Renters revolt, troublesome bras, deer in the john: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: Alabama Supreme Court justices questioned a state attorney about potential vagueness in the state ethics law during arguments Tuesday as former House Speaker Mike Hubbard seeks to overturn a 2016 corruption conviction that ended his once-influential political career and could send him to prison for four years. The oral arguments before the court largely centered on the wording of the state ethics statute and whether consulting contracts and business investments Hubbard received could be construed as violations.

Alaska

Anchorage: Dirt slowly sliding down a mountain threatens a section of road in Denali National Park and Preserve, officials say. The road is in the path of a creeping landslide that has pushed a 100-yard stretch of the gravel road 6 feet since September, Alaska’s Energy Desk reports. Maintenance staff used rock and gravel to fill a gap in a section of the 92-mile road at Polychrome Pass. Most tourists access the park using the road and the landslide poses what the National Park Service calls an “existential threat.”

Arizona

Phoenix: Grand Canyon National Park has been recognized for its work in reducing light pollution of the night sky. The Arizona Republic reports the International Dark-Sky Association has named the Grand Canyon an International Dark Sky Park. The park and the Grand Canyon Conservancy started retrofitting more than 1,500 light fixtures after it was given provisional dark-sky status in June 2016. Workers put in lower-wattage LED bulbs and shields to focus the light on the ground.

Arkansas

Bella Vista: An underground dump fire that burned for nearly a year has been extinguished, the Bella Vista Property Owners Association says. The fire had been burning at the former unlicensed dump about 170 miles northwest of Little Rock since last July. Residents complained of respiratory issues and noxious smoke for months.

California

Oakland: The city on Tuesday became the second in the nation to decriminalize magic mushrooms and other entheogenic, or psychoactive, plants after a string of people shared how psychedelics helped them overcome depression, drug addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder. Denver voters approved a similar measure for people 21 and older last month.

Colorado

Denver: City voters have resoundingly approved a ballot measure requiring the city to seek their consent before spending public funds on any future Olympics bids. Colorado Politics reports that 79% of voters OK’d the measure, according to unofficial results from Tuesday’s municipal election.

Connecticut

Hartford: State lawmakers are sending a bill to the governor that will allow schoolchildren to self-apply sunscreen before they participate in recess and other outdoor activities. Parents have told legislators that elementary school students are currently required to have a school nurse apply sunscreen. They often skip sunscreen so they don’t miss out on recess, putting them at risk for skin cancers.

Delaware

Wilmington: After two months in recovery, a pit bull found in an abandoned Dover residence is ready to find a new home. Pumpkin weighed only 30 pounds when she was rescued by the Dover Police Animal Control Unit on April 2. Officials weren’t sure how long she had been left alone. Pumpkin has gained 20 pounds. “She’s remarkably sweet with people, despite whatever she experienced in her past,” said Linda Torelli of the Brandywine Valley SPCA. “She was a bit shy at intake but has blossomed in her confidence.” The former tenants face animal cruelty charges.

District of Columbia

Washington: Residents of the District’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood have been on high alert since a man broke into separate apartment buildings last month and sexually assaulted female tenants. And now their vigilance has brought results. Neighbors rushed to the scene after hearing screams and chased a man on a stolen bike until police arrived. Lester Wilkerson, 58, was arrested on charges including sexual abuse.

Florida

Jacksonville: A vehicle assistance company helped save a 1-year-old Florida girl after her mom passed out inside a hot car. OnStar alerted the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office that there was a child making noises inside a vehicle that wasn’t running. Deputies were able to get inside the car because the window was cracked a few inches.

Georgia

Augusta: Outsource service provider Sitel Group says it will hire 400 new employees at its Augusta call center starting this month. The company will hold a career fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at its inbound call center. Positions start at $12 an hour and include health benefits and a 401(k) retirement plan.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A former Honolulu deputy prosecutor got a state government job using correspondence from a fictional notary public, federal prosecutors say. This week they linked Katherine Kealoha to a nonexistent notary public named “Alison Lee Wong,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The false name was on a letter to state officials supporting Kealoha’s bid to become director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control in 2008, prosecutors say.

Idaho

Idaho Falls: Members of the deaf community are railing against a new downtown mural because the painting incorrectly uses American Sign Language. The Post Register reports the mural – titled “Look and Listen” and commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho and the Idaho Falls Downtown Development Corp. – is meant to depict four signs in American Sign Language but the signs were illustrated incorrectly.

Illinois

Chicago: Twin sisters are set to become co-valedictorians this weekend at Lindblom Math and Science Academy on the city’s South Side. Tia and Tyra Smith will graduate Saturday with perfect 4.0 GPAs. The two have only spent one full day apart, when Tia visited a college in the spring. Both have full college scholarships – Tyra will study economics at Northwestern University and Tia will go to Duke University to study statistics. Both plan to study theater as well.

