Around the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Montgomery: The state Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a location in southeast Alabama to build a 182,000-squarefoot home to provide skilled nursing care for 150 to 175 veterans.

ALASKA Anchorage: The city has unveiled the state’s largest rooftop solar project at the Egan Civic and Convention Center. Officials say 216 solar panels are expected to power up to 9% of the convention center’s electricity needs for the year.

ARIZONA Scottsdale: The OdySea Aquarium has become the state’s only attraction that doubles as a Certified Autism Center. The International Board of Credentialing and Continued Education Standards announced the aquarium’s certification this month.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Rita Sklar, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, is retiring after nearly three decades heading the group.

CALIFORNIA Yosemite National

Park: A company that lost its contract to run the park’s hotels, restaurants and outdoor activities has settled a lawsuit with the National Park Service and the park’s new concessions operator over rights to the names of famous park landmarks.

COLORADO Denver: Officials say a state email account created to report suspected child abuse or neglect went unchecked for more than four years. KCNC-TV reports the oversight resulted in five possible cases of child neglect undiscovered until May that are now being investigated.

CONNECTICUT Newton: Republican JT Lewis, the 19-year-old brother of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim and an outspoken advocate for greater school safety measures, says he’s running for the state Senate.

DELAWARE Dover: A state law that raises the legal age for smoking and buying tobacco products from 18 to 21 went into effect Tuesday.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: A Gallup poll finds most Americans don’t believe the district should become a state, WUSA-TV reports. The survey found 29% are in favor of statehood, while 64% oppose it, with the remainder having no opinion.

FLORIDA Orlando: Walt Disney World announced that the Disney Skyliner, which is like mini-cabins in the sky, will begin operating Sept. 29 and will give guests “a never-beforeseen bird’s-eye view.”

GEORGIA Atlanta: A FedEx truck driver is being credited for transporting three shooting victims to a hospital. News outlets report four people were shot Monday. Before police arrived, three victims flagged down a FedEx driver who took them to Grady Memorial Hospital.

HAWAII Honolulu: A watershed rehabilitation project is showing signs of success, as former dirt slopes on the island of Kahoolawe are now covered in green. Nearly 200 volunteers from across the state have worked at the site, which rises from 400 to 1,300 feet in elevation.

IDAHO Twin Falls: A county coroner is pushing for a new system to investigate deaths across the state. The Times-News reports Twin Falls County Coroner Gene Turley says the creation of a state pathology department would save taxpayers money and improve services.

INDIANA Carmel: The City Council has unanimously voted to strengthen its smoking ordinance, adding a prohibition on using e-cigarettes everywhere smoking is prohibited and extending the smoking ban to all trails, parks and bars except for the establishments that already allow it.

IOWA Des Moines: The City Council decided not to adopt any restrictions on firearm accessories Monday night after hearing stiff opposition from area gun owners and several council members.

KANSAS Wichita: The government’s latest crop update says 81% of the winter wheat in the state has now been harvested.

KENTUCKY Versailles: Jim Beam has written an open letter to some newspapers to thank firefighters for battling a fire that recently burned down a storage warehouse.

LOUISIANA Grambling: Grambling State University has launched a long-term partnership with a new dining service provider, SodexoMAGIC, whose chairman is former NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

MAINE Portland: The state’s congressional delegation is getting involved in a push to extend federal aid to members of the state’s wild blueberry industry.

MARYLAND Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan has renewed an agreement with a jurisdiction in Japan that is designed to advance life sciences. MASSACHUSETTS Marblehead: Police are investigating anti-Semitic posters found near the entrance to Temple Emanu-El on Monday morning.

MICHIGAN Lake Linden: A government task force is considering three ways to deal with mining waste rock that threatens to smother a natural reef in Lake Superior off the Keweenaw Peninsula.

MINNESOTA St. Louis Park: The city council has voted to reinstate the Pledge of Allegiance at its meetings after the decision to drop it generated a firestorm of criticism, including from the White House.

MISSISSIPPI Starkville: The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District is studying whether it can offer stipends to math teachers to make the job more attractive.

MISSOURI Kansas City: Former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jason Kander is starting a job at a nonprofit for veterans.

MONTANA Helena: Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s presidential campaign will pay for out-of-state travel costs associated with his security detail after questions were raised about taxpayer funds being used.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: State emergency officials are urging south-central Nebraska residents and local governments to document any damage they experienced from flooding earlier this month.

NEVADA Reno: Both of the dormitories damaged in a natural gas explosion at the University of NevadaReno will remain closed for at least a year, and the most severely damaged one isn’t expected to reopen until at least the fall of 2021.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Chichester: Two horses have been rescued from a farm and are recovering from starvation amid “sewer-like conditions.”

NEW JERSEY Wayne: The Sears store at Willowbrook Mall will close this fall, a company spokesperson confirmed Monday.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Patient enrollment in the state’s medical marijuana program has increased by nearly 10% since the start of the year.

NEW YORK Shenectady: The Rivers Casino and Resort opened its sports betting lounge to the public Tuesday, making it the the first of what are likely to be several casinos that expect to begin taking bets before the fall football season.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The General Assembly has given final approval to a measure that would give the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the state’s only federally recognized American Indian tribe, the authority to offer sports betting.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says an aerial count of American white pelicans nesting in the state doesn’t give a clear picture of the number of the big-billed birds.

OHIO Dayton: Parts of the state’s southwest are preparing for a new area code – 326 – and mandated 10-digit dialing in early 2020.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A finance report shows the inaugural committee for Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt spent more than $2.4 million on inauguration festivities to launch his first term in office.

OREGON Portland: State officials have fully opened a road circling Crater Lake National Park while closing two backcountry campsites because of hazardous trees.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: The for-profit owner of a longtime teaching hospital that’s scheduled for closure says he tried to keep Hahnemann University Hospital open, including transferring it to a not-forprofit organization.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Residents are paying more for a ride on the city’s popular electric bikes. JUMP, an Uber-owned company, announced a change in its pricing model Monday.

SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: The Police Department is hopeful officers can shave response times when it matters most with the implementation of new call-tracing software.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pine Ridge: The Oglala Sioux tribe says it’s the state’s first to legalize same-sex marriage.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Gov. Bill Lee says he’s in favor of changing a law that requires the state to honor Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early Ku Klux Klan leader. TEXAS Big Bend National Park: Experts say fossil remains discovered in the 1980s at the park have been identified as a new genus and species of duck-billed dinosaur.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A 15-year-old giraffe has been euthanized at Hogle Zoo after struggling with intestinal issues.

VERMONT Montpelier: Officials say the deaths of two dogs after they drank water from a private pond and the closures of two beaches underscore the reasons for concern over cyanobacteria.

VIRGINIA Richmond: The city’s public school system says starting next school year, it will no longer require educators to take a drug test before being allowed to teach.

WASHINGTON Seattle: Health officials say a new case of measles has been confirmed in a Seattle nurse.

WEST VIRGINIA Winfield: State Police are set to increase patrols on a 3-mile section of U.S. Route 35 known for deadly crashes.

WISCONSIN Madison: People in Monroe and Juneau counties can expect to see more military vehicles on the road and aircraft overhead this week as the Wisconsin National Guard runs a massive disaster training exercise.

WYOMING Gillette: Plans to shoot off an enormous firework during a pyrotechnics convention next month are worrying some residents.