Across the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Dothan: Volunteers are needed to assist in the Southeast Alabama Coalition for the Homeless’ annual count of people struggling with housing in the region Jan. 25.
ALASKA Juneau: Gov. Mike Dunleavy is working with Senate Democratic leader Tom Begich on legislation aimed at ensuring students are proficient in reading by third grade.
ARIZONA Prescott: A couple says their senior living community won’t allow their orphaned grandson to keep staying with them because of age limits.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: A 78-yearold man has been sentenced to a year of probation after mailing white powder and a threatening letter about slavery reparations to Sen. Tom Cotton’s office two years ago.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The governor has restarted a project to build a giant, underground tunnel that would pump billions of gallons of water from the San Joaquin Delta to the southern part of the state.
COLORADO Durango: The school district is considering implementing a ban on cellphone use by middle school students, officials say.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Former Gov. John G. Rowland, who’s served two stints in federal prison, is asking to be released early from a probationary period so he can devote himself more fully to a prison ministry job.
DELAWARE Wilmington: The city is calling its new, GPS-equipped trash bins being delivered to households this week “state-of-the-art.” The “smart” technology will allow the public works department to track garbage collection in real time and prevent bins from disappearing.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Metrorail ridership numbers have gone up for the first time in nearly a decade, WUSA-TV reports.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: The state Senate unveiled a gleaming new piece of art in the Capitol this week, after removing an old mural that included the Confederate flag. The new artwork is a huge piece of wood in the shape of the Sunshine State.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The Georgia Aquarium has announced one of its beluga whales is a mother-to-be.
HAWAII Honolulu: Reports of a large “ghost net” floating off the state’s coast have mariners, pilots and residents on the lookout for the array of netting that poses a threat to sea life.
IDAHO Boise: People experiencing a mental health crisis can now dial 211 to reach a suicide prevention hotline. Gov. Brad Little says suicide prevention help has been added to the Idaho CareLine. Previously, an operator would give callers a separate 10-digit phone number to call.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Lincoln Towing Service, reviled by owners of illegally parked cars and parodied in a 1972 folk song for its aggressive methods, may stay in business, a Cook County judge ruled Wednesday.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The State Board of Education is returning three Indianapolis schools and a Gary school to local control.
IOWA Iowa City: A man who’s spent 43 years in prison for a murder his lawyers say his half-brother likely committed is requesting DNA testing of evidence left at the scene.
KANSAS Topeka: State Attorney General Derek Schmidt says he wants the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act to also bar indoor vaping.
KENTUCKY Louisville: State officials are inviting a Planned Parenthood clinic in the city to apply for a license to perform abortions after it was denied by former Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: The University of New Orleans is vowing to fill unmet financial need for tuition and fees for eligible city residents.
MAINE Augusta: The state reported a record number of Lyme disease cases last year, officials say.
MARYLAND Baltimore: A division of the American Library Association has added the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum to its national registry of Literary Landmarks. The museum will host a dedication ceremony Sunday, amid celebration of the 211th anniversary of Poe’s birth.
MASSACHUSETTS New Braintree: Gov. Charlie Baker unveiled legislation aimed at overhauling the way Massachusetts State Police hires, promotes and disciplines troopers.
MICHIGAN Detroit: Pens and pencils – which were prohibited in the 36th District Court in Detroit – are no longer contraband.
MINNESOTA Minneapolis: A report by the Environmental Working Group finds that 1 in 8 Minnesotans is drinking nitrate-tainted tap water, according to the Star Tribune.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The state Supreme Court’s confirmation of a 12-year prison sentence for an African American man who carried his mobile phone into a county jail cell is being slammed as a brutal example of racial injustice.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday reaffirmed his support for gun rights in the face of a spike in violence in the state’s biggest cities.
MONTANA Bozeman: Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport saw more passengers than ever in 2019 even as Yellowstone National Park reported a dip in visitation.
NEBRASKA Omaha: Health officials say they’re investigating a string of tuberculosis cases in the area.
NEVADA Gerlach: The rural desert town that sold 1.16 million gallons of water during Burning Man last year is thirsty for a little more money in exchange for its most precious resource. The General Improvement District for the 100-person town has approved a 2-cent increase, to 7 cents a gallon, for large-scale water vendors the week of Burning Man.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated eight of the state’s counties as primary natural disaster areas in response to the fluctuating temperatures this past year that left poor conditions for crops, New Hampshire Public Radio reports.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: The state’s child poverty rate rose slightly in 2018 despite improvements in the state’s economy, a child-advocacy group says. The 2019 New Mexico Kids Count Data Book found 26% of the state’s children at or below the federal poverty line, making the state 49th nationally. NEW YORK Albany: The state has become the 10th to allow adopted adults unrestricted access to their original birth certificates.
NORTH CAROLINA Princeville: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to spend $39.6 million to help preserve this town founded by freed slaves that’s been damaged repeatedly by floodwaters.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Gov. Doug Burgum sees progress in state government’s relationship with American Indian tribes, but he acknowledges there is more work to do. Updated agreements for child welfare services for Native American families and the display of tribal flags at the Capitol are among the moves Burgum cited.
OHIO Columbus: Ohio’s Statehouse would join a small number of others around the country with outdoor monuments dedicated to real women in U.S. history under a proposal to create a memorial to Ohio women who fought for voting rights.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The death penalty would no longer be a sentencing option in the state under a bill filed this week.
OREGON Salem: The GOP leader in the state Senate says there could be another walkout by Republicans over legislation aimed at stemming global warming.
PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: A divided state House voted Wednesday to ban the use of handheld phones for all drivers to make calls, although police would not be allowed to stop motorists for that reason alone.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: Dozens of stolen Native American arrowheads have been returned to a museum after nearly 30 years.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: As the state’s Democrats seek to unseat U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, their party unity got a boost Wednesday. Gloria Bromell Tinubu announced she would suspend her campaign and back Democratic National Committee associate chairman and former state party chairman Jaime Harrison.
SOUTH DAKOTA Keystone: President Donald Trump says he might attend a fireworks show returning to Mount Rushmore on July 4. He brushed aside what he claimed were dubious environmental concerns that previously prevented fireworks at the monument carved into a mountain in the sometimes fire-prone Black Hills. “What can burn? It’s stone. Nobody knew why,” Trump said.
TENNESSEE Nashville: The city’s airport saw 18.3 million travelers in 2019, registering a seventh year in a row of record-setting growth.
TEXAS Dallas: An initiative from three of America’s biggest beverage companies to improve the recycling and processing of plastic bottles is kicking off in North Texas with an investment of more than $3 million.
UTAH Salt Lake City: Gov. Gary Herbert has ordered state health officials to stop distributing condoms with cheeky plays on state pride as part of an HIV awareness campaign.
VERMONT Montpelier: The state continues to rank highly in the per capita production of Peace Corps volunteers, the organization says. The latest statistics show Vermont is only behind the District of Columbia.
VIRGINIA Virginia Beach: The city will have to consider multibilliondollar infrastructure projects and other efforts to face the threat of sea-level rise, according to a study presented to the City Council.
WASHINGTON Seattle: Officials want the owners of about 150 lakeside properties to remove docks, landscaping and other amenities in the way of completing the long-anticipated East Lake Sammamish Trail.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Secretary of State Mac Warner says the state has used a $6.5 million federal grant to help upgrade voting systems, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.
WISCONSIN Madison: The state Assembly approved a bill Wednesday designed to help police better deal with time-consuming emergency mental health detentions.
WYOMING Casper: State lawmakers in the new legislative session will again seek to permanently shift the state to daylight saving time.