Indiana

Decatur: Police rescued a 74-year-old woman after three deer crashed through a bedroom window into her apartment, trapping her inside with the skittish animals. Sgt. Kevin Gerber says officers subdued and removed one deer and two others that ended up in a bathroom were tranquilized and released. He says the woman wasn’t injured and “was amazingly calm” during her ordeal, but the deer heavily damaged her apartment.

Iowa

Sioux City: A Sioux City food pantry that serves more than 5,000 people a month is being evicted, and many low-income families may lose their primary access to food. The Midtown Family Community Center houses the food pantry and a 4-H program, and it provides a free Saturday meal for neighborhood residents. Boys and Girls Home Inc. owns the building and had allowed the community center to use it rent-free. But the building was sold and the organization is moving its programs to a centralized campus.

Kansas

Lawrence: The University of Kansas is paying a former student-athlete $40,000 to settle a lawsuit claiming she became ill because of mold in the vents of her dormitory room. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the university denies the claims but agreed to pay Laine Evans $20,000 and her attorneys $20,000 to settle the lawsuit. Evans was a freshman on the golf team during the 2015-16 school year. She transferred to Wichita State the next year.

Kentucky

Lexington: A federal jury has convicted a Winchester man of leaking a database of HIV patients from Singapore’s government. Singapore’s health ministry accused Mikhy Farrera-Brochez of stealing and leaking a database of 14,200 people who were infected with HIV. The ministry says Farrera-Brochez worked in Singapore as a lecturer before he was deported last year.

Louisiana

New Orleans: A public viewing and funeral have been set Saturday for civil rights icon and chef Leah Chase, 96, who transformed Dooky Chase’s Restaurant from a sandwich shop to a fine-dining establishment known around the nation. During the civil rights movement, she fed people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Chase also broke the city’s segregation laws by seating both white and black customers and sent food to jailed activists.

Maine

Augusta: Maine was the first state to ban single-use food and drink foam containers, and single-use plastic bags may be next. Several dozen municipalities already ban the bags, and both houses of the Legislature have given initial approval to a statewide ban. Retailers support the bill, which would allow stores to provide recyclable paper bags for at least 5 cents.

Maryland

Baltimore: The city and federal authorities are investigating whether documents posted online are connected to a ransomware attack that has hobbled the city’s computer network. A Twitter account claimed to be run by the attackers posted city material and faxes, including a detailed assessment of a woman’s medical history. City officials have refused to pay a ransom demand of the equivalent of $76,000 in bitcoin.

Massachusetts

Cuttyhunk Island: The single graduating student on this tiny island (year-round population of 12 or so) is nonetheless receiving the star treatment. Actress and comedian Jenny Slate will speak at this month’s graduation ceremony for Cuttyhunk Elementary School, a one-room schoolhouse. Slate’s audience will be Gwen Lynch, this year’s lone graduate of the school that goes up to 8th grade; her family and other Cuttyhunk residents. Slate played Mona-Lisa Saperstein on “Parks and Recreation” and is a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member.

Michigan

Suttons Bay: In Northern Michigan, the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office is auctioning some rare muscle: a 1969 Plymouth GTX convertible with less than 21,000 miles on the odometer. The car was abandoned in a storage building northwest of Traverse City that has changed hands a few times. Undersheriff Steve Morgan says investigators searched the vehicle’s identification number but couldn’t find an owner. The online auction at MITN Surplus Auctions started Wednesday and runs through June 18.

Minnesota

St. Paul: Minnesota’s two medical marijuana providers lost a combined $2.4 million in 2018, continuing the losses that have marked the state’s program since it began. But top executives of both companies told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that they see reason for optimism. They point to changes approved in the recent legislative session that will make it easier for them to do business. Leafline Labs and Minnesota Medical Solutions can now write off their business expenses, buy hemp from local farmers and open four new dispensaries apiece around the state, among other changes.

Mississippi

Jackson: Property seizures by police in Jackson haven’t been reported as required by law. The Clarion Ledger reports the department has seized at least $208,000 and four cars since July 2017, and none of those seizures was uploaded to the state’s asset forfeiture website. Police say that is the responsibility of the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office. Robert Shuler Smith, the D.A., says his office is complying with the law, but didn’t say why the information was missing from the online database.

