USA TODAY International Edition
50 ★ States
ALABAMA Birmingham: Months of headaches for daily commuters, longhaul drivers and downtown businesses have come to an end with the reopening of Interstate 59/ 20 through the city. Officials opened the westbound lanes Friday night after a ribbon- cutting ceremony, and both sides were open by Sunday night.
ALASKA Anchorage: A dentist who gained notoriety after he was seen in a video riding a hoverboard and pulling teeth was convicted Friday of defrauding the Alaska Medicaid program. Seth Lookhart was convicted of 46 counts, including felony medical assistance fraud and scheming to defraud, as well as misdemeanor counts of illegally practicing dentistry and reckless endangerment, prosecutors said.
ARIZONA Phoenix: The state’s budding hemp- growing industry is suffering growing pains as levels of THC that are too high force some farmers to destroy crops instead of harvesting them. About 41% of hemp plants tested for THC, the compound that gives marijuana its high, have failed, according to the Arizona Department of Agriculture’s Plant Services Division, which oversees the program.
ARKANSAS Pine Bluff: Prison officials said Sunday that a state prison inmate has died after being found hanging in his cell.
CALIFORNIA San Francisco: The San Francisco Zoo is holding an online contest to name its newest koala, and it’s pledging to donate the proceeds to save wildlife affected by Australia’s deadly wildfires.
COLORADO Denver: A proposal to rewrite the state’s rules for workplace harassment claims is expected to be introduced soon at the Capitol. It would change things for employers by limiting the use of confidentiality agreements in court and potentially making businesses liable even if a person doesn’t come forward internally before filing a lawsuit. The bill would also change things for employees by allowing independent contractors, subcontractors and unpaid interns to file harassment claims, Colorado Public Radio reports.
CONNECTICUT New London: More than $ 56 million has been raised to build a Coast Guard museum along the waterfront downtown.
DELAWARE Wilmington: Long- proposed plans to outfit police in the city with body cameras may now hinge on negotiations with the police union. The union has told the mayor’s administration any disciplinary procedures or consequences stemming from a body camera program would constitute a condition of employment that must be negotiated before officers begin wearing them.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Amtrak has apologized to civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill after she said she was asked to give up her seat on a train at the start of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: State lawmakers are transmitting a news bulletin: The telegraph era is over. A state House committee agreed unanimously last week to repeal old statutes regulating the industry.
GEORGIA Atlanta: The state Department of Public Health says dozens of counties will share $ 166,000 in grant money to buy child car seats.
HAWAII Honolulu: Tax collections in the state were up by about 5% last year, a report says.
IDAHO Boise: Boise Fry Co. is adding crickets to the selection of seasoningsalt mixtures it offers customers to sprinkle on their french fries. The locally owned restaurant chain debuted four new salt blends last week that include pulverized crickets, the Idaho Statesman reports. The response has been overwhelming, with reactions mostly positive, though some people are a little skittish, CEO Brad Walker says.
ILLINOIS Chicago: The Museum of Science and Industry is marking the 50th anniversary of a program honoring the achievements of African Americans in science, technology, engineering, art and medicine and encouraging young people to consider those fields. The Black Creativity program, which began Monday and runs through March 1, includes hands- on activities for school groups and a museum exhibit featuring more than 200 works by black artists.
INDIANA Indianapolis: The state has just seen the biggest decrease in its infant mortality rate in six years, officials say. In 2018, 7.3 out of every 1,000 babies born in Indiana died in their first year of life – one of the highest rates in the nation. Last year, the rate fell to 6.8 per 1,000.
IOWA Des Moines: The state’s industries recovered from the Great Recession at a rate less than half that of the national average, a new Iowa State University paper finds.
KANSAS Lawrence: A task force has recommended steps for the Greek organizations at the University of Kansas to take to eliminate hazing and to connect more with the community. Chancellor Douglas Girod says the task force strongly supported Greek life despite national concerns about hazing and substance abuse, The Lawrence Journal- World reports.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Researchers are launching a three- year study of elk in the Bluegrass State. The University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources are teaming up on the study, WFPL radio reports.
LOUISIANA Lafayette: The National Endowment for the Humanities will provide up to $ 125,000 to help restore the Roy House, the oldest building at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
MAINE Portland: The state’s smelts, a small fish beloved by ice fishermen, appear to be continuing a rebound in population after years of decline.
MARYLAND Annapolis: In 1962, Verda Freeman Welcome was a civil rights pioneer, a teacher and the first black woman in the country elected to a state senate. Last week, she became the first black person to have a portrait hung in a chamber of the Maryland State House.
MASSACHUSETTS Springfield: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is closing to the public for nearly two months in early February for the final phase of a $ 23 million renovation project.
MICHIGAN Lansing: Some state lawmakers believe the federal government should open Isle Royale National Park to moose hunters. MLive. com reports the House Natural Resources Committee heard testimony last week on a resolution supporting a limited moose hunt on the Lake Superior island. A vote could come at the next meeting.
MINNESOTA Duluth: Striking snowplow drivers say they’ve come to terms with St. Louis County on a new contract.
MISSISSIPPI Hattiesburg: The mayor is moving forward with a plan to install a camera surveillance system across town as a way to reduce crime.
