News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: A proposed sales tax holiday for guns, ammunition and supplies would cost the state’s Education Trust Fund and General Fund about $550,000 annually, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. The state has a sales tax holiday for school supplies and another for emergency preparedness items on the books.

ALASKA Fairbanks: The wind, rain, snow and ice won’t be quite as much of a nuisance for bus riders in Fairbanks and North Pole. The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly voted this week to build up to 20 bus stop shelters. They are projected to cost about $30,000 each with another $15,000 to $19,000 added for five shelters that will have electricity.

ARIZONA Phoenix: Rising home values in the Phoenix areas mean fewer homeowners are underwater on their mortgages. Home values reported by Zillo, a real-estate tax company, indicate that 22% of the Phoenix area’s homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. That’s down from more than 60% in late 2011 and about 40% a year ago.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Actor Jeff Bridges visited Stephens Elementary School on Monday to highlight the success it and the state has had in distributing breakfast to low-income children. Bridges is the spokesman for the No Kid Hungry campaign.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: A man who pleaded no contest to stealing from Lindsay Lohan and Audrina Patridge has been arrested on suspicion of having a gun — a violation of his parole. Nicholas Prugo, 23, was taken into custody last week.

COLORADO Denver: Colorado and New Mexico have teamed up with Native American tribes and several federal agencies to conserve the Rio Grande cutthroat trout. Officials signed an updated conservation agreement earlier this month. CONNECTICUT New London: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is delivering an address today at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Scalia, 78, also is expected to participate in academic seminars with cadets. DELAWARE Cape Henlopen: Josh Seehorn, 27, of Athens, Ga., walked about 4,800 miles from Point Reyes National Seashore in California during his 360-day trek to Cape Henlopen State Park. He walked the American Discovery Trail to raise awareness about the North American Envirothon, an environmental education program and competition for high school students.

DISTRICT DISTRICT OF OF COLUMBIA: COLUMBIA: The city saw the fastest growth in the USA in the number of K-12 students receiving free breakfast at school from 2009-13, The The Wash- Wash

ington ington Post Post reported. The rate ballooned by 72%, from 20,431 participating students to 35,038.

FLORIDA Orlando: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is holding the first of four public meetings today at DeLand City Hall to discuss how people can get involved in the conservation of black bears. Other meetings will be Wednesday in Fort McCoy, Thursday in Palatka and March 25 in Gainesville.

GEORGIA Atlanta: A historic Atlanta building is being torn down because of damage it sustained in a crash.

HAWAII Honolulu: A historic Oahu home is being opened up to generate revenue for state parks. The Nutridge Estate was built in 1922 and used for Hawaii’s macadamia nut industry. The state will make at least $4,700 a month in lease rent from operator Discover Hawaii Tours.

IDAHO IDAHO Coeur Coeur d’Alene: d’Alene: The Coeur d’Alene Tribe donated $1.2 million to 52 educational programs in Idaho.

ILLINOIS ILLINOIS Des Des Plaines: Plaines: Travelers and spectators made a last trip to the Des Plaines Oasis atop Interstate 90. It closed Sunday. The rest stop along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway opened in 1959 and initially was a destination point for people taking road trips to the suburbs.

INDIANA West Lafayette:

Purdue University is inviting graduates who’ve been astronauts on NASA missions to return a campus reunion and a public forum next month. Purdue has had 23 graduates become astronauts. The astronauts will be on campus April 10 and 11, meeting with students and faculty.

IOWA Cedar Rapids: Public Works Maintenance Manager Craig Hanson said Ellis Road NW was closed because of ice jams on the Cedar River.

KANSAS Wichita: The FBI has joined with local police in a bid to target Wichita’s most violent gang members.

KENTUCKY Grayson: Democratic state Sen. Robin Webb of Grayson is proposing a bluegrass heritage trail. If approved by the Legislature, the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet would create the trail, which would identify venues, festivals, and noteworthy sites that feature bluegrass music.

LOUISIANA Mer Rouge: North Louisiana Wildlife Refuge Complex officials want to purchase about 30 acres adjacent to Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge near here that was once leased to the them by International Paper.

MAINE Augusta: State officials said it appears most landlords around Maine are trying to comply with a new requirement that they test for radon, but most waited until the last minute. Bob Stilwell head of the radon program, for the state, said his office was getting hundreds of calls per day in the days before the March 1 deadline. MARYLAND Upper Marlboro: The Prince George’s Board of Education voted to enter into a partnership with the Internationals Network for Public Schools and CASA de Maryland in hopes of obtaining a $3 million grant from the Carnegie Corp. to open two high schools for English-language learners, The Wash

ington Post reported.

MASSACHUSETTS Dalton: State environmental officials said the invasive, tree-killing emerald ash borer is spreading faster than anticipated within Berkshire County and now poses a greater threat to eastern Massachusetts.

MICHIGAN Howell: Howell High School reprimanded students involved in posting racist messages on Twitter after the school’s nearly all-white basketball team defeated Grand Blanc, a team with black and white players.

MINNESOTA St.

Paul: The state Department of Human Services has budgeted $1.8 million for the possible costs of a court-ordered evaluation of the state sex-offender program.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: Jackson State University, the NAACP and other groups are sponsoring a two-day meeting to discuss issues related to black families. The meeting will take place today and Wednesday at JSU’s E-Center. MISSOURI Cape Girardeau: Three people face municipal charges after walking into a mall while openly displaying guns.