Missouri

Kansas City: Jackson County legislator Crystal Williams says her local jail’s security checkpoint requires any woman wearing an underwire bra to remove it before entering. The checkpoint has an X-ray machine and metal detectors that are apparently triggered by the metal in the bras. The sheriff and corrections department director dispute the claim. But lawyer Laurie Snell said that, along with her shoes and jewelry, she was expected to toss her bra into the bin at the gate during a recent visit. “I went in the bathroom, took it off and threw it in the bin. On the elevator on my way up to the see my client on the seventh floor, I wriggled back into it. Why should I have to do that?” she asks. “All the men have to do is take off their belts and shoes.”

Montana

Anaconda: President Donald Trump has reversed an administration decision to close the Anaconda Job Corps training center that had been opposed by Montana’s congressional delegation. Republican U.S. Sen. Steve Daines’ staff said he spoke with the president on Saturday and touted the successes of the center. Center CEO Bill Everett says the program keeps many youth out of trouble by providing them with job skills and employment opportunities.

Nebraska

Beatrice: The city’s Mercantile Building, which houses the Stone Hollow Brewery and other businesses, could become Nebraska’s first indoor entertainment district if the city paves the way with ordinance changes. “It sounds like people want to walk around and see the rest of the building after they get a beer at the brewery, and it’s kind of a big job to police everyone going in and out,” City Attorney Abby Stark said at Monday night’s council meeting.

Nevada

Carson City: Nevada Democrats who waited 27 years to control the governor’s mansion and the statehouse wrapped up the legislative session after approving a two-year, $28 billion budget that gives state workers and teachers a pay raise, a promise of Gov. Steve Sisolak. Democrats wielded their two-thirds supermajority in the Assembly and near-supermajority in the Senate to toughen gun laws, raise the minimum wage from $8.25 to $12, overhaul criminal justice bills to cut prison populations and grant state workers the right to collectively bargain.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: Frontier Airlines says it will suspend its service to Orlando, Florida, from Portsmouth International Airport at Pease starting Thursday. Seacoastonline.com reports that airport director Paul Brean says he thinks Frontier will restart the route later in the year, but hasn’t received any confirmation. The airline cited a lack of demand.

New Jersey

Newark: A state appeals court ordered a new trial Wednesday for a man convicted of stabbing three people in a backyard in 2011. Testimony showed Morgan Mesz brutally attacked two women in Elizabeth after they heard him making a commotion inside a backyard shed, then stabbed a neighbor who intervened. The women testified that Mesz told them he was looking for “the portal to hell” in their yard. The three-judge panel wrote that Mesz’s conviction should be reversed because the trial judge didn’t instruct jurors on a video prosecutors played of Mesz’s interview with a psychiatric expert.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: The snow is melting, New Mexico’s rivers are flowing and the clouds are building more regularly, bringing with them needed rain as the arid state tries to shake what’s left of its drought. “It’s a total flip of the coin from last year,” state climatologist Dave DuBois told a group of lawmakers. With reservoirs recovering, New Mexico can store water from the Rio Grande in upstream reservoirs without compromising its water-sharing agreement with Texas.

New York

Albany: Sixty-one people were charged with disorderly conduct after protesters frustrated by the slow movement of proposals to strengthen tenant protections blocked access Tuesday to the Senate and Assembly chambers at the state Capitol. The group, which included New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, marched through the Capitol chanting protests before blocking the legislative doors. Two people were charged with third-degree assault for allegedly hitting the Assembly sergeant-at-arms.

North Carolina

Raleigh: A man who says he based his Powerball entry on a fortune cookie he got from his granddaughter now has a fortune to celebrate. Retired retailer Charles W. Jackson Jr. took the $223 million lump sum payment after winning the $344.6 million jackpot. He said he would donate some of it to several charities and give $1 million to his brother to make good on a deal they made. He added, “I’m still going to wear my jeans – maybe newer ones.”

North Dakota

Bismarck: North Dakota and federal officials are developing the rules for a state program that would allow armed first responders to be posted in schools as many districts look to improve safety following mass shootings across the country. Kirsten Baesler, the state’s superintendent, expects the draft to be complete by June 13, the Bismarck Tribune reports.

Ohio

Columbus: State Rep. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, has introduced a bill to ban the manufacture, sale or possession of synthetic urine, which people are using to defeat drug tests. Fabricated urine costs around $17 and comes with instructions for microwaving it to bring it to body temperature. Similar bans are in place in at least 18 states. In Mississippi last year, it was dubbed the “Urine Trouble” bill.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: Vice President Mike Pence is pledging to rebuild parts of Oklahoma damaged by flooding. Pence, his wife and federal agency heads on Tuesday visited a food bank and toured Tulsa-area neighborhoods swamped after the swollen Arkansas River left its banks. Major flooding is expected to subside within a few weeks. President Donald Trump declared a major disaster in Oklahoma, where officials say recent severe weather has killed six people.

