News from across the USA

ALABAMA

Florence: Local supporters are seeking historic markers for two pioneering black congressmen born in Florence, The TimesDaily reports. James Rapier served one term during Reconstruction. Oscar DePriest, a Chicago investor, was the first black elected to Congress from outside the South.

ALASKA

Wasilla: The rescue group Valley Aquatics has taken in Allie, a four-foot alligator that outgrew its tub home in this Alaska town. Valley Aquatics owner Sheridan Perkins says she’s thinking about moving Allie in a friendlier habitat: Florida.

ARIZONA

Williams: Kaibab National Forest officials are seeking public input on issuing a new permit for Elk Ridge Ski Area to reflect that the 37-acre site is being purchased by Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff.

ARKANSAS

Little Rock: Gov. Asa Hutchinson says he’ll oppose any highway funding ballot initiative that calls for tapping into general revenue for roads. He says diverting revenue from car sales or auto parts would put a big hole in funding for other needs such as education.

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles: Authorities say a man who went missing from an outpatient psychiatric program is back in Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino, The Los Angeles Daily News reports. Charles Henry Bowshier was committed after decapitating his older brother with pruning shears in 1993.

COLORADO

Durango: The owners of HomeSlice Pizza are taking down their bathroom signs that show a man lifting up a woman’s skirt, The Durango Herald reports. Critics who saw a photo of the signs on social media complained that they’re offensive and promote sexual assault.

CONNECTICUT

Hartford: A key figure in a drug ring that obtained thousands of oxycodone pills through fake prescriptions was sentenced to more than eight years in prison. Prosecutors say Brian Page used information stolen from doctors and other medical professionals to print prescriptions that appeared real.

DELAWARE

Dover: A Sussex Technical High School teacher of English is Delaware’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. Virginia Forcucci was selected this week from among 20 candidates.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:

In a public service announcement, first lady Melania Trump urges the public to continue donations to help victims of recent hurricanes. The announcement, done in conjunction with FEMA, directs viewers to an online list of disaster response groups.

FLORIDA

West Palm Beach:

Officials say a sheriff ’s lieutenant’s son used his father’s unmarked car to pull over his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. Christopher Combs — a Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office cadet — was fired, The SunSentinel reports.

GEORGIA

Waycross: A blue catfish caught on Georgia’s Altamaha River last weekend weighed 93 pounds — a new state record. Officials say angler Richard Barrett’s catch beat the old record by more than 12 pounds.

HAWAII

Maui: Firefighters are battling a brush fire that closed part of Hana Highway and forced evacuations of several homes this week. Officials tell the Star Advertiser that the approximately half-acre fire was spread by gusting winds.

IDAHO

Boise: Environmental groups say the Forest Service is jeopardizing bighorn sheep by

allowing University of Idaho domestic sheep on two grazing allotments for agricultural research. Western Watersheds Project and WildEarth Guardians say in a lawsuit that the grazing risks transmitting diseases to bighorns.

ILLINOIS

Cahokia: Exploding ammunition stymied firefighters trying to save a World War II veteran in a house fire Wednesday. Authorities say Howard Sutton, 89, died in the blaze.

INDIANA

Indianapolis: The Marion County Sheriff ’s Office says at least 16 inmates have been sleeping on mattresses on the jail floor in holding cells due to crowding, WRTV reports.

IOWA

Mason City: An old locomotive is on its way from Iowa to a museum in the Netherlands. The Dutch Railway Museum had been searching for a World War II-era Whitcomb diesel locomotive and learned of one sitting idle at a cement facility in Mason City.

KANSAS

Wichita: Sedgwick County officials say Veterans Affairs owes the county more than $1.5 million in unpaid ambulance costs. Officials say the VA asked for ambulance service more than 1,900 times in the last four years without paying, The Wichita Eagle reports.

KENTUCKY

Frankfort: Authorities say Kentucky’s troubled pension system will be closed for most new employees. Instead, they’ll be offered a 401(k)-style plan.

LOUISIANA

Baton Rouge: State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton has received this year’s Lynda Carlberg Award. The honor established in 1998 recognizes librarians who help build “great libraries.”

MAINE

Portland: Former president George H.W. Bush is giving a pair of socks he wore to Super Bowl LI for the ceremonial coin toss to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland for an auction.

MARYLAND

Baltimore: The city’s “fatberg ” is history. A mass

of curdled grease and other waste that may have taken over half a century to grow under Baltimore is now removed, thanks to a pressure washer and truck-mounted industrial vacuum.

MASSACHUSETTS

Boston: Postal workers marched Wednesday in front of Boston’s main downtown post office to protest job cuts that have led to long lines and delivery delays around New England.

MICHIGAN

Flint: The American Civil Liberties Union is asking a judge to order tests of all Flint children who were exposed to lead to determine if they need special education services.

MINNESOTA

Big Lake: A 5-yearold boy died when a tree uprooted and fell on him while he was playing on a hammock tied on one end of the tree, The Star Tribune reports.

MISSISSIPPI

Gulfport: Officials are investigating why a Coast Guard cutter briefly caught fire before dawn Wednesday while docked on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The fire discovered on the deck of the cutter Brant was quickly put out.

MISSOURI

Springfield: A man who made bomb threats to the Cedar County Courthouse so his hearing in a probation violation case would be canceled was sentenced to 2 1⁄

2 years in prison without parole.

