50 ★ States

News from across the USA

ALABAMA Montgomery: A record number of Montgomery Public Schools students are set to return to classrooms Monday for the district’s Launch into Learning summer program. The more than 12,000 participants also represent the most students inside school buildings since the coronavirus pandemic began.

ALASKA Juneau: The city is jumping into the fray of those incentivizing COVID-19 shots, with the Greater Juneau Chamber of Commerce chipping in $20 gift cards and a shot at $1,000 for the Healthy Juneau Initiative, the Juneau Empire reports.

ARIZONA Phoenix: The state Department of Economic Security is still determining how to implement the return-to-work cash bonuses promised by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey last month. The agency must create an online portal and has yet to pick a company to create it, ABC15 reports.

ARKANSAS Little Rock: An attorney’s contract with the state was terminated because he emailed a legislator and criticized her support of a measure banning gender confirming treatments for transgender youth, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday.

CALIFORNIA Anaheim: Now that it’s getting safer to assemble, the Avengers are at last descending on Disneyland. The debut of the Avengers Campus at Disney’s California Adventure Park was paused for about a year before it opens to the public Friday. A show featuring the Dora Milaje royal guard from “Black Panther” includes a rarity for the park: a moment of silence for the dead.

COLORADO Denver: The state will give $50,000 scholarships to 25 students who’ve gotten COVID-19 shots.

CONNECTICUT Hartford: Despite a strong push from progressive Democrats and their allies, it appears unlikely some proposed tax increases on the wealthy will appear in any final budget deal with Gov. Ned Lamont, House Speaker Matt Ritter said Wednesday. Lamont has argued it’s not the time to raise taxes as Connecticut emerges from the pandemic.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Washington: Starting Sunday, Metrobus will extend its late-night service on dozens of bus lines throughout the area, WUSA-TV reports. That and other changes will increase service to about 85% of pre-pandemic levels.

FLORIDA Tallahassee: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a $101.5 billion budget Wednesday after vetoing $1.5 billion, including $1 billion in federal money for an emergency response fund he said had strings attached that made it unusable. He used a bill signing ceremony at a New Smyrna Beach restaurant to boast about his response to the pandemic, saying fully reopening Florida to business early helped the economy rebound faster and stronger than expected.

GEORGIA Augusta: A $300,000 contribution from the T.R. Reddy Family Foundation will make it possible to extend and expand a study on longterm symptoms of COVID-19 at Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Half of participants are Black, compared to 5%-10% in other studies, said Dr. Elizabeth Rutkowski, co-principal investigator.

HAWAII Honolulu: The state has been turning down the bulk of its federal vaccine shipments as demand wanes, Hawaii News Now reports. Most doses have gone to Oahu, with other islands not placing any orders.

IDAHO Coeur d’Alene: Coronavirus positivity rates are spiking in northern Idaho, with the Panhandle Health District saying the rate hit 8.4% over Memorial Day weekend, the Coeur d’Alene Press reports. That’s the highest rate in the state and the region’s worst since early February, according to the newspaper.

ILLINOIS Springfield: Legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker aims to draw customers back to bars by offering a free drink with proof of vaccination. It also extends a law that allows the sale of cocktails for pickup or delivery, which helped liquor sellers as the pandemic closed many businesses’ doors.

INDIANA Indianapolis: The state’s largest hospital system, Indiana University Health, will require all its doctors, nurses and other employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 1.

IOWA Des Moines: The state’s Democratic auditor accused Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday of violating a 2018 state law that prohibits statewide elected officials from using public funds for self-promotion, arguing she broke the law by making ads promoting coronavirus public safety measures.

KANSAS Topeka: After a year of sports cancellations due to safety concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the owner of a car dealership is giving back to ensure area youths have successful seasons ahead. Brad Lewis, owner of Lewis Toyota of Topeka, said the dealership is donating $25,000 to create a fund that would provide grants to athletes who want to play but need help with such costs as tournament-entrance fees and equipment.

KENTUCKY Louisville: The Norton Children’s Research Institute said Wednesday that it will study the Pfizer vaccine in children 6 months to 11 years old as part of a larger trial seeking to expand eligibility.

LOUISIANA Lafayette: Summer school is starting for the Lafayette Parish School System next week, and students attending in person do not have to wear masks after a school board vote Wednesday night. MAINE Portland: About 72% of residents 40 and older have had their final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the office of Democratic Gov. Janet Mills reported Wednesday. The rate for residents who are younger than 40 but eligible for a vaccine is about 38%.

MARYLAND Hagerstown: The state Department of Health is closing its mass vaccination site at Hagerstown Premium Outlets after Friday, moving it temporarily to a Meritus Health site before it phases out.

MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Getting a COVID-19 shot could save residents on their grocery bills, Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. Starting Thursday, shoppers who get their vaccine at clinics set up outside one of a select few Market Basket supermarkets in the state will get a $25 store gift card.

MICHIGAN Lansing: Republicans alongside a handful of Democrats in the state House passed a bill Wednesday that would ban government-required COVID-19 vaccine passports, even though they do not exist, and no legislative effort is being made to utilize them.

MINNESOTA Minneapolis: Republican legislative leaders made a fresh push Wednesday for ending Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s reliance on emergency powers to manage the pandemic. Rep. Barb Haley, of Red Wing, and Sen. Jeff Howe, of Rockville, touted a bill that they said would preserve Walz’s ability to procure and distribute vaccines and to obtain federal aid, while restoring the normal balance of power between the governor and Legislature.

