to reduce the amount of chloride released from wastewater treatment plants into lakes and rivers, which can be toxic to fish.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is offering a series of programs to give visitors a deep look at each of its galleries. A free presentation examines the museum’s first gallery, Mississippi Freedom Struggle, which tells about slavery and emancipation. It begins at 6 p.m. Thursday.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: A state lawmaker says he knows his legislation requiring every 18- to 35-yearold in the state to own an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle has no chance of passing. But Republican state Rep. Andrew McDaniel, of Deering, says he hopes it and another bill he introduced help to “make a point on mandates in general.”
MONTANA Missoula: The University of Montana is moving forward with a plan to add online courses intended for students who live far from its traditional campus amid shrinking enrollment numbers.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: A bill that would increase funding aimed at attracting more startup companies to the state is getting support from successful entrepreneurs. The Omaha World-Herald reports that Evan Luxon, co-founder of Centese, was among those who testified Wednesday in support of a bill that would increase funding in the Nebraska Business Innovation Act.
NEVADA Carson City: A bill seeking to ban private prisons in the state has passed a legislative hurdle. Legislators on a state Assembly committee voted Friday to approve legislation that requires the “core correctional services” at each prison to be performed by local or state employees.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham: University of New Hampshire students have brewed a butternut squash pale ale using home-grown gourds. They say the “George Squashington” brew is reminiscent of the pumpkin ales first developed during Colonial times and will be served during the hospitality college’s spring dining series April 12-14.
NEW JERSEY New Brunswick: A mild winter coupled with an excessively rainy 2018 may lead to a surge in the number of ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease this spring, according to researchers at Rutgers University.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Two endangered Mexican wolves have been removed from the wild and are undergoing testing to determine if they’re behind a recent string of livestock deaths in southwestern New Mexico.
NEW YORK New York: The city’s $25 billion Hudson Yards development is open to the public, offering both basic daily life amenities and luxuries that have earned it the nickname “Manhattan’s mini-city.”
NORTH CAROLINA Goldsboro: A beloved barbecue restaurant has closed over apparent tax problems. News outlets report Wilber’s Barbecue recently shut its doors. Since opening in 1962, Wilber’s has developed a reputation as an important stop for politicians, locals and barbecue-seeking tourists.
NORTH DAKOTA Mandan: An elementary school has launched a new program that allows students to write, direct and perform their own stage plays in an effort to help relieve stress. The Bismarck Tribune reports that Mary Stark Elementary School is partnering with Bismarck theater Dakota Stage Ltd. for a sixweek
performing arts program for students.
OHIO Columbus: The Buckeye State has no shortage of elite athletes, such as LeBron James, Jack Nicklaus and Archie Griffin. A new exhibit at the Ohio History Center puts a spotlight on Ohioans and their roles in shaping the nation’s sports history. OhioChampion of Sports opened Saturday and will remain open at least through September 2020.
OKLAHOMA Sayre: A woman was arrested after authorities say she used a T-shirt gun to launch drugs, cellphones and other contraband over a prison fence.
OREGON Roseburg: A move to improve the care of foster children relegated to living in hotels has resulted in 25 percent more children removed from their families being housed in institutions such as former juvenile jails, The Oregonian/OregonLive has found.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Musician Jim Croce and novelist John Updike are among the subjects of 18 new state historical markers given approval by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: State lawmakers are considering a bill that would exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury service.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: A TV producer hopes a play premiering in the city will help start a national conversation about the rise of white nationalism on college campuses. Paul Grellong, who works on “Hawaii Five-O,” wrote “Power of Sail,” which made its worldwide premiere at Greenville’s Warehouse Theatre, opening this past Friday and running through the end of the month.
SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: Accident victims who receive care from health providers will be protected from unfair billing practices under a new law approved by Gov. Kristi Noem last week. The law would require health providers to submit bills to a patient’s health insurance company rather than holding out for more money by taking a patient’s personal injury settlement.
TENNESSEE Nashville: The University of Tennessee will begin providing free tuition to low-income state residents starting in the fall of 2020.
TEXAS Houston: Two proposed bills could give landowners in the state more options should electric transmission towers be put up on or near their property.
UTAH Salt Lake City: Dr. Leah Torres, a well-known abortion rights activist from the state, is suing three conservative media publications for defamation, alleging that online stories spread misinformation that she cut the throats of fetuses during abortions.
VERMONT Stowe: A 750-acre property seen as a linchpin in preserving the Worcester Mountains likely will be conserved thanks to an anonymous $5 million gift, says the executive director of the Stowe Land Trust.
VIRGINIA Arlington: Protesters repeatedly shouted “shame” Saturday as a county board unanimously approved a $23 million incentives package for Amazon to build a new headquarters in northern Virginia.
WASHINGTON Mount Vernon: The Navy will bring 36 more EA-18G Growler jets to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island off the state’s coast.
WEST VIRGINIA Williamson: Former coal baron Don Blankenship is suing several news outlets and media personalities, claiming he was defamed during his failed bid for a U.S. senate seat. Blankenship says news organizations waged a concerted plot to destroy him by erroneously labeling him as a convicted felon or saying he was imprisoned for manslaughter.
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: A task force is recommending that the city demolish its aging Mitchell Park domes and replace them with a $300 million building that would house the domes’ horticultural exhibits and the history museum.
WYOMING Jackson: The Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative has awarded its Craighead Conservation Award to Yellowstone National Park biologist PJ White.