Around the nation
News from every state.
ALABAMA Jasper: Would-be gamblers, take note: Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is praising local law officers for shutting down what he called illegal electronic bingo halls in Walker County.
ALASKA Fairbanks: Monroe Catholic High School in Fairbanks and TriValley School in Healy, both of which have had trouble fielding football teams, will field a joint team. It will involve a bit of travel, though – the cities are 112 miles apart.
ARIZONA Flagstaff: State Native American tribes on the hunt for animal hides, antlers, teeth and other parts for cultural and religious use have a new resource: the state Game and Fish Department. A new program allows the nearly two dozen tribes to make requests for animals that have died from poaching or natural causes, or after being hit by a vehicle.
ARKANSAS Hot Springs: Monday was the big day for Arkansas gamblers as casinos at two racing tracks formally begin operations.
CALIFORNIA San Francisco: A rare species of sand-loving bees is making a comeback in San Francisco’s Presidio for the first time in about a century. The San Francisco Chronicle reports ecologists spotted hundreds of silver digger bees in the park last week while surveying a dune restoration project in the park.
COLORADO Fort Collins: Colorado State University’s first female president will begin her new job at the beginning of July. Joyce McConnell will replace outgoing President Tony Frank.
CONNECTICUT Hartford: Nearly three decades after a U.S. state last imposed a special tax on sugary drinks, Connecticut’s governor is pushing for one to help close a budget deficit – and bracing for a fight. “The industry lobbying is going to be pretty ferocious. I don’t know if the legislature can stand up to it,” said Democrat Ned Lamont.
DELAWARE Wilmington: How dedicated is figure skater Johnny Weir to his hometown rink, The Skating Club of Wilmington? When Weir was cast in a new Netflix ice skating drama called “Spinning Out,” he was to be in Canada filming the show’s first season this weekend when the skating club hosts its annual fundraiser. But he “pushed hard” to be able to escape and will perform Saturday at the “America Skates: Spring Ice Show.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: The district’s famed cherry blossoms have reached peak bloom, the National Park Service declared.
FLORIDA Daytona Beach: Lifeguards rescued more than 100 people from rough surf along a stretch of Atlantic coast beaches over the weekend.
GEORGIA Palmetto: One of the largest global apparel companies is bringing a new distribution and warehouse facility and 575 new jobs to Palmetto. New York City-based PVH owns brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Izod.
HAWAII Honolulu: The state may outlaw flavored electronic cigarette liquids and flavored tobacco to combat a spike in teenage vaping.
IDAHO Boise: The state Senate approved a bill that would legalize the growing and selling of hemp products containing 0.3 percent or less of THC, the cannabis compound that gives marijuana its high.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Illinois could lose more than $18 million in funding if it doesn’t accelerate the processing times on food stamp applications.
INDIANA Indianapolis: Head to the Indiana Historical Society for some live “Oregon Trail” gaming. From 7 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, the society will bring the popular grade-school computer game to life in an “Indiana Trail” event.
IOWA Iowa City: The department that runs Iowa’s prison system has suspended a guard for giving an interview to his hometown newspaper for a positive story about his life and work helping inmates. The guard is appealing his suspension.
KANSAS Topeka: Kansas stores can now stock their shelves with stronger beer. On Monday, stores began selling beer with up to 6% alcohol by volume.
KENTUCKY Frankfort: Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration has transferred a third state historic site to local officials. The state gave the 80-acre William Whitley House Historic Site to Lincoln County.
LOUISIANA Baton Rouge: Louisiana veterans can learn about songwriting at two workshops aimed at helping veterans tell their stories and find healing through music.
MAINE Bar Harbor: Acadia National Park officials are closing trails to protect nesting peregrine falcons.
MARYLAND Frederick: Electric car maker Tesla is building a solar array on top of a Frederick County landfill that will generate up to 1.9 megawatts of power.
MASSACHUSETTS Haverhill: Residents who report potholes to Haverhill officials could find themselves a few dollars richer.
MICHIGAN Detroit: Critics are questioning whether Michigan’s voluntary gambling blacklist is working, since many casinos can’t effectively screen banned gamblers.
MINNESOTA St. Paul: The economic benefits of preserving and restoring land in the upper Mississippi River’s headwaters region nearly outweigh the costs, a new study says.
