STATE-BY-STATE
News from across the USA
ALABAMA Tuscaloosa: A new sushi restaurant co-owned by former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron is opening downtown near the university. Co-owner Pete Zimmer tells AL.com that the restaurant’s name, Ajian, is a play on McCarron’s name and the Asian food concept.
ALASKA Anchorage: Federal officials are investigating the death of a humpback whale carried into the harbor of Ketchikan, submerged on the bow of the cruise ship Grand Princess. Princess Cruises said the discovery was a surprise.
ARIZONA Phoenix: A propane truck fire in a rural area on Interstate 17 lasted at least nine hours before the main route between Phoenix and northern Arizona high country was fully reopened Wednesday.
ARKANSAS Cave Springs: Officials in this Arkansas city have decided not to appeal a judge’s decision barring 2016 property tax collections. The ruling means that Cave Springs will lose about $400,000, almost a quarter of its annual budget.
CALIFORNIA Costa Mesa: Residents in an Orange County apartment that was gutted by fire were burning candles and sage to ward off evil spirits before the blaze broke out, the Los Angeles Times reports.
COLORADO Denver: Prosecutors say a former Colorado Republican Party chairman committed voter fraud using his exwife’s identity in the 2016 presidential election, The Greeley Tribune reports. Steve Curtis pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
CONNECTICUT Bridgeport: City officials plan to convert a minor league baseball stadium into an outdoor venue for concerts. Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim says a $15 million public-private partnership will turn the ball park into an amphitheater.
DELAWARE Seaford: Officials say a Harrington man set a new Delaware fishing record June 20 by landing a 36-pound, 3.2-ounce blue catfish. Jordan Chelton caught the fish in the upper Nanticoke River near Seaford using a chunk of menhaden as bait.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: A Washington police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black motorcyclist last year won’t be charged. Officials said the man revved his motorcycle into a police cruiser’s door after a highspeed chase, had an 0.16 blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit, and tested positive for marijuana.
FLORIDA Orlando: A Confederate flag and Confederate money were among the items in a time capsule found when Florida’s “Johnny Reb” soldier statue was moved, WFTV reports.
GEORGIA Gainesville: Two men face theft charges in an investigation of seven boats stolen at Lake Lanier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Authorities say the suspects were seen on surveillance video at the Timberidge community boat dock.
HAWAII Honolulu: An endangered native bat is at the center of a fight over a Hawaii wind farm proposal, Honolulu News Now reports. The developer is seeking a permit for eight or nine wind turbines.
IDAHO Pocatello: Idaho State University President Arthur Vailas says he’ll retire next summer. The announcement this week came three days after the university’s football booster club
said it would withhold more than $80,000 in donations until Vailas and Athletic Director Jeff Tingey leave.
ILLINOIS Springfield: Three families of longtime vendors selling corn dogs and other concessions served as grand marshals for the 2017 Illinois State Fair Twilight Parade. The fair opened Thursday.
INDIANA Evansville: An Evansville man was ordered to pay $650,000 in restitution to investors in his energy drink company. Eric Morgan pleaded guilty to felony fraud charges for using money raised for his Liquid Ninja on personal expenses, the Evansville Courier & Press reports.
IOWA Waterloo: Black Hawk County officials have decided to use $500,000 to help the financially struggling Country View nursing and mental health care center, The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports. Officials say the care center’s funds dipped to less than $85,000 last week.
KANSAS Topeka: Sixteen empty cars on a Union Pacific freight train derailed near downtown Topeka near the Kansas River. Officials tell The Topeka Capital-Journal that no one was injured and rail damage was minimal.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Two Louisville-based foundations each committed $1 million to cover most of the cost of a University of Louisville Foundation audit, The Courier-Journal reports. The auditors reported in June that UofL Foundation officials mismanaged funds.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: A federal judge permanently blocked enforcement of a Louisiana law that prevented foreignborn U.S. citizens from getting married if they couldn’t produce a birth certificate.
MAINE Portland: Federal regulators are scaling back the pace at which fishermen can catch red hake. NOAA has reduced the amount of northern red hake that commercial fishermen can possess from 3,000 pounds to 400 pounds per trip.
MARYLAND College Park: The city has postponed to September a vote on a proposal that allows noncitizen residents to vote in College Park municipal elections, WTOP-FM reports.
MASSACHUSETTS Edgartown: Scientists will perform a necropsy on the carcass of a North Atlantic right whale recovered this week in Edgartown. Authorities tell the Cape Cod Times that the
25-foot whale was in an advanced state of decomposition.
MICHIGAN Detroit: Marygrove College in Detroit is shutting down its undergraduate programs next year due to declining enrollment. Officials say that beginning in January, only master’s degree programs will be offered.
MINNESOTA Stillwater: A lockdown ordered at one of Minnesota’s most secure prisons after a fight broke out among inmates last weekend has eased. By Tuesday, only one of the seven housing units in the Stillwater prison remained on lockdown.
MISSISSIPPI Columbus: Police in Columbus are investigating a home burglary where two men impersonated police officers. Authorities say the men yelled “CPD CPD’ when they broke into the house through a locked back door.
MISSOURI Jefferson City: The Missouri state auditor has alleged that Putnam County Memorial Hospital engaged in a $90 million billing scheme, acting as a shell organization to funnel insurance payments.
