Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Montgomery: The number of unlicensed day cares is falling in the state. Day cares that claim a licensure exemption dropped from 953 to 838 over the past year.
ALASKA Anchorage: America’s space agency is weighing in on future petroleum development in the Arctic Ocean. Alaska’s Energy Desk reports that a letter from NASA says Beaufort Sea drilling rigs could be affected by launches from its only high-latitude rocket range.
ARIZONA Tempe: Construction crews began laying rails this month for Tempe’s $201 million streetcar. Work on the 3-mile route should finish in spring 2021.
ARKANSAS Little Rock: U.S. Geological Survey findings show increased pollution and algae in the groundwater in the Buffalo River watershed.
CALIFORNIA Truckee: A bear had no trouble opening a door as it strolled into a California Highway Patrol office. In a video shared by the CHP, the bear is seen standing on its back legs outside the Donner Pass Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility. The animal has a peek inside and pulls the door open. It wanders past a vending machine and into the office.
COLORADO Fort Collins: The manufacturers of Pit Liquor – an all-natural deodorant made from vodka, whiskey, herbs and seasonings – wanted to make people smile when they created the product. Pit Liquor, made by Distilled Bath & Body, has been in existence for more than a year, but Erica and Jason Feucht recently completed a $20,000 Kickstarter campaign, applied for a patent, and moved the operation from their Livermore home to Fort Collins.
CONNECTICUT Westport: A man who says he was wrongly cited for distracted driving after police mistook a McDonald’s hash brown for a cellphone is continuing his legal fight. A retrial is scheduled to start Dec. 7.
DELAWARE Dagsboro: Some people living in Delmarva may be surprised to hear that a giant bull statue is set to stand outside a Dagsboro family farm next year. But for many who’ve lived in and around Ocean City, Maryland, and Chincoteague, Virginia, it’s simply the next adventure for the 44-year-old Eastern Shore landmark. Most remember the bull, famous for wearing sunglasses, a chef ’s hat and scarf, from its days in Ocean City, where it blazoned Capt. Bob’s Steak and Seafood House for nearly three decades.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washing
ton: The latest company to debut electric scooters in D.C.: Lyft, which has unveiled a fleet of pink scooters.
FLORIDA Tallahassee: For this #GivingTuesday, the Animal Shelter Foundation is calling on the community to help reduce the number of unwanted kittens, puppies, cats and dogs in the Tallahassee area.
GEORGIA Forsyth: Monroe County is being sued for wrongful arrest by a woman who was jailed when her cotton candy falsely tested positive for methamphetamine.
HAWAII Honolulu: Thirty employees from Hawaii electricity utilities are in wildfire-devastated Northern California to help restore power.
IDAHO Newport: More law enforcement agencies in northern Idaho now have access to naloxone, which can reverse opiate overdoses.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Chicago River wildlife will benefit from a grant of over $240,000 announced by Friends of the Chicago River. The money from the Chi-Cal Rivers Fund will allow the clearance of invasive species from more than 200 acres around Crooked Creek.
INDIANA Bloomington: Sanders Quarry, featured in the 1979 movie “Breaking Away,” has been filled in following years of safety concerns, The Herald-Times reports.
IOWA Des Moines: Get your night moves ready, Iowans: Bob Seger’s headed to the Hawkeye state one more time. Seger and his 14-piece Silver Bullet Band play Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Arena, a onenight-only performance anticipated to be Seger’s last in the state.
KANSAS Topeka: Political experts say the state is seeing an increasing urban-rural divide. The Kansas City Star reports the divide could make it easier for Democrats to control the governor’s office or hold a congressional seat.
KENTUCKY Louisville: A writing desk belonging to Helen Keller is on display at the American Printing House for the Blind Museum.
LOUISIANA Lafayette: Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., once quipped in a committee meeting, “There ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding in the bottom of a Cracker Jack box.” Kennedy admits he borrowed the line from “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,” a hit from legendary rocker Meat Loaf.
MAINE Augusta: Tractor-trailers carrying over a quarter of a million balsam wreaths will travel from Maine to the national veterans’ cemetery in Virginia. The annual weeklong journey begins Dec. 8.
MARYLAND Frederick: The twoday coin and currency show this month at the Elks Lodge #684 featured 20 coin and currency dealers.
