Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Athens: Investigators say a man kept a caged “attack squirrel” in his apartment and fed it methamphetamine to ensure it stayed aggressive. Deputies released the animal. A spokesman for the Limestone County Sherriff’s Office says there was no safe way to test the squirrel for meth.
ALASKA Anchorage: A major earthquake last year proved a trial run for a new national wireless network dedicated to first responders. Anchorage Police Chief Justin Doll and other commanders had just signed on to test the FirstNet network on their cellphones when the quake struck. After it knocked out phone lines, Doll says officials with FirstNet were the only ones who could communicate without problems.
ARIZONA Phoenix: The city is the largest in the nation that hasn’t yet issued body cameras to its police officers. The City Council voted in February to fund 2,000 body-worn cameras for patrol officers, but the cameras haven’t yet been rolled out.
ARKANSAS Vendor: A hog farm operating in the Buffalo River watershed has agreed to cease operations, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced. CALIFORNIA San Diego: A centuryold tree that some believe was the inspiration for fictional Truffula trees in Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” has fallen in a coastal park. Local legend says Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel lived nearby and worked in an office with a sweeping view of the coastline, but the facts don’t back up the lore. COLORADO Denver: The state Supreme Court says proponents of a ballot initiative to eliminate constitutional limits on taxation and spending can proceed.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: An effort is underway to identify the remains of two unknown victims of a massive fire at a circus 75 years ago.
DELAWARE Wilmington: The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival will fill Rodney Square with live music for its 31st year starting Wednesday.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: The Metro is launching a study of the transit system’s blue, orange and silver lines, WUSA-TV reports.
FLORIDA New Port Richey: A stretch of Moon Lake Road that was adopted by the Ku Klux Klan 25 years ago is now being sponsored by a gay rights group, Pasco Pride.
GEORGIA Atlanta: Lawyers for a man set to be executed Thursday are asking the state parole board to spare his life, arguing that Marion Wilson Jr. didn’t cause the 1996 death for which he was condemned.
HAWAII Kailua: A local company hopes to build an underwater farm that can produce large quantities of edible seaweed. The Honolulu StarAdvertiser reports Kampachi Farms LLC is working to establish a farm to grow limu off Kaiwi Point.
IDAHO Boise: A federal wildfire forecaster says the state’s wet spring and below-average temperatures the past three months will likely mean a later start to forest fires, but rangeland fires could be a problem.
ILLINOIS Urbana: An exhibit of unique typewriters, including one used by Playboy’s founder, has opened at the University of Illinois. The Rare Book & Manuscript Library now features typewriters used by alumni Hugh Hefner and Roger Ebert.
INDIANA Indianapolis: A national report says opioid prescriptions in the state have decreased by 35.1% over five years.
IOWA Des Moines: Butter versions of Elmo and other characters from “Sesame Street” will be appearing next to the butter cow at this year’s Iowa State Fair, officials say.
KANSAS Topeka: The city is gearing up for a music festival that had to be moved here because of flooding. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the 24th annual Kicker Country Stampede, usually held at Manhattan’s Tuttle Creek State Park, will be held Thursday through Saturday at Heartland Motorsports Park.
KENTUCKY Owensboro: Part of the O.Z. Tyler Distillery rickhouse collapsed in a thunderstorm, affecting about 4,000 barrels of bourbon.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Some state archaeologists are spending three weeks with students at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired, including a mock dig.
MAINE Augusta: Single-use plastic bags will be banned in grocery stores by 2020, according to legislation signed by the governor Monday.
MARYLAND Ocean City: This beach town’s favorite cat is growing in popularity with the release of a self-published book. Pip the Beach Cat has put out “Pip’s Guide to Ocean City Vol. I,” focusing on favorite sites and activities of Pip’s owner Emily Meadows and family.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing with an app that helps users relive the 1969 launch of the Apollo 11 mission. The JFK Moonshot app offers an augmented reality journey from the Earth to the moon July 16-20.
