News from across the USA NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte:
ALABAMA Birmingham:
A finalist for Birmingham Schools superintendent, citing “the political climate and controversy,” withdrew after school board members expressed disappointment that none of the five finalists were from the school system or Alabama, AL.com reports.
ALASKA Juneau:
Columbus Day would be known as Indigenous Peoples Day in Alaska under a measure passed by the state Legislature. Columbus Day is a federal holiday but not a state holiday in Alaska.
ARIZONA Phoenix:
Gov. Doug Ducey is moving to fill vacancies on the board overseeing the $36 billion retirement fund covering most Arizona government workers. The board has been unable to do any work since November because it was down to four members and lacked a quorum.
ARKANSAS Danville:
A Chinese pet food company plans to open a plant in Arkansas, bringing 70 jobs to the state. Pet Won Pet Products will locate in a former Danville poultry plant, with production to begin in June.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento:
Supporters of making California an independent nation are ending the effort to put it to a statewide vote next year. The California Nationhood ballot measure has nearly 100,000 registered supporters but needs more than 585,000 signatures to get on the ballot.
COLORADO Durango:
A federal judge will hear arguments this week on the proposed construction of a resort in southern Colorado, The Durango Herald reports. Environmental groups sued to stop a land swap that would allow the project.
CONNECTICUT New Haven:
A federal lawsuit says the Army issued less-than-honorable discharges to potentially thousands of service members without adequately considering the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental conditions. The suit was filed by two Connecticut veterans.
DELAWARE Dover:
The panel that sets Delaware’s official revenue forecast has lowered its projections. WXDE-FM reports that revenue projections were cut by $4.8 million for the current fiscal year and by $11 million for the next fiscal year.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:
Now that Tax Day has passed, it’s time to recognize the state that pays the most per-capita in federal taxes. But it isn’t a state. Top honor goes to the District of Columbia with $37,000 per person in federal income, payroll and estate taxes.
FLORIDA Sunny Isles Beach:
Florida offficials are looking at ways to control the population of green iguanas. The iguanas, native to Latin America, were sold as pets and then escaped or were dumped in the wild, and their numbers have boomed.
GEORGIA Atlanta:
The new Atlanta Braves stadium has its first arrest, The Atlanta JournalConstitution reports. Kevin Thompson of Smyrna was arrested last weekend at SunTrust Park on charges of criminal trespassing, obstructing a law enforcement officer, public intoxication and assault.
Key Hawaii lawmakers plan meetings to resolve differences over vacation rental tax bills. The bills would let websites like Airbnb collect state taxes on behalf of people renting rooms and homes.
The Idaho Lottery is moving to cash in on this summer’s total solar eclipse. Lottery officials plan to commemorate the Aug. 21event by launching a new $5 scratch game called “Eclipse Cash.”
ILLINOIS Chicago:
The Illinois panel tasked with reviewing claims of police torture is overwhelmed with claims and short on funding, The Chicago Tribune reports. A law that expanded the panel’s scope last summer stirred an immediate jump of over 200 claims.
INDIANA Decatur:
This Indiana city is becoming creative with dead trees. Decatur hired artist Scott Lepley to turn the stumps into wood carvings,WANE-TV reports.
IOWA Denver:
A couple is restoring a 150-year-old church believed to be the second-oldest in Iowa’s Black Hawk County. Martha Reineke and William Cozart plan to reopen it as a country wedding chapel and community events center.
KANSAS Winfield:
A spring festival that gives people ideas for Kansas day trips will end its nearly three decade run next month.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Sampler Festival, set for May 6-7 at Winfield’s Island Park, brings representatives from 130 Kansas towns.
KENTUCKY Bowling Green:
A couple reached a $5,000 settlement with Bowling Green after police erroneously served a search warrant on their home last July. The Bowling Green Daily
News reports that Michael and Stacie Hutchison were forced to the floor and handcuffed when officers battered down the door to seek a fraud suspect.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge:
Authorities say five Louisiana teenagers were arrested on suspicion of stealing two horses that appeared to be physically abused. Investigators believe the teens from St. Landry Parish stole the horses from an Opelousas stockyard.
MAINE Portland:
Portland neighbors and developers are battling over the city’s last remaining farmland. The Portland
Press Herald reports that an investor group plans to build 95 single-family homes on the Camelot Farm property. But residents oppose rezoning.
MARYLAND Baltimore:
The Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office says it’s getting overwhelmed as the number of drugrelated deaths related to the opioid crisis increases, The Balti
more Sun reports.
MASSACHUSETTS Revere: Sev-
eral cars in a movie theater parking lot were struck by gunfire during a weekend carnival in Revere. But police say no one was injured.
MICHIGAN East Lansing:
A $62 million expansion project at Michigan State University’s business school will start construction this summer, The Lansing
State Journal reports.
MINNESOTA Rochester:
An estimated 200,000 Mexican citizens live in Minnesota. And that has prompted an increased workload for the Mexican Consulate in St. Paul. Consulate staff processes about 120 documents a day, the
Post-Bulletin reports.
MISSISSIPPI Natchez:
A wildlife biologist is warning people not to feed a young black bear that’s been wandering the streets of downtown Natchez, The Natchez
Democrat reports.