Oregon

Salem: A federal judge has blocked the grazing permits issued to father and son ranchers who were the focus of a battle about public land. Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that Judge Michael H. Simon issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday, halting the permits granted to Dwight and Steven Hammond by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke before he left the Trump administration. The Hammonds served jail time for setting fires on federal pastures in eastern Oregon and became a cause celebre for brothers Ryan and Ammon Bundy in 2016.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: The city’s new street sweeping program has hit a road bump: the trucks are too wide to fit down some of the city’s narrow, colonial-era streets. WHYY reports that the 10 new street sweepers – which are 9 feet wide and were purchased for $2.73 million – can’t fit down 10 percent of the streets in the pilot neighborhoods. Streets Department Commissioner Carlton Williams says the city is considering buying more trucks.

Rhode Island

Bristol: Rogers Free Library in Bristol says it will go forward with a Drag Queen Story Hour after an earlier decision to cancel the event amid “threats of protest.” The library will hold the story hour June 15.

South Carolina

Folly Beach: An old shell found on a beach four years ago has been identified as that of an ancient oyster never before found in the area. College of Charleston paleontologist Robert Boessenecker deemed the shell found by Ashby Gale to belong to an ancient Ostrea coxi oyster. The Post and Courier of Charleston says the ancient shellfish lived 3 million to 5 million years ago and findings of their remnants have been confirmed only in Florida until now.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Several Sioux Falls elementary schools are using a new mental health program to help young students better understand how they’re feeling. The Move This World program offers online curriculum and videos that teach students about bullying prevention, stress management and conflict resolution. Cleveland Elementary Principal Mitchell Sheaffer says the program also helps teachers identify which students might need extra support. Teacher Lindsey Olson said she uses a list of about 100 emoji for students to reference throughout the day to express their emotions. She also has posters that encourage students to practice cool-down mechanisms or positive coping skills.

Tennessee

Nashville: The state’s tourism department says it equipped more than 200 kids with wearable “Laugh Trackers” last month for over 450 hours. The goal: to help their parents weigh their trip options. The attractions tested included the Children’s Museum of Memphis, Discovery Park of America in Union City, Nashville Zoo, Fall Creek Falls in Spencer, Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Hands On! Discovery Center in Gray and Dollywood in Pigeon Forge.

Texas

Austin: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a measure into law Tuesday that aims to eliminate the backlog of thousands of untested rape kits in Texas. The measure allocates about $50 million toward hiring more workers at the state’s crime labs and expands access to sexual assault nurse examiners for underserved populations.

Utah

Provo: A puppy and its 43-year-old owner are recovering after getting trapped in a garbage truck. Provo Police Sgt. Nisha King says officers rescued the two after they got caught by the truck’s compactor mechanism. The unidentified man and puppy were sleeping in a dumpster when the truck collected and compacted the bin’s contents with them inside. The driver stopped the machine after hearing the man call for help. The unidentified man sustained minor injuries. The pit bull-lab mix puppy was not hurt and has been taken to a shelter.

Vermont

Montpelier: The founder of the Vermont College of Fine Arts is planning to step down so he can focus on writing and teaching. Thomas Greene says he plans to begin a yearlong sabbatical next month and leave his post as president July 1, 2020.

Virginia

Stuart: An 18-month investigation into a cockfighting ring in rural Claudville has led to the arrests of 80 people, many of them from nearby North Carolina. Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith says evidence shows the ring is based in Mexico, with people from states such as Georgia and Texas participating. The sheriff says investigators believe drug cartels used part of the money for other criminal activities.

Washington

Yakima: The City Council has scrapped a measure that required businesses contracting with the city to use a federal electronic system called E-Verify, which verifies that employees are eligible to work in the United States.

West Virginia

Charleston: A long-running lawsuit seeking to require Gov. Jim Justice to live in the state’s capital will continue. A circuit judge in Charleston on Wednesday asked for more legal filings in the case brought by Democratic Del. Isaac Sponaugle, who contends the state constitution requires the governor to “reside at the seat of government.” The governor’s lawyers say the definition of reside is unclear and added the suit would essentially force the court to chaperone Justice’s whereabouts.

Wisconsin

Madison: The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee voted Tuesday to stand by its decision to reject Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ plan to expand Medicaid, turning down more than $1 billion in federal funding and $324 million in state money savings. Democrats accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible for not taking the Medicaid expansion and for reducing what the governor wanted to spend in such areas as community health programs, dental health initiatives for poor people, crisis intervention services and lead poisoning prevention efforts.

Wyoming

Laramie: Outgoing University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols will become president of Black Hills State University on July 1, one day after her contract expires in Wyoming. Black Hills State says the Colman, South Dakota, native will serve in a temporary capacity while a national search is conducted for a permanent president at the school in Spearfish.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports