STATES Around the nation

News from every state.

ALABAMA Mobile: A free music festival is being canceled after four years. A statement from DMG Productions Inc. says TenSixty won’t be held next month as expected. ALASKA Sitka: Russian adventurer Anatoly Kazakevich sailed into town on a double-hulled inflatable sailboat last week, completing the last leg of an 8,000-mile journey from the Siberian city of Irkutsk. He described his journey as a “historical geography expedition” and said that “before us, nobody did this (route) for 150 years.” ARIZONA Phoenix: Arizona State University was again named the most innovative university in the country, for the fifth year running, on a list by U.S. News & World Report. ARKANSAS Russellville: The City Council is forming a committee to evaluate applications for a new casino, even though Pope County already made its pick on an applicant. CALIFORNIA San Francisco: Thousands of tourists could soon be forced to make reservations and pay to drive the famously crooked Lombard Street. Lawmakers passed a bill last week allowing the city to establish a toll and reservation system. COLORADO Denver: A utility company is moving ahead with plans for a wind energy project on the eastern Colorado plains. Xcel Energy-Colorado plans to complete the Cheyenne Ridge Wind Project across some 150 square miles in December 2020. CONNECTICUT New London: Highway signs listing attractions in southeastern Connecticut have remained blank for about a year. The state Department of Transportation says the designs for the panels were not ready before the signs were installed, and it had to approve custom logos. DELAWARE Lewes Beach: Ferocious winds and crashing waves stirred by Hurricane Dorian swept a higherthan-average number of animals ashore along the Delaware coast, including loggerhead sea turtles, according to the Marine Education, Research and Rehabilitation Institute. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: A nearly 80-year-old blackowned funeral parlor, Hall Brothers Funeral Home, has been sold, citing gentrification for a sharp drop-off in business in recent decades, The Washington Post reports. GEORGIA Atlanta: State lawmakers are again exploring the idea of new legalized gambling to help fund the HOPE scholarship program. HAWAII Hilo: Scientists say lava from Kilauea’s eruption triggered an algae bloom seen from outer space. IDAHO Boise: An elk named Elliott who befriended archery elk hunters at a campground has been captured by state officials, who are looking for a permanent home for him. ILLINOIS Mount Pulaski: The Mount Pulaski Courthouse State Historic Site will celebrate the city’s fall festival next weekend. The courthouse is one of two buildings still standing where Abraham Lincoln practiced law before he became president. INDIANA Evansville: A heritage trail tracing the history of African Americans in the city has been dedicated. IOWA West Des Moines: To celebrate 50 years of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa, the program sealed a time capsule Sunday that’ll preserve mementos for the next 25 years. KANSAS Olathe: Panic broke out over the weekend at a suburban Kansas City festival that celebrates pioneer history after festivalgoers falsely believed shots were fired. KENTUCKY Madisonville: Transportation officials are offering a historic bridge for adoption. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is trying to find an acceptable reuse for the Blackford Creek Bridge. LOUISIANA New Orleans: Visitors can now see the baby orangutan born less than two months ago at the city’s zoo, but only when her mother decides to come outdoors. Bulan was born July 17 to longtime Audubon Zoo resident Feliz. MAINE Portland: A new campaign aims to keep college students from leaving the state after graduation. The Portland Press Herald reports a pilot program launches next month. MARYLAND Cumberland: The Highway Administration has removed several road signs for “Negro Mountain” over concerns about racial insensitivity in the name. MASSACHUSETTS Boston: A bill aimed at giving cats and dogs that have been subjects in research institutions and product testing facilities a second shot at life is set to come up at a public hearing Tuesday at the Statehouse. MICHIGAN Detroit: The CEO and founder of MeToo Kit, a company bringing to market a DIY sexual assault test kit, says she got death threats after state Attorney General Dana Nessel accused her company of trying to profit from the #MeToo movement. Nessel’s office sent a cease-and-desist letter alleging the company is in violation of Michigan’s Consumer Protection Act by “luring victims into thinking that an at-home-do-it-yourself sexual assault kit will stand up in court.” MINNESOTA Duluth: Fire officials say a blaze gutted the Adas Israel Congregation’s historic synagogue. MISSISSIPPI Jackson: A group advocating for medical marijuana legalization has turned in more than 105,000 signatures to get