MISSOURI Kansas City:
A Kansas City woman pleaded guilty to entering a sham marriage with a man she thought was an African immigrant but was an informant working for federal agents. The Kansas City Star reports that the defendant is the fifth person charged in an immigration conspiracy investigation.
MONTANA Helena:
As part of a class-action settlement, the Montana University System will soon pay current and former employees who are owed medical insurance claims, The Missoulian reports.
NEBRASKA Louisville:
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission will hold an outdoor recreation event April 28-29 for women. The Beyond Becoming an Outdoors Woman event is set for Platte River State Park.
NEVADA Carson City:
Nevada lawmakers are moving to abolish the state’s garlic and onion, alfalfa seed and organic crop advisory boards. Lawmakers say the groups either never meet or are just unnecessary.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Lebanon:
The toy room at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock will be well stocked for the next six to nine months. That’s due to the generosity of a former patient who’s now a firefighter, Nicholas Koloski.
NEW JERSEY Somerville:
A man who allegedly concealed a woman’s body in a highway median after she died in a New Jersey motel will remain jailed until his trial. David DeSantos is charged with disturbing human remains.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque:
A major transportation project along Albuquerque’s stretch of historic Route 66 has unearthed remnants of the city’s original trolley system. KOB-TV reports that the chunks of steel are being donated to the Albuquerque Museum.
NEW YORK Stillwater:
Part of the Saratoga National Historical Park in upstate New York has been flooded since last year by a million gallons of water and turned into a lake, The Post-Star reports. The source of the water isn’t known. The Salvation Army homeless shelter in Charlotte is asking church congregations to consider taking in some of the single women who have nowhere to stay. The Charlotte Observer reports that the Center of Hope takes in about 400 women and children a night but must turn some away.
NORTH DAKOTA Minot:
The number of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in North Dakota will shrink from 150 to 133 by next February. The reduction comes under a 2010 nuclear arms treaty with Russia, The Minot Daily News reports.
OHIO Dayton:
Seven-decade-old bomber planes rumbled over Ohio this week to mark the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ attack on Japan. The World War II-era B-25s are on display at the National Museum of the Air Force near Dayton.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City:
A tax credit that helped propel Oklahoma to third in the nation in wind-generated electricity will end soon. The measure changes the date that facilities must be in operation to qualify for the credit to July 1, instead of by 2021.
OREGON Eugene:
The Eugenebased nonprofit Veterans Legacy is working to get a camp up and running this summer to house dozens of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder, The Register-Guard reports.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia:
Investigators say a Philadelphia firefighter died in a December 2014 house fire because a hose supplying her with oxygen burned through. The probe also found problems with how Lt. Joyce Craig ’s colleagues responded to her seven emergency distress signals.
RHODE ISLAND Providence:
The contractor that built the Interstate 195 bridge over the Providence River has agreed to pay $500,000 to resolve allegations that railings were improperly installed.
SOUTH CAROLINA Spartanburg:
Mold has once again been found in the Spartanburg County courthouse, forcing more office closures and relocations, the Herald-Journal reports. Five areas have elevated levels of mold and mold spores.
SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls:
Churches in Sioux Falls are working to address the city’s rising poverty rate in an effort to help children and families, The Argus Leader reports. The city’s poverty rate jumped to 14% last year. Empower Sioux Falls hopes to recruit mentors for kids through groups such as Big Brothers Big Sisters.
TENNESSEE Knoxville:
A research team led by the University of Tennessee Knoxville has received a $9.9 million grant from NASA toward the development of a more aerodynamically capable aircraft, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports.
TEXAS Houston:
The Houston Independent School District plans to spend $300,000 for an audit of its special education department. The Houston Chronicle reports that officials want to make sure eligible children in the 215,000-student district get proper instruction.
UTAH Salt Lake City:
A woman believed to be the pajama-wearing robber in at least six bank heists in the Salt Lake City area has been arrested. Police credit a tip in the arrest last weekend of Nannette Louise Perkins, 40. Police said the robber passed notes to tellers and never showed a weapon.
VERMONT Burlington:
Burlington is holding a contest to find a new city flag. WCAX-TV reports that Mayor Miro Weinberger wants a flag that will help unify the community. The current flag was designed in 1990.
VIRGINIA Richmond:
Federal officials are investigating accusations that Richmond public schools more frequently and more harshly punish black and disabled students than their classmates. A complaint was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and the Legal Aid Justice Center.
WASHINGTON Bellevue:
The Bellevue City Council, in a narrow 4-3 vote, approved the area’s first permanent homeless shelter for men. But KING-TV reports that it’s researching other possible locations due to concerns from upset neighbors. The planned location in the Eastgate neighborhood is close to homes and the Bellevue College campus.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston:
Construction has started for Charleston’s long awaited bicycle lanes, The Charleston GazetteMail reports. The lanes will stretch along Kanawha Boulevard with removal of and paving along a grassy median.
WISCONSIN Madison:
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that legalizes possession of a marijuana extract used to treat seizures. Parents of children who suffer from seizures have pushed for access to Cannabidiol oil for years. The oil does not produce a high.
WYOMING Casper:
About twothirds of Casper police officers say they have no confidence in the leadership of Police Chief Jim Wetzel, The Casper Star-Tribune reports. The no confidence vote came last week. Critics cite the chief ’s leadership style and say city officials wouldn’t address the chief ’s problems, despite repeated complaints.