Around the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Selma: A real estate investor says it is loaning Rhaglan Hospitality $3.4 million to buy historic St. James Hotel, the Southeast’s last surviving antebellum riverfront hotel.

ALASKA Prudhoe Bay: New “3D seismic” technology is being used to search for untapped oil in a bay that’s already an established source of fossil fuel. The Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner reports BP is employing the technology in Prudhoe Bay.

ARIZONA Scottsdale: Wonderspaces Arizona, a different kind of art gallery that aims to bring cutting-edge work to the masses, opened inside the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall Friday with a show titled “Point of View,” featuring immersive installations that visitors can interact with.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: Officials say a new biking law that will soon take effect in the state will help keep cyclists safe and traffic rolling. Starting July 1, they’ll be allowed to proceed at stop signs and red lights as long as traffic is clear and the move doesn’t create an immediate hazard.

CALIFORNIA Los Angeles: Rapper Nipsey Hussle will be mourned at a public memorial Thursday at Staples Center.

COLORADO Denver: State lawmakers are considering an ambitious paid family leave bill that’s opposed by most major business chambers in part because their members would have to contribute to a state fund, even if they offer their own benefits.

CONNECTICUT Meriden: State troopers and the American Legion are seeking high school students to participate in State Police Youth Week.

DELAWARE Wilmington: Scientists say climate change is prolonging allergy season. Doctors in the state say they’re seeing more people suffering from allergies and for longer periods of time.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Officials at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport say they’re on track to break a record for the number of firearms caught this year, WUSA-TV reports.

FLORIDA St. Petersburg: The Salvador Dali Museum is planning a major expansion. The Tampa Bay Times reports the museum has filed an application seeking $17.5 million of bed tax money from Pinellas County.

GEORGIA Tybee Island: The Georgia Department of Transportation plans to raise parts of U.S. 80 that are prone to tidal flooding.

HAWAII Lihue: A foreign citizen living legally in the U.S. is suing the state over laws preventing him from obtaining a gun license. The Garden Island reports that United Kingdom citizen Andrew Roberts filed the federal civil lawsuit last week.

IDAHO Boise: Legislation allowing hemp-loaded trucks to cross Idaho en route to other states has cleared the Senate, which voted 31-1 on Tuesday to send an amended version back to the House for consideration there.

ILLINOIS Chicago: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra may cancel more concerts after striking musicians rejected what it calls its last, best and final offer on a new contract.

INDIANA Indianapolis: A first-of-itskind report confirms what advocates have long suspected – that kids in the state’s foster care system struggle to keep pace in school with their peers.

IOWA Des Moines: Blank Park Zoo has announced another birth for a pair of endangered eastern black rhinos. The zoo says Ayana delivered a 112-pound female calf Friday.

KANSAS Wichita: A court has ordered the state to pay legal fees arising from its efforts to block publication of notebooks kept by the lead investigator into the murders chronicled in Truman Capote’s book “In Cold Blood.”

KENTUCKY Louisville: A new nonprofit hopes to help people in food deserts. Volunteers with The Hope Buss have begun organizing free monthly grocery trips for people lacking personal transportation.

LOUISIANA New Orleans: Scientists are using fake eggs to spy on whooping cranes in hopes of learning why some chicks die in the egg, while others hatch.

MAINE Portland: Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will pay more than $18,000 to build a fish passage on the Sheepscot River as part of its settlement for violating environmental rules.

MARYLAND Annapolis: The United States Naval Academy’s iconic chapel dome will be replaced with a shiny new one rather than repaired.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been named the recipient of the 2019 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, to be presented May 19 at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

MICHIGAN Detroit: Movie screens across the Midwest will light up this weekend with a new “Dark Skies” commercial touting the impressive night lights found in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

MINNESOTA St. Paul: The state Senate has approved tougher penalties for people who text while driving, especially if they kill or injure someone.

MISSISSIPPI Natchez: The subsidized apartments that house some of the state’s poorest residents have failed 10% of health and safety inspections, a new analysis finds.