the initiative on the ballot next year. MISSOURI Jefferson City: The Department of Conservation is considering changing state regulations to help landowners combat damage from wildlife and feral hogs. MONTANA Billings: State officials propose to pay $3.4 million to ensure public access to a large area on the Yellowstone River. NEBRASKA Omaha: Plans by Mutual of Omaha to replace its headquarters have been put on hold. NEVADA Las Vegas: Showgirl Video, an adult bookstore that operated the area’s lone peep show, has closed, marking the end of an era. NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Visitors are expected to spend more than $1.5 billion in the state this fall. NEW JERSEY Newark: Volunteers went door-to-door over the weekend to help sign up thousands of residents to have their corroding lead service lines replaced. NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: The state is pushing forward with a multimillion-dollar effort to encourage participation in the U.S. census to preserve federal funding for various public benefits. NEW YORK Albany: Parents of unvaccinated children are protesting the repeal of a religious exemption to school immunization requirements. Hundreds of parents gathered in front of the state education building Monday to urge officials to delay the exemption’s elimination. NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: The House and Senate held redistricting committee meetings Monday, nearly a week after a state court declared that Republican mapmakers manipulated voting districts created in 2017 to help elect a maximum number of GOP candidates. NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: The leaders of four American Indian tribes have signed an agreement with the state that includes allowing tribes to license foster care parents on and off reservations. OHIO Cincinnati: A permanent, 200-foot-high SkyStar observation wheel is coming to the city’s downtown next year. OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: Officials with the pension system for retired Highway Patrol troopers and other state law enforcement officers say the FBI is investigating after computer hackers stole $4.2 million. OREGON Trail: Workers at Cole Rivers Hatchery have put in new plastic piping as a temporary fix to prevent another massive die-off of Rogue River spring chinook salmon eggs. PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia: An art exhibit at a former prison-turnedmuseum is showcasing animated short films created by currently incarcerated inmates. “Hidden Lives Illuminated,” which runs through Thursday, highlights 20 short films and projects them on an outside wall. RHODE ISLAND Bristol: A law school is dedicating a classroom to the state’s first black female lawyer Tuesday. Roger Williams University School of Law says it will honor Dorothy Russell Crockett Bartleson, who was admitted to the bar in 1932. SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The state prison system has added a psychological test to the drug screenings for new guards and other employees. SOUTH DAKOTA Rapid City: State regulators say Rapid City Regional Airport did not cause contamination when it dumped sewage on its property last month. TENNESSEE Memphis: The city’s first Catholic bishop no longer appears on a mural of Memphians who stood up for others. Bishop Carroll T. Dozier has been painted over, replaced by Jose Guerrero, a founder of Latino Memphis. TEXAS Port Isabel: The operations of the Port Isabel Lighthouse officially changed hands this month, with the Texas Historical Commission taking the reins from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. UTAH Orem: A man who has battled alcoholism and homelessness is now a local celebrity, regularly performing music downtown. The Daily Herald reports Scott Schwarz is often found riding his bike and playing the drums on a single construction bucket. VERMONT Hinesburg: State and local officials plan to host a tour of the town forest Sept. 28 to seek input on an upcoming management plan. VIRGINIA Richmond: Gov. Ralph Northam says he’s appointing Janice Underwood to a newly created senior position whose job will be to make government more inclusive. WASHINGTON Olympia: A federal judge has blocked the government from imposing a 50% wage hike for blueberry pickers. WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Organizers of the State Fair of West Virginia say attendees spent record amounts of money on food and carnival rides this year. WISCONSIN Holcombe: Students at a rural school district are getting access to mental health services with a new video-conferencing system to address a shortage of options nearby. Wisconsin Public Radio reports the closest clinic available to students at the Lake Holcombe School District is about a 20-minute drive away. WYOMING Casper: A proposal to boost state revenue by storing spent nuclear fuel in the state would only raise about $10 million a year.