MASSACHUSETTS Worcester: Four members of a Massachusetts high school’s JROTC program are being hailed as heroes for rushing into a burning home and rousing the sleeping residents, including several children.
MICHIGAN Battle Creek: A 150foot-tall grain elevator in Battle Creek is set to get a fresh coat of paint. The building will be the canvas for the largest mural in Michigan and what is believed to be the largest veterans mural in the nation.
MINNESOTA St. Cloud: Liberty Bank Minnesota officially moved out of its downtown building last week. Next year, the site will be used to nurture the young at the Great River Children’s Museum.
MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The first singing Christmas tree in the nation was born in 1933 at what was then Belhaven College.
MISSOURI Kansas City: The Kansas City Southern Holiday Express Train started its journey last week and will end its trip Dec. 14 at Union Station in Kansas City, where it will remain on display through Dec. 18.
MONTANA Gardiner: The dream of living along the iconic landscape of Yellowstone National Park is becoming less attainable than ever, and it’s taking its toll. Residents fear vacation rentals are taking over.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Three ice fishing clinics have been scheduled around the state in January.
NEVADA Las Vegas: The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that city officials plan to ask the Nevada Legislature to increase a real estate transfer tax and sewer fees to provide an additional $20 million for services for homeless people.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Exeter: A tavern that hosted George Washington in 1789 is among nine properties recently added to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.
NEW JERSEY Wall: After a one-year hiatus, the popular Christmas Light Show in Wall was looking to make a comeback this December. It’s not happening. Organizers could not find common ground with township officials over key details.
NEW MEXICO Las Cruces: President Donald Trump’s continued trade war with China will likely cost pecan growers in New Mexico, where the pecan harvest has begun.
NEW YORK New York: Police say a bank robber is demanding cash with notes scribbled on DVD cases of HBO’s “The Wire.”
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Here’s one way to get out of speeding ticket: A state trooper helped deliver a baby on the side of the road after pulling over a speeding van on the highway.
NORTH DAKOTA Mandan: The Morton County Sheriff ’s Office is trying out body cameras through a pilot program with Motorola, The Bismarck Tribune reports.
OHIO Columbus: Ohio is accepting bitcoin for business tax payments.
OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state owes $150 million in salary matches for college faculty, about a decade after a push to eliminate the backlog in matching funds.
OREGON Portland: The New Revenue Coalition wants lawmakers to allow public places such as cafes where people can smoke legal pot.
PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: KYWTV reports newlyweds were shocked when Gritty, the mascot for the Philadelphia Flyers, showed up Friday and started dancing with the bride.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: There’s still no plan for the so-called Superman building five years after it was left vacant.
SOUTH CAROLINA Greenville: South Carolina-grown hemp will be ready for distribution in time for Christmas, joining a rapidly growing industry.
SOUTH DAKOTA Brandon: A man has his wallet back with some extra cash thanks to a stranger. Hunter Shamatt lost it on a flight and tells KSFY-TV he received a package a few days later along with the wallet and a letter. The stranger added $40 so Shamatt would have “an even $100” to celebrate the wallet’s return.
TENNESSEE Nashville: Tennessee House Democrats have elected the chamber’s first African-American minority leader. Democrats chose Rep. Karen Camper of Memphis during leadership elections Sunday.
TEXAS Houston: Restoration work on a mural damaged in Hurricane Harvey is on hold. John Biggers’ “Contribution of Negro Women To American Life and Education” mural from 1953 includes Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and poet Phillis Wheatley.
UTAH Logan: The first-ever drag show at traditionally conservative Utah State University drew a large and supportive crowd.
VIRGINIA Alexandria: City leaders say Amazon’s headquarters likely won’t raise housing prices too much.
WASHINGTON Cathlamet: J.D. Honore and Shira Rauh plan to turn 40 acres in the Elochoman Valley into the “Town of Taylor” – a living history museum of 16th-century Europe.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Joshua Spence has been appointed as West Virginia’s chief technology officer.
WISCONSIN Madison: Barns rented for events such as weddings are subject to the state’s liquor laws, Attorney Brad Schimel suggested in a recent legal analysis.
WYOMING Jackson: Grand Teton National Park has closed a popular elk hunting area after a park biologist spotted grizzly bears feeding on the carcasses of three elk.