MICHIGAN Hell: A comedian and rapper boasted on Twitter on Monday that he purchased the town and renamed it “Gay Hell.” Elijah Daniel, who previously served a stint as Hell’s “mayor,” said the move was sparked by U.S. embassies not being allowed to fly pride flags during Pride Month.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: Eleven nursing homes in the state are on a list of facilities cited by federal officials for patterns of health and safety violations.
MISSISSIPPI Vicksburg: The state Department of Archives and History is receiving nearly $110,000 from the National Park Service to preserve the Champion Hill Battlefield, the Vicksburg Post reports.
MISSOURI Springfield: Dickerson Park Zoo is welcoming a new 8year-old Asian elephant, Hugo.
MONTANA Billings: Federal data shows that ranchers in the state lost more than 37,000 cattle last winter when heavy snow piled up.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The city is launching a reality show to tell behind-the-scenes stories of how the government navigates local issues. Officials say “Inside Vegas” will premiere Thursday and be available on Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and the city’s GoVegas app.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Several bills related to the therapeutic use of cannabis have been sent to Gov. Chris Sununu.
NEW JERSEY Freehold: This borough’s council unanimously passed a resolution Monday stating that Freehold and Peralejos de las Truches, a town of about 175 in Spain, are now “twin” cities. The Spanish locale is heavy on fans of Bruce Springsteen, a native of Freehold.
NEW MEXICO Los Alamos: Federal officials will be offering tours of portions of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in July.
NEW YORK New York: Officials say they’re assigning an extra 500 police officers to the city’s transit system amid a jump in fare evasion and assaults on workers.
NORTH CAROLINA Statesville: The city has voted against the flying of really big flags, holding its ground against a reality TV star’s huge Stars and Stripes.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Some north Bismarck residents are complaining about calcium deposits in water from their faucets at home.
OHIO Columbus: A state lawmaker has introduced legislation that would require school districts to name a valedictorian and a salutatorian.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state Pardon and Parole Board says nearly 750 prisoners applied in the first four months of the year for their sentences to be commuted.
OREGON Salem: All seven of the state’s public universities will raise tuition for the 2019-2020 school year.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf is vetoing legislation to substantially ramp up taxpayer support for private and religious schools.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state has received a $2.8 million federal grant to boost efforts to bring an Amtrak stop to its main airport.
SOUTH CAROLINA Florence: Civil War cannons that sat on the bottom of the Pee Dee River for 150 years are now on display at a veterans center.
SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: The murder of a pharmacist more than half a century ago has been solved with the use of DNA technology and genealogy databases, police said. Investigators believe Eugene Carroll Field killed Gwen Miller in 1968.
TENNESSEE Manchester: A group that partners with musicians on voter registration says the 1,390 voters it signed up at Bonnaroo represent its all-time high for one festival.
TEXAS Corpus Christi: Students can get their feet wet in marine animal care with a new career exploration program at the Texas State Aquarium. The Animal Science Exploration Program for high school students is set for June 27, and the college-oriented event will take place July 25.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A government watchdog will investigate whether the Interior Department broke the law by making plans to open lands cut from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by President Donald Trump to leasing for oil, gas and coal development, a pair of Democratic congress-members say.
VERMONT Johnson: Jenna’s Promise, a nonprofit group trying to fight opioid addiction, plans to turn the former St. John the Apostle Church into a recovery center.
VIRGINIA Richmond: A three-dimensional “LOVE” artwork will travel the state this summer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Members of the Lummi Tribe, along with activists and scientists, launched the Salish Sea Campaign over the weekend to save southern resident orcas.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The House of Delegates has pushed a sweeping Republican education proposal a step closer to passage. Lawmakers advanced the plan to allow the state’s first charter schools, setting it up for a full vote Wednesday.
WISCONSIN Madison: The group Badgers United launched Monday to push for ending a University of Wisconsin System tuition freeze and for more state funding for UW-Madison.
WYOMING Riverton: The state Department of Health has released details on its plan for affordable air ambulance services, drawing mixed reactions from lawmakers.