MISSISSIPPI Jackson: The state had administered about 1.89 million COVID-19 shots as of Thursday for a vaccination rate of 28%, according to the health department’s database – far behind the U.S. average of 41%.

MISSOURI Springfield: Optimism after a time of sorrow prompted by COVID-19, America’s legacy of systemic racism, and violence against law enforcement were key themes in Mayor Ken McClure’s 2021 State of the City address Thursday. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt was in town for the event and extolled the speed at which the U.S. developed vaccines.

MONTANA Great Falls: The Indian Education for All department this year awarded 49 Indigenous high school graduates in the city with eagle feathers, symbolizing their achievement and connection to culture. This year’s distribution came in five separate ceremonies because of COVID-19 restrictions.

NEBRASKA Lincoln: Some lawmakers and child advocates are raising concerns about the state’s practice of seizing Social Security payments to foster children to pay for their care, while officials defend the practice as legal. State Sen. Megan Hunt said she was shocked to learn children weren’t informed that their benefits were taken.

NEVADA Carson City: Gov. Steve Sisolak said he’s proud of what lawmakers accomplished during the legislative session that ended this week and believes policies to fuel economic growth, boost funding for schools and fix outdated infrastructure will set the state on a path toward recovery from the pandemic.

NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Building on feedback from last year, the state Department of Education is again asking parents, educators and community members to take a survey on how schools responded to the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW JERSEY Trenton: The state will shut down its six mass vaccination sites amid a move from a megasite model to relying on about 1,800 community inoculation sites, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday.

NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday issued a new public health order placing each of the state’s 33 counties in the least restrictive category for pandemic-related mandates.

NEW YORK Albany: Taxpayers are set to foot the bill for a $2.5 million contract for lawyers representing Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office in a federal investigation over his administration’s handling of COVID-19 data in nursing homes, he said.

NORTH CAROLINA Raleigh: Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday that the state is nearing an announcement on further financial incentives to boost vaccine participation.

NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Mary’s nursing program has again been ranked No. 1 in the U.S. by nursing’s national benchmarking service, Mountain Measurements.

OHIO Columbus: A winner of the state’s Vax-a-Million promotion says the possibility of a big prize is what motivated him to stop putting off his COVID-19 shot. Jonathan Carlyle, 40, of Toledo, said he hopes to use the payout to buy a “forever home” for his family and help ease the pressure of raising three kids.

OKLAHOMA Oklahoma City: The state Health Department is launching a texting campaign to reach people with details about how to find a nearby vaccination appointment.

OREGON Eugene: After the University of Oregon announced last month that it will require a COVID-19 shot for students and employees on campus this fall, the majority of campus workers say they’re supportive of the move, according to employee unions.

PENNSYLVANIA Doylestown: Followed by a roar of applause from parents, the Central Bucks Board of School Directors voted 4-3 on Wednesday to make masks optional for the final week of the school year.

RHODE ISLAND Providence: Providence College will mandate COVID-19 vaccines for full-time undergraduate and graduate students returning to campus in the fall.

SOUTH CAROLINA Columbia: The spending plan heading to the South Carolina House floor next week offers state employees a 3% raise and teachers a $1,000 bump in pay. The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday punted on a proposal to provide big lottery prizes to people who get a COVID-19 shot.

SOUTH DAKOTA Sioux Falls: Workers at a meatpacking plant that became a coronavirus hot spot last year are considering a strike after contract negotiations with Smithfield Foods stalled, the Sioux Falls chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union said Wednesday.

TENNESSEE Nashville: A state panel is proposing another $44.6 million in federal aid to increase the payouts businesses can receive for losses due to the pandemic. The proposal announced at a meeting Wednesday of the state’s Financial Accountability Stimulus Group drew backlash from critics, who note that businesses will see a boost just as the state cuts off federal unemployment supplements.

TEXAS Bastrop: After spending 442 days responding to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bastrop County Emergency Management Office’s Emergency Operations Center on Tuesday returned to normal operations.

UTAH Salt Lake City: Initial claims for regular unemployment benefits in the state declined by nearly 6% last week from the week prior, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday.

VERMONT Montpelier: After a historic legislative session with remote lawmaking, legislators say online Zoom sessions will continue in some form after the pandemic.

VIRGINIA Richmond: Virginia Commonwealth University announced the expulsion of a fraternity from campus Thursday following a pledge’s death from alcohol poisoning. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the student organization conduct committee found Delta Chi responsible for violating policies on hazing and alcohol and COVID-19 protocols.

WASHINGTON Cheney: Eastern Washington University officials have decided students and staff must get a COVID-19 vaccine to be on campus – a reversal of a decision last month.

WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: Gov. Jim Justice and his companies are suing another bank lender – the latest trouble for his business empire after he revealed he is personally liable for $700 million in loans to a separate lender. The Republican governor’s coal and hospitality businesses filed a lawsuit Monday against Carter Bank & Trust over claims of deception. Justice is also on the hook for $368 million in loan debt to that bank, according to court documents.

WISCONSIN Gillett: More than a quarter of the workers at a Seneca Foods plant in the town tested positive for the coronavirus in a single month last year, yet a company representative told a federal inspector they believed all cases were due to community spread, according to newly released federal records. Eleven migrant workers at the green bean canning plant died of COVID-19 last fall, making the outbreak one of the deadliest in the U.S. food processing industry, an investigation found.

WYOMING Casper: Wildlife officials believe the state remains free of invasive zebra mussels three months after the mollusks turned up in imported aquarium products.