MONTANA MONTANA Great Great Falls: Falls: The Great Great Falls Falls Tribune Tribune plans to publish the names of the top violators who haven’t paid their city parking tickets. But the newspaper reports it will hold off until March 26 to give scofflaws an opportunity to pay up.

NEBRASKA NEBRASKA Fairbury: Fairbury: A 7-yearold girl died after being hit by a car. Police Chief Chad Sprunk said Joseph Hynek, 69, told officers the girl walked into his car’s path and he couldn’t stop in time.

NEVADA Las Vegas: The iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign has gone green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and local officials changed the sign’s yellow bulbs to green on Thursday and will keep them until today.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Dover: A store at a New Hampshire farm that closed several years ago after an 11-generation family put the business up for sale has reopened under new ownership. Foster’s

Daily Democrat reported Tendercrop Farm opened its store doors on Saturday, selling meat, produce, and baked goods.

NEW JERSEY Toms River:

Homeless encampments at the Jersey Shore were reeling from a fire death at Tent City in Lakewood, which is in the process of being shut down, and a threat to shut down another near the Garden State Parkway. The fire victim’s name has not been disclosed. NEW MEXICO Jemez Springs: Sportsmen face a deadline this week for applying for a chance to hunt elk on the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve. The preserve is offering 226 elk hunting permits through a computerized drawing and entries must be received by midnight Wednesday.

NEW YORK New York: Nearly 275 egg sculptures will be hidden around the city April 1-17 as part of The Fabergé Big Egg Hunt. The eggs are more than 2 feet tall and were created by famous artists and designers like Tommy Hilfiger and Jeff Koons. NORTH NORTH CAROLINA CAROLINA Cherokee: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park needs volunteers to assist visitors near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center from midApril through mid-November. Orientation is April 4. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Farmers’ compliance with state and federal pesticide laws and regulations is at a record level for a second straight year.

OHIO Dayton: During a threeyear period, state prison officials filed 10,000 code-of-conduct violations against inmates for possessing items used to tattoo other inmates, according to the

Dayton Daily News.

OKLAHOMA Moore: An appeals court ruled that a mother is not entitled to recover any damages after her 7-year-old daughter spilled hot gravy on her leg after buying a meal from a Whataburger restaurant’s drive-through window.

OREGON Portland: Vandals broke two windows at a Multnomah County probation office after a protest march organized to protest police brutality. PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: Police said there were no major criminal incidents or problems during the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, or at cele- brations afterward, though 71 people were arrested or cited, mostly for alcohol-related infractions. RHODE ISLAND Providence: Rhode Island College is offering counseling to students and flying flags at half-staff as it mourns an English professor who was struck and killed by a pickup truck. Jennifer Cook, 43, of Providence was walking with her mother in Syracuse when the truck struck them. Cook was an associate professor of English and taught aspiring teachers. SOUTH SOUTH CAROLINA CAROLINA Columbia: Columbia: U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles’ office is sponsoring the 11th Annual Project Sentry Logo Contest, which gives students a chance to show how they prevent gun violence in school by designing a logo for upcoming publications. The deadline is April 4.

SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: The Capitol is void of lawmakers as crews work to restore the building ’s stained-glass skylights.

TENNESSEE TENNESSEE Memphis: Memphis: The struggling Memphis Symphony Orchestra expects to finish out the season thanks to some financial help. Symphony CEO and President Roland Valliere told

The The Commercial Commercial Appeal Appeal that the organization has gotten two $100,000 donations and the Memphis Symphony Musicians have held several benefit concerts.

TEXAS Lubbock: Marc McDougal, a city-contracted developer, is looking for ways to fund a light rail that could link Texas Tech University with downtown, helping revitalize the city’s center.

UTAH Salt Lake City: The Mormon church is warning women pushing for gender equality that they will may not protest in Temple Square next month during a biannual conference. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints told the members of Ordain Women that if they insist on going forward, they’ll need to protest in a zone set aside for protesters on the street.

VERMONT Burlington: Striking bus drivers said they’re ready to stay on the picket line until they get what they consider to be a fair contract. Almost 70 drivers for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority went on strike early Monday, leaving about 9,500 people who ride the bus every day scrambling.

VIRGINIA VIRGINIA Norfolk: Norfolk: The Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau has started using the name Coastal Virginia to refer to the Hampton Roads area that includes Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton and Williamsburg in an effort to promote tourism.

WASHINGTON Wapato: Yakima County emergency responders rescued a man from a car that landed in the Yakima River. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: West Virginia Ski Areas Association spokesman Joe Stevens said the latest winter storm has created the best skiing conditions this late in the season in several years. As of Monday morning, Stevens said Snowshoe Mountain, Canaan Valley and Timberline each have received about 8 inches of snow.

WISCONSIN Madison: The University of Wisconsin paid a $35,000 fine to settle about halfa-dozen animal research violations, including burning a cat and euthanizing a dog without notifying the supervising veterinarian.

WYOMING WYOMING Hyattville: Hyattville: The Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site reopened after being closed for a week because of flooding. Compiled from staff and wire reports by Tim Wendel and Dennis Lyons. Design by Michael B. Smith. Graphics by Alejandro Gonzalez.