STATE-BY-STATE MAINE

Portland:

ALABAMA Dothan: The city is looking at mandatory spaying or neutering of pets before adoption, instead of just having owners promise to do so, The Dothan Eagle reports.

ALASKA Kenai: A state health analysis finds that about 6% of patients accounted for $148 million in hospital emergency department spending in 2016, The Peninsula Clarion reports.

ARIZONA Tucson: Conservation groups have sued the U.S. Forest Service to stop a proposed open-pit copper mine near Tucson. The suit says the Rosemont mine would destroy Coronado National Forest land and threaten water resources.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: The state Supreme Court has rejected using legislator-directed grants from the state’s surplus funds, a move that threatens plans for a monument honoring Gold Star families, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.

CALIFORNIA Santa Ana: A woman convicted of conspiring to kill her identical twin sister was paroled after nearly two decades in prison.

COLORADO Telluride: Classes are back in session at Telluride High School under heightened security amid a probe of social media threats.

CONNECTICUT Fairfield: The Halliwell family may have to turn off its intricate Christmas display of 300,000 lights because of neighbors’ complaints about traffic and parking, The Connecticut Post reports.

DELAWARE Bear: State Police are investigating the death of a man who was struck by a car last week on a road where people flock every year to see elaborate Christmas displays.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The White House previewed its Christmas decorations this week. First lady Melania Trump opted for a traditional decor but added wreaths hanging from the exterior of every window.

FLORIDA Lakeland: A train hauling molten sulfur derailed Monday, prompting Polk County officials to ask nearby residents to shut off airconditioners and close windows.

GEORGIA Columbus: The city may get its first solar farm, The LedgerEnquirer reports.

HAWAII Wailuku: A Maui County Council member wants a pilot project to allow people to sleep in their vehicles overnight at South Maui Regional Park, The Maui News reports.

IDAHO Boise: State Police are providing overdose reversal kits that troopers can administer to police dogs at risk of inhaling harmful substances in searches, KTVB-TV reports. ILLINOIS Chicago: Chicago State University students are temporarily staying in hotels after a residence hall pipe burst, leaving the building without heat or hot water. INDIANA Jeffersonville: State regulators fined Autoneum North America $224,000 for alleged safety violations that were discovered following a worker’s death, The News and Tribune reports.

IOWA Fort Dodge: A man was ordered to repay $12,400 to his former employer and $11,500 to the Iowa Lottery for stolen scratch tickets, The Messenger reports.

KANSAS Lawrence: Vandals damaged a stone buffalo sculpture that was decorated for the holidays near a busy city intersection, The Lawrence Journal-World reports.

KENTUCKY Frankfort: The Kentucky Talking Book Library received the James Carl Dotson award this month for providing access to literacy, information, recreation and community to blind and visually impaired people around the state.

LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: John Schroeder will be sworn in as new state treasurer on Dec. 5, following his Nov. 18 special election victory.

The Audubon Society says the 2017 nesting season was the most productive on record for Maine puffins in the Eastern Egg Rock colony. MARYLAND Annapolis: Police say a man reported by his family as missing showed up at a bank and tried to rob it, Capital Gazette reports.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A new state law creates tougher penalties for people who fraudulently use handicapped parking placards.

MICHIGAN Flint: City Council member Eric Mays, accused of pawning his publicly owned laptop nine times, was ordered to pay $300 and put in a week of sheriff ’s work detail service, Flint Journal reports.

MINNESOTA Bemidji: Authorities say the bodies of a missing couple were pulled from Upper Red Lake. The pair were ice fishing when they failed to return to Rogers Resort. MISSISSIPPI Oxford: Police are asking city leaders to set a

1 a.m. closing time for restaurants to sell alcohol Monday through Saturday, for consistency. The cutoff now varies, The Oxford Eagle reports.

MISSOURI Crestwood: Police are looking for thieves who broke into a gun shop, stole rifles, and fired shots at a worker at a neighboring business. The worker wasn’t hurt.

MONTANA Helena: Two weeks after state lawmakers addressed a $227 million budget gap, S&P Global Ratings has maintained Montana’s AA bond rating, The Independent Record reports.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Gov. Pete Ricketts has unveiled the design for the state’s new anti-abortion license plates. The “Choose Life” plates will be available starting in January.

NEVADA Pahrump: Authorities say a man suspected of stealing 30 cans of beer in an armed robbery was found by sheriff ’s deputies responding to a call for medical assistance. The Nye County sheriff ’s office says Daniel Weldon suffered a self-inflicted pellet-gun wound.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham: The University of New Hampshire’s Agricultural Experiment Station has donated almost 5,000 heads of lettuce and 1,100 pounds of fish grown in aquaponics systems to food pantries and other places.

NEW JERSEY Cherry Hill: A car dealership will pay $150,000 to settle a case alleging that Chinese technicians were paid less than other workers, Philly.com reports.

NEW MEXICO Taos: Carson National Forest officials are investigating vandalism in the Miranda Canyon area. A metal gate intended to stop dumping of household trash and construction debris was torn down.

NEW YORK New York: Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a repeal this week of a 91-year-old “cabaret” law that banned dancing at most nightspots.

NORTH CAROLINA Cullowhee: Western Carolina University Chancellor David Belcher goes on medical leave Dec. 31 because of brain cancer.

NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: North Dakota State University police are investigating pellet gun vandalism at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex and elsewhere on campus, KFGO reports.

OHIO Rocky River: Authorities say divers found the body of a man who went over a cliff and into the Rocky River while running from police.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Officials say a proposal for a temporary tax to fund teacher pay raises fell short of signatures needed to qualify for a vote, The Oklahoman reports.

OREGON Salem: A coalition of Willamette Valley governments are close to hiring a coordinator to help manage the growing homeless population, The Statesman Journal reports.

PENNSYLVANIA Upper Darby: Police in this Philadelphia suburb say a 75-year-old blind man was beaten and robbed last weekend.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Information technology outsourcing firm Infosys says it’s opening a design and innovation hub here and plans to add 500 jobs in the next five years.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: A University of South Carolina report shows that the state’s drug monitoring program is reducing the number of opioid prescriptions written for Medicaid recipients, The Post and Courier reports.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pine Ridge: Oglala Sioux tribal police say they uncovered a liquor bootlegging operation on the reservation, KOTA-TV reports.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Plans to rebuild guest lodging at Tennessee’s largest state park were approved, The Chattanooga Times Free Press says. TEXAS Houston: Wind power capacity in Texas has surpassed that of coal, The Houston Chronicle reports.

UTAH Ogden: The city is looking to use a $400,000 federal transportation grant to support commercial air service to Dallas, Denver and Seattle, The StandardExaminer reports.

VERMONT Montpelier: A University of Vermont student suspended this fall after being accused of groping a female student at an off-campus party is suing the school.

VIRGINIA Portsmouth: A judge refused to dismiss an indictment of a City Council member facing fraud and forgery charges after meeting behind closed doors with attorneys.

WASHINGTON Kennewick: Authorities are considering charges against a man accused of shooting a goose from a car at Columbia Park, The Tri-City Herald reports.

WEST VIRGINIA Bluefield: Authorities say an 8-year-old boy accidentally locked himself inside a gun safe at a farm supply store. A locksmith was called in to cut around the lock.

WISCONSIN Madison: State tree farmers say they’ll have enough Christmas trees to meet demand this year despite shortages elsewhere, Wisconsin Public Radio reports. WYOMING Jackson Hole: Hundreds of trumpeter swans have made their annual migration to winter in National Elk Refuge marshes, The Jackson Hole News And Guide reports. Biologists counted a record 437 swans.