STATE- BY- STATE

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Birmingham: An Alabama contractor pleaded guilty to explosives storage and record- keeping charges. The case stemmed from Timothy Manley Phifer’s failed 2015 implosion of a 100- year- old smokestack. The effort ended with the structure collapsing on a track hoe.

ALASKA Kenai: A stretch of the Kenai River’s southern bank is getting repaired in time for the sockeye salmon season, The Peninsula Clarion reports. The eroding riverbank has been depositing silt into the water, which can affect salmon.

ARIZONA Willcox: The National Park Service says three southern Arizona attractions drew nearly 200,000 visitors last year who spent $ 11.4 million in nearby communities on lodging, food and gas.

ARKANSAS Fayetteville: An amended indictment removed one charge and added four against a former Arkansas lawmaker and alleged co- conspirators in a bribery case, The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. Jon Woods, an ex- senator, is accused of accepting bribes in return for state grants.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Harriet, the Los Angeles Metro’s tunnel boring machine, was retired at a ceremony last week. Harriet completed tunnel work on the region’s light rail line earlier this month.

COLORADO Denver: Two pilots who crashed a jet into a snowplow while landing at Telluride’s airport during a winter storm told investigators they didn’t know the airport was closed, The

Denver Post reports. No one was hurt in the December 2015 crash.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: An audit says Hartford police failed to report thousands of traffic stops as required by a state law intended to prevent racial profiling. The data says police submitted information on about 2,000 stops, but dispatch logs show about 6,500 stops.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Delaware’s early childhood programs are getting a $ 7.65 million, fiveyear grant. Officials say the funds will support the expansion of high quality early childhood education in Kent and Sussex counties.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A District of Columbia charter school for high school dropouts could be shut down for failing to meet certain goals. The Washington

Post reports that more than twothirds of the Latin American Youth Center Career Academy’s 770 students weren’t on track to earn a GED or get college or career training.

FLORIDA Tampa: Authorities say a jailed Islamic State supporter plotted to kill U. S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich. A grand jury last week indicted Jason Jerome Springer on a charge of threatening to assault or kill the 80- year- old judge by flying an explosive- packed drone into her office, The Tampa Bay Times reports.

GEORGIA Atlanta: Georgia officials have ended restrictions on poultry producers that were enacted after the first confirmation of avian flu in the state’s commercial industry.

HAWAII Honolulu: A union representing 13,500 Hawaii teachers says it reached a tentative agreement with the state on a four- year contract, KHON- TV reports. Negotiations have been ongoing for nine months.

IDAHO Boise: A jet- boat maker accused of taking millions of dollars from customers but never delivering their boats has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and bank fraud, The Idaho Statesman reports.

ILLINOIS Wheaton: A Chicago area military museum is set to reopen this summer after nearly a year of renovations and an $ 8 million redesign. The First Division Museum in Wheaton chronicles the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, established in 1917 and known as the “Big Red One.”

INDIANA North Webster: Kosciusko County’s Lake Webster is the sole source of muskie eggs for a restocking program that’s seeing a surge in young populations of the uncommon fish. Crews trapped 27 muskies under 30 inches long this spring at the lake.

IOWA Waterloo: A once crumbling Waterloo bakery is now opening as a brewery, restaurant and distribution center, The Waterloo- Cedar Falls Courier reports.

KANSAS Preston: Triplet calves are rare enough, but Kansas has seen two sets of them this year on opposite sides of Pratt County, The Hutchinson News reports.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: Officials are seeking candidates to serve on boards that oversee Kentucky Community and Technical College System institutions. In addition, the Office of Boards and Commissions is taking applications for potential trustee and regent positions at public universities.

LOUISIANA Shreveport: Drivers in Shreveport confronted a nearly 11- foot alligator one morning last week. The Caddo Parish sheriff’s office says a passer- by notified authorities that the gator was in the middle of the road when its tail was run over by an 18- wheeler. The gator was put down at the scene.

MAINE Augusta: Ten Maine school districts are getting the instruments and resources needed for modern band programs through the Maine Kids Rock! project.

MARYLAND Salisbury: A Maryland businessman donated $ 5.5 million to Salisbury University. The gift will help fund the school’s new Center for Entrepreneurship, The Daily Record and The Daily Times report.

MASSACHUSETTS Springfield: Military veterans seeking access to health care and better job opportunities are getting help Tuesday at the third annual Wellness to Work Veterans Health and Career Fair at Christ Church Cathedral in Springfield. The event is free.

MICHIGAN Dearborn: The former home of Henry and Clara Ford in Dearborn has received a commitment for $ 10 million from the Ford Foundation for a restoration project. The goal is to make the 17- acre Fair Lane estate look like it did when the automotive pioneer and his wife built it in 1915.

MINNESOTA Duluth: An effort is underway to brand an old bluecollar Duluth neighborhood as a collection of like- minded businesses. Minnesota Public Radio reports at least 25 commercial real estate transactions in the Lincoln Park Craft District since 2014.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Gov. Phil Bryant says Mississippi doesn’t need to spend $ 50,000 on a public relations campaign to tell people that wild hogs are dangerous. So Bryant vetoed that part of the state budget bill last week.