MISSISSIPPI Vicksburg: Marcus Street in Vicksburg is being renamed for former Vicksburg Warren Superintendent of Schools and Rosa A. Temple principal James E. Stirgus Sr., pending approval by the county’s 911 committee
MISSOURI Mound City: Floodwaters have made their way to eastern Missouri, increasing the number of closed roads to more than 160.
MONTANA Great Falls: Dozens of skiers were safely evacuated from a stalled chairlift at the Showdown Montana ski area.
NEVADA Sparks: Military leaders and local politicians gathered at a groundbreaking ceremony for a new memorial in Sparks dedicated to more than 800 Nevadans who have lost their lives in the nation’s wars.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Durham: A partnership between the experimental agriculture and beer brewing programs at the University of New Hampshire has produced a third new brew: Strawberry Milkman.
NEW JERSEY Chatsworth: Someone in a remote area deep in the New Jersey Pinelands that is a known gathering spot for illegal bonfires caused a blaze that burned more than 11,600 acres, investigators say.
NEW MEXICO Albuquerque: Residents of a Hispanic village near the site of the world’s first atomic bomb test are planning another protest outside the annual opening of the site to visitors.
NEW YORK Seneca Falls: A town supervisor wants to cut ties with the National Women’s Hall of Fame after learning actress Jane Fonda will be among this year’s inductees.
NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Duke Energy Corp, the country’s largest electric company, was ordered Monday to excavate coal ash from all of its North Carolina power plant sites.
NORTH DAKOTA Fargo: Business owners and customers are applauding the repeal of state restrictions on Sunday morning sales.
OHIO Dayton: The Antioch Writers’ Workshop at the University of Dayton is shutting down after 33 years. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Joseph Maldonado-Passage, an ex-zookeeper and former candidate for governor, says he never wanted to kill a woman who investigators say was the target of a murder-for-hire plot.
OREGON Portland: Oregon teens who spent time in foster care were less than half as likely as their classmates in the class of 2017 to graduate on time, new figures show.
PENNSYLVANIA Meadville: An underwater robot will be roaming Presque Isle Bay to collect water quality data beginning this spring, the ErieTimes News reports.
RHODE ISLAND Providence: The Providence Journal is seeking access to government documents that could shed light on two big controversies: the troubled public assistance computer system known as UHIP and the state’s investment in private equity firm Point Judith Capital.
SOUTH CAROLINA Spartanburg: City Planner Natalia Rosario and Brad Steinecke, the assistant director of local history for Spartanburg County Public Libraries, have teamed up to try find a statuette given to the city in 1971 by the city of Sparta, Greece.
SOUTH DAKOTA Roscoe: Eleven students traveled to the Mississippi bayou recently to learn about careers with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
TENNESSEE Nashville: U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Monday that she’s encouraged by Tennessee’s latest push to expand school vouchers throughout the state.
TEXAS Galveston: The City Council has approved funding to develop the East End Lagoon in an effort to attract more visitors to the nature area.
UTAH Salt Lake City: A huge fireball soared into the sky in the central Utah desert after 11 derailed tanker cars containing propane and biodiesel were blown up Sunday night.
VERMONT Montpelier: Paving season is coming to Vermont’s Interstate 89, beginning Sunday.
VIRGINIA Richmond: Reflecting national concerns over “food deserts,” federal and state lawmakers on Monday called for legislation to help people in low-income neighborhoods get better access to fresh vegetables and other healthy foods.
WASHINGTON Kitsap: A Bainbridge Island man was given five years of probation for his role in a group that illegally led hunting trips, falsified records and used a toxic substance to poison wolves and bears in Alaska.
WEST VIRGINIA Huntington: Marshall University is conducting a fundraiser, Empty Bowls, this month to help feed needy families.
WISCONSIN Milwaukee: Doctors have asked Dexter Verner to stop running. That’s kind of like asking him to stop breathing. Verner has a pacemaker, chemotherapy coursing through his veins and medications for the Crohn’s disease — but it’s the surgically repaired hip that’s really been hurting. Still, Verner will be among 7,250 runners at the Milwaukee Marathon this Saturday.
WYOMING Laramie: The University of Wyoming will offer new bachelor’s degree programs in general studies, elementary and special education, and art education starting this fall.