MISSOURI Joplin: A Missouri Southern State University student believes snails may be able to show the impact of mining cleanup efforts. MSSU senior Cameron Priester tells the Joplin Globe he’s studying the shell composition of snails from mined areas following cleanup efforts in Joplin and Webb City.

MONTANA White Sulphur Springs: Organizers say Grammy-winning folk singer Patty Griffin will headline the Red Ants Pants Music Festival this summer.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: A new report says the state led the nation last year with the growth of its installed wind-energy capacity.

NEVADA Carson City: A bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage is set to face its first legislative panel Wednesday. It seeks to raise the minimum to $12 an hour for workers not offered health insurance and $11 for employees who are.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Hanover: Cellist Yo-Yo Ma will deliver the main address at Dartmouth College’s commencement in June.

NEW JERSEY Neptune: Some victims of Superstorm Sandy who still aren’t back in their homes 61⁄2 years after the storm are getting some additional help. State and federal officials say about 1,000 people can benefit from the removal of a cap that had limited grants to $150,000.

NEW YORK New York: Museum exhibits tend to be quiet. Not this one. In “Play It Loud,” an exuberant show that can be heard as well as seen, the Metropolitan Museum of Art takes on the history of rock ’n’ roll through iconic instruments from some of rock’s biggest names.

NORTH CAROLINA Greensboro: The city is hosting the 2019 World Irish Dancing Championships starting this weekend and through April 21 at Koury Convention Center.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The state’s Republican-led House wants to spend $5 million on a greenhouse for a cactus collection at a tourist attraction that straddles the U.S.Canadian border.

OHIO Toledo: Police officers will be cruising neighborhoods in a new ride this summer – an ice cream truck. Toledo’s police chief says they’ll hand out goodies to children to build better relationships with the community.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The city’s first openly gay councilman has taken the oath of office. James Cooper was sworn in Tuesday.

OREGON Salem: A record number of wolves are roaming the state’s forests and fields, 20 years after the species returned to the Beaver State.

PENNSYLVANIA Harrisburg: The state Senate is advancing legislation to help school districts pay for accommodations for students homebound due to injury or illness.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: The state’s general election ballot drew a diverse roster of write-in candidates. The Providence Journal reports that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with 22 write-in votes, President Donald Trump with 37, Mickey Mouse with 79 and Bugs Bunny with 6 were among those who got support for state attorney general.

SOUTH CAROLINA Charleston: There were 350 dolphins recorded off the state’s coast in 2008, but it’s unclear how many remain in the face of increasing human activity, crab pot entanglement and other dangers.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Smoken Dakota Kennels has announced a new venture to give dogs a place to have fun year-round. The business is planning an indoor splash park.

TENNESSEE Nashville: Music icon Bob Dylan is set to help open a whiskey distillery downtown in fall 2020 under the brand “Heaven’s Door.”

TEXAS Fort Worth: RW Arms, a gun company that destroyed more than 73,000 bump stocks when a federal ban on the rapid-fire devices took effect, has sued the U.S. government, claiming millions of dollars in losses.

UTAH St. George: Severe flood damage has forced a temporary closure of the highway that cuts through Zion National Park, park officials say.

VERMONT Rutland: Two cliffs in the Green Mountain National Forest will be closed temporarily this spring to protect nesting peregrine falcons.

VIRGINIA Charlottesville: This city marred by Nazi chants and deadly violence savored a united moment of bliss Tuesday as it welcomed home the national champion University of Virginia men’s basketball team.

WASHINGTON Tahuya: Mat Wisner is not a software engineer, but he’s hoping more young people will be. Wisner, a 2001 North Mason High School graduate, is behind Amazon’s new program geared toward getting kids interested in computer science.

WEST VIRGINIA New Martinsville: “Mine 9,” a film about an entrapment inside a coal mine, opens in theaters across the region this week. Native son Eddie Mensore wrote, produced and directed the fictional work.

WISCONSIN Milwaukee: A special 414 flag is flying over City Hall this week. It’s not just a nod to the area code but to April 14, which has become known as Milwaukee Day.

WYOMING Gillette: The National Curling Arena Championships will take place at the Cam-Plex events center in Gillette in April 2020.