MONTANA Billings: A Montana rancher pleaded guilty after his effort to poison coyotes killed a bald eagle, The Billings Gazette reports. Prosecutors say Dale Duwayne Buerkle injected the pesticide carbofuran into calf carcasses to poison coyotes, but a bald eagle and a hawk apparently ate from the carcasses.
NEBRASKA Omaha: The city’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium held an “elphie” contest this week for a chance to win a behind-thescenes elephant experience at the zoo. The contest was held to celebrate World Elephant Day on Saturday.
NEVADA Reno: The Reno Police Department has boosted its enforcement against illegal street racing. Police have arrested 11 people and issued 55 citations in recent weeks. The crackdown includes organizers and spectators who can be fined up to $1,000.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Franklin:
This New Hampshire city has become the first to put a lottery game on the ballot as a way to raise full-day kindergarten funding. The Franklin City Council voted unanimously this week to let residents decide whether to allow keno at bars, the Concord Monitor reports.
NEW JERSEY Parsippany: Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital patients assaulted and injured 13 fellow patients and 12 employees in the first quarter this year, NJ.com reports.
NEW MEXICO Carlsbad: PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the shootings of cattle in the Carlsbad area. The Eddy County Sheriff ’s Office says six cattle were shot and killed on two properties last week.
NEW YORK New York: In a single day, New York City courts threw out more than 640,000 arrest warrants for people who didn’t pay tickets for minor offenses years ago. The warrants that date back a decade or more cite such offenses as riding a bicycle on the sidewalk or being in a park after hours.
NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: Allstate Insurance plans to more than double its North Carolina workforce by expanding in the Charlotte area, creating 2,250 new jobs by 2020.
NORTH DAKOTA Riverdale: A drainage system is being replaced this summer at the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River in North Dakota. Officials say the system that manages natural seepage at the dam was losing effectiveness, The Minot Daily News reports.
OHIO Columbus: Officials say a deadly thrill ride accident on the opening day of this year’s Ohio State Fair contributed to a significant drop in attendance. About 801,000 people attended the fair this year. Last year, more than 920,000 attended.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Supreme Court streamed its proceedings online for the first time this week based on anticipated public interest in cases challenging new taxes and fees, The Oklahoman reports.
OREGON Portland: Authorities say a sheriff ’s deputy shot and killed a goat that escaped from a Portland farm. KPTV reports that the deputy felt threatened by the goat’s size and horns after making several attempts to stop it.
PENNSYLVANIA Pittsburgh: A fired court clerk has sued Allegheny County’s retirement system over qualification guidelines for disability pensions. Susan Donahue says a series of back injuries left her disabled in 2012, but doctors consulted by the retirement system disagreed with her doctors.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: A worker at The Miriam Hospital in Providence is being praised for returning more than $9,000 that accidentally went into the laundry. Steven Ledo noticed $50 and $100 bills billowing out of an open dryer and turned in the money, which belonged to a patient, The Providence Journal reports.
SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia has a new president and chief executive officer. Thomas Stringfellow has been the tourist attraction’s interim leader since June.
SOUTH DAKOTA Pierre: A South Dakota man who stole guitars, tools, and even his grandfather’s pants to search the pockets for cash to support a drug habit was sentenced to probation. Logan Jacobs received a 15-year suspended prison sentence and was ordered to make restitution. The judge called the pants theft “offensive at a gut level.”
TENNESSEE Oak Ridge: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is seeking to cut as many as 350 positions, The Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Officials say the cuts will free resources to modernize lab infrastructure and maintain core research capabilities.
TEXAS Fort Worth: A national physicians’ group has launched an ad campaign criticizing John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth for housing a McDonald’s restaurant. Signs placed by the group on buses say “Your heart’s not lovin’ those cheeseburgers.”
UTAH Salt Lake City: A sandwich shop where a worker was cleared of drugging a police officer’s drink has sued. The owners say Salt Lake City police waited two months to publicly disavow the allegation despite evidence that the officer had no drugs in his system.
VERMONT Williston: Town officials are raising $1.9 million to buy the Catamount Family Outdoor Center as developers eye the property for a residential project, The Burlington Free Press reports.
VIRGINIA Richmond: A man sitting on a bench in downtown Richmond was hospitalized after being struck by an ornamental light pole that fell without warning, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. Officials determined that the pole had been damaged previously.
WASHINGTON Everett: United Airlines plans to offer daily passenger flights from Everett’s Paine Field starting next year. In May, Alaska Airlines also announced that it would begin offering daily flights out of the airport next fall. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The Kanawha County Board of Education is considering a ban on e-cigarettes and all substances containing nicotine from school property, The Charleston GazetteMail reports.
WISCONSIN Loganville: Authorities say a 10-year-old Wisconsin boy fatally shot his 14-year-old brother while playing “cops and robbers” with a rifle they didn’t think was loaded. The magazine had been removed, but the boy didn’t know there was still a round in the chamber.
WYOMING Sheridan: A local rancher is buying six of Sheridan’s bison. The animals are being sold because the herd kept in a pasture above Kendrick Park has grown too large, The Sheridan Press reports. The sale leaves Sheridan with three bison in its herd.