MISSOURI Arnold: A couple who had been together for nearly 65 years have died on the same day at a nursing home. Jack and Harriet Morrison’s beds were placed next to each other in their final hours, allowing them to hold hands, the St. Louis Post- Dispatch reports.
MONTANA Helena: Members of the state House of Representatives have evaluated two chair designs to replace seating that has been used by lawmakers for more than a century. The current chairs in the House are uncomfortable, unstable and have broken on occasion, sending a lawmaker tumbling to the floor.
NEBRASKA Ogallala: The Game and Parks Commission is delaying action on a set of restrictions that would drastically limit overnight campers and beachgoers at the state’s largest reservoir, Lake McConaughy in western Nebraska.
NEVADA Pyramid Lake: State wildlife officials and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe teamed up last week to release 20 bighorn sheep into the hills above the desert lake on tribal land in an effort to reintroduce the species to part of its native habitat for the first time in nearly a century.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: The state’s Democratic congressional delegation says New Hampshire will get more than $ 700,000 in federal funding to help youth suicide prevention efforts.
NEW JERSEY New Brunswick: Rutgers University is planning to name Jonathan Holloway, the current provost of Northwestern University, as its 21st president on Tuesday, according to NJ Advance Media. Holloway, 52, will be the state university’s first black president.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Plans are in the works to redevelop another dilapidated hotel along the longest urban stretch of historic Route 66, but this project on the edge of downtown will be bankrolled in a unique way. ARRIVE Hotels & Restaurants, the California- based hotel and entertainment company behind the effort, is partnering with investment platform NextSeed to raise $ 6 million through local crowdfunding to pay for part of the project at The Hotel Blue.
NEW YORK Albany: Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced a new Census Council that will oversee outreach and other efforts to make sure the upcoming census counts as many New Yorkers as possible. The Democrat said LinManuel Miranda, Lucy Liu and Martin Luther King III have been tapped to co- chair the new council.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The state’s online archival military collection now includes installation camp newsletters and newspapers that contain little- known information about life during World War II.
NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Ten communities in the state will use part of a settlement with Volkswagen to build electric vehicle charging stations.
OHIO Nelsonville: The ongoing theft of historic bricks has frustrated officials who spent a lot of time tracking down the bricks for downtown sidewalks. At least 50 Nelsonville Star Bricks have been taken since early January, city manager Chuck Barga says. The bricks are a legacy of Nelsonville’s brick- making history and won first prize at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: A top Republican legislator wants to eliminate the state Board of Corrections after a former board member allegedly overstepped his authority. Sen. Roger Thompson, R- Okemah, has pre- filed legislation to get rid of the nine- member board.
OREGON Portland: Marijuana sales in Oregon along the Idaho state line are 420% the statewide average, according to a state report. Idaho residents are purchasing recreational marijuana in Oregon because it is illegal in their own state, says the report released Friday by the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: The union representing public school teachers in the city is suing the district over its handling of asbestos contamination in schools.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: A state representative is pushing for a bill that would allow school districts to raise money for extracurricular activities, including field trips and dances. Rep. Joseph McNamara, D- Warwick, said many districts canceled field trips last year after the state’s former education commissioner established a policy that school departments may not charge students to participate in public school field trips. Schools interpreted that to mean no fundraising could be done either, McNamara said.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The group that awards accreditation to the University of South Carolina has determined Gov. Henry McMaster had undue influence on last year’s search for a new president. The determination by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools means the university will be visited by a special committee from the group, The State newspaper reports.
SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: Arrests for drugs, aggravated assaults and vehicle thefts are the highest they’ve been since 2012, the city’s police chief says.
TENNESSEE Memphis: Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech Sunday in remembrance of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at a service at the Holy City Church of God.
TEXAS Bellaire: Police have found the gun they believe a 16- year- old student used to fatally shoot his classmate last week, officials said. Police characterized the shooting in an ROTC room at Bellaire High School last Tuesday as an accident.
VERMONT Montpelier: The state Senate approved a paid family leave bill by enough votes to override a potential veto by Gov. Phil Scott. The legislation now heads to the House.
VIRGINIA Fort Belvoir: Plans are underway to completely dismantle the first nuclear power facility that provided electricity to the U. S. power grid. In December, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed fully removing the SM- 1 Reactor Facility at Fort Belvoir, WTOP reports. The project will now go out to bid and is expected to begin in 2021 with a projected end date of 2025.
WASHINGTON Seattle: The Washington State Ferries saw ridership fall 3.2% last year, held down by February’s snowstorm and ongoing waterfront construction and alternative ferry service from Kitsap Transit.
WEST VIRGINIA Fort Gay: The community has passed a resolution declaring itself a “Second Amendment sanctuary.” The Fort Gay town council passed the resolution Friday night, news outlets report.
WISCONSIN Madison: Gov. Tony Evers says he wants lawmakers to pass a package of bills aimed at curbing youth vaping and educating the public about vaping’s dangers.
WYOMING Cheyenne: State regulators have issued a one- time permit for a company to test whether its technology to treat oil drilling and manufacturing wastewater can help vegetation grow on a farm. The Department of Environmental Quality permit issued this month allows Encore Green Environmental to apply about 7,000 barrels of the treated water to private farmland outside Pine Bluffs. The company says on its website that it wants to solve the problem of too much oil and manufacturing wastewater being produced at industrial sites while nearby agricultural lands are in need of water.