MONTANA

Hel

ena: A man sleeping in a dumpster was picked up and emptied into the back of a collection truck, The Independent Record reports. The man wasn’t hurt but was arrested on a pair of outstanding warrants.

NEBRASKA

Lincoln: Doane University’s trustees say they’re behind the school’s president who’s under fire from some teachers. Teachers say President Jacques Carter has failed to follow through on strategic initiatives and has mismanaged personnel.

NEVADA

Las Vegas: Crews have started preliminary work to install 700 steel posts between streets and sidewalks along the Las Vegas Strip. Officials say the posts designed to protect pedestrians from vehicles are strong enough to stop a flatbed truck traveling at 55 mph.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

North Woodstock: Officials say a hot spot flared up this week where a smoldering brush fire in the

White Mountains had been contained. The fire that started on a cliff in Kinsman Ridge is expected to continue to burn until extinguished by rain or snow.

NEW JERSEY

Trenton: The state Department of Environmental Protection says circular tents available for rent in five state parks will be replaced with small cabins. Officials say the tents were too difficult to maintain and prone to mold, Philly.com reports.

NEW MEXICO

Hobbs: A private Christian university in New Mexico has unveiled plans for a significant expansion. The Hobbs News-Sun reports that the University of the Southwest’s $45 million expansion will include a larger chapel, a new 94-bed dormitory, and a baseball/softball complex.

NEW YORK

Shirley: A Long Island woman is accused of robbing the Bridgehampton National Bank while her baby was in the getaway vehicle. Police say Madison Munoz, 20, was pulled over a short time after the robbery with the baby still in the car.

NORTH CAROLINA

Wilmington: The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority has sued Chemours and DuPont for allegedly polluting the Cape Fear River by putting a chemical known as GenX into the water. The suit seeks damages of more than $75,000. The chemical is used to make Teflon.

NORTH DAKOTA

Bismarck: The state’s wine industry reports a productive harvest despite severe drought conditions in the summer. The Bismarck Tribune reports that grapes are cold-climate varieties, but heat allows them to ripen faster.

OHIO

Columbus: A survey says the percentage of Ohioans deemed problem gamblers has doubled since racinos and casinos arrived four years ago.

OKLAHOMA

Stuart: The school district in this Oklahoma community has adopted a policy saying students, athletes and spectators are “expected” to stand during the national anthem with no “gestures of demonstration or protest,” the McAlester News-Capital reports.

OREGON

Portland: Two food carts were destroyed and 10 cars were damaged by a downtown fire and explosion, The Oregonian reports. Two people suffered minor injuries. Authorities say the fire ignited after gasoline spilled from a generator.

PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia: The city’s Animal Care team has the perfect job for cats too wild to be adopted. The Working Cats program sends feisty felines to jobs as mousers in barns and stables, and it has now been expanded to factories and warehouses. The animals are microchipped, vaccinated — and they are free.

RHODE ISLAND

Providence: Police say a set of “new generation bank robbers” stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from bank accounts in a check fraud ring, WPRO reports. Four people have been arrested, and three more are being sought for allegedly cashing fraudulent checks.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Columbia: A state government agency wants utility regulators to outline plans to give customers most of the money that South Carolina Electric & Gas expects in compensation for its failed nuclear reactor project, The State reports. That could mean lower monthly bills or direct rebates.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Custer: The auction of a former state-run juvenile corrections facility solicited no bids. The State Treatment and Rehabilitation Academy in Custer closed in April 2016 after courts cut the number of juveniles sent there.

TENNESSEE

Nashville: A $5.2 billion proposal to build an extensive Nashville transit system would introduce light rail and carve an underground tunnel downtown. Mayor Megan Barry unveiled details of her plan that hinge on a package of tax increases.

TEXAS

Fort Worth: Federal authorities arrested eight men on charges of selling women to have sex with men who responded to online ads. In one case, Fort Worth police found a juvenile being sold for sex.

UTAH

Salt Lake City: A water advocacy group wants the state auditor to look into possible data discrepancies sent to regulators by backers of the proposed 140mile Lake Powell Pipeline, The Salt Lake Tribune reports.

VERMONT

Burlington: Part of a downtown mall will be demolished to make way for the new Burlington City Center project combining commercial and residential space, the Burlington Free Press reports.

VIRGINIA

Richmond: A Legal Aid Justice Center report says Virginia’s black and disabled students were disproportionately suspended during the 2015-2016 school year, The Richmond TimesDispatch reports.

WASHINGTON

Spokane: The convictions of the so-called Kettle Falls Five medical marijuana growers may soon be erased, The Spokesman-Review reports. Prosecutors now say that a change in federal law means the government shouldn’t have spent money on the 2015 trial.

WEST VIRGINIA

Morgantown:

West Virginia University has established an Inhalation Facility for researchers to identify particles that people breathe and how they affect their health.

WISCONSIN

Shirley: Two men were injured at a Brown County farm when a silo collapsed, WBAY-TV reports. The men were inside the silo when the structure filled with corn silage collapsed.

WYOMING

Casper: A report commissioned by state lawmakers has identified consolidation and efficiency steps that could save Wyoming up to $227 million in each two-year budget cycle. But implementing the steps would cost about $17 million, The Casper Star-Tribune reports.