MISSOURI Martinsburg: A Missouri family’s 5- year- old Rottweiler is impounded for disease monitoring after authorities say it mauled a 2- year- old girl and attacked the child’s mother, the Columbia Daily Tribune reports.

MONTANA Butte: A Montana gold mine is seeking state and federal permits to expand. Golden Sunlight proposes mining in a 3.4- mile tunnel north of Whitehall, The Montana Standard reports.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Nebraska’s largest refugee resettlement program will be able to keep its Lincoln and Omaha doors open thanks to a donation by a couple who advocate for refugees, The

Lincoln Journal Star reports.

NEVADA Las Vegas: Las Vegas and Clark County say they’re wrongly included on a Trump administration list of places refusing to comply with federal efforts to find and deport immigrants. The region could lose $ 975,000 in federal grants if the Justice Department decides it isn’t complying.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is compiling a spring moose survey and wants to see photos of the animals taken by the public. The pictures should be taken between May 1 and May 15.

NEW JERSEY Newark: Authorities in Newark are seeking the source of synthetic marijuana that recently sickened about 40 people. Police say no fatalities have been reported but many people were hospitalized with seizures, hallucinations, vomiting and psychosis.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: A former mining and construction equipment plant in Santa Fe will become the site of Meow Wolf’s creative exhibits. The arts production business is expanding nationally, The Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

NEW YORK Albany: Some New York health care providers, drug reform advocates and former users are proposing supervised drug consumption centers. The facilities would allow addicts to shoot up in a safe, secure location under medical supervision.

NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: Charlotte police will stop serving rural areas of Mecklenburg County next year. The move affects 60,000 people who don’t live in Charlotte or one of six

small towns in the county.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: A Bismarck State College nursing program runs simulations in Spanish to boost the cultural skills of nursing students, The Bismarck Tribune reports. With the help of students taking Spanish, nursing students work on asking questions about symptoms and giving explanations to patients.

OHIO Cleveland: Ohio has one of the worst records in the country for keeping up with nursing home inspections, The Plain Dealer reports. The agency that provides inspectors is understaffed.

OKLAHOMA Tulsa: An Oklahoma woman was convicted of burglary and four other charges related to slashing the corpse of her boyfriend’s ex- girlfriend. The corpse of Tabatha Lynch, who died at age 38 of natural causes in April 2015, was slashed in a casket at a Tulsa mortuary.

OREGON Prineville: Oregon officials have lifted the attendance cap to 30,000 for a music and arts festival scheduled to coincide with a solar eclipse Aug. 21, The Bulletin reports. The Aug. 17- 23 festival is set for 200 acres in the Ochoco National Forest.

PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: Police in Philadelphia arrested 22 people in a weekend raid on the “Philly Smoke Session,” a marijuana event organized on social media. Authorities say the size of the crowd made the event a fire hazard.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: A popular seasonal ferry service across Narragansett Bay between Providence and Newport will run for six weeks longer this year. The Rhode Island Department of Transportation says the ferry also will have more daily trips.

SOUTH CAROLINA Bennetts

ville: Police say a man went to the home of Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon last week and tried to kick down his door while making death threats and racial slurs. Charles Robinson, who is white, is charged with threatening a public official and trying to break into a home. Lemon is black.

SOUTH DAKOTA Montrose: Some 15,000 turkeys died when a fire destroyed their South Dakota barn last week. The barn’s roof was already collapsed by the time firefighters arrived, KELO- TV reports.

TENNESSEE Knoxville: A request by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office for 900 computer tablets for jail inmates has been approved. Officials say the tablets make the jail safer and give inmates access to their families.

TEXAS Portland: Exxon Mobil and a Saudi partner plan to build a multi- billion dollar petrochemical plant near the Texas coast. The $ 10 billion facility has an opening scheduled for 2024.

UTAH Salt Lake City: A Utah Department of Corrections official says an investigation into the Daggett County jail involves “serious, criminal” claims. Allegations of mistreatment led to the transfers of 80 inmates.

VERMONT Hubbardton: Vermont’s best town plan of the year award goes to Hubbardton. The Rutland Herald reports that the Vermont Planners Association praised local planners for going door- to- door to promote a forum that was attended by 90 people.

VIRGINIA Chatham: A Virginia home designated as a national historic landmark was severely damaged in a fire last week. The Danville Register and Bee reports that only an older brick portion of the Philip Craft House in Pittsylvania County was left standing.

WASHINGTON Seattle: The Cowlitz Indian Tribe is opening its $ 510 million casino this week near La Center. Cowlitz officials hope the complex will provide an economic boon to the region.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The state has revoked the operating permit of West Virginia Business College. Officials cite the college’s failure to gain accreditation for the 2017- 18 school year and inability to offer students financial aid.

WISCONSIN Racine: Signs have gone up in Racine to guide visitors to buildings designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The signs are part of the statesponsored Frank Lloyd Wright Trail, which highlights Wrightdesigned buildings throughout his home state of Wisconsin, The Racine Journal Times reports.

WYOMING Cody: The Cody City Council has approved the return of gunfight re- enactments as long as The Cody Gunfighters have a safety manager responsible for the performances, The Cody Enterprise reports. The re- enactments ended last July after three spectators were hurt when an actor used live ammo instead of blanks.