News from across the USA
ALABAMA Prattville: Police have reported a spike in thefts of lawn mowers and other grasscutting equipment, more than two dozen cases in the past few weeks in this city of 35,000, The Montgomery Advertiser reported. Thieves have been targeting both homes and professional lawncare services.
ALASKA Fairbanks: The state Department of Fish and Game expects this summer’s weak run of Yukon River king salmon will fall short of tepid projections set before the season began, newsminer.com reported.
ARIZONA Scottsdale: Lindsey Radomski, a yoga instructor accused of engaging in sex acts with teenage boys at a bar mitzvah, pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor allegations, the Republic reported.
ARKANSAS North Little Rock: Tim Green, a best-selling author of young adult sports novels, has been taking votes via Facebook “likes” to name a character in a forthcoming book. Megan Nickell, a 12-year-old girl killed by a lightning strike July 5, was the top pick as the contest neared its end, ArkansasOnline reported.
CALIFORNIA Sacramento: The State Fair focused on technology this year, including a drone race and science exhibits, according to the Bee.
COLORADO Fort Collins: A man who reported his bike stolen last week and thought it was gone forever made a surprise discovery two days after it was stolen. Trace O’Connor and his friend spotted a man riding O’Connor’s custommade 29-inch Kona mountain bike, the Coloradoan reported. He called police and followed the man, who was stopped by police, handcuffed and questioned.
CONNECTICUT West Haven: Traffic was snarled on Interstate 95 here because of a naked man on the highway, WVIT-TV reported.
DELAWARE Wilmington: Saying their concerns that a school set to open in their community in the fall will cause traffic nightmares have not been addressed, the Midtown Brandywine Neighbors Association has filed a lawsuit against the city, the school and the building owners seeking to block the school from opening, The News Journal reported.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: As part of the March on Washington Film Festival on Saturday, people can view a screening of Ruby Bridges, a film about the 6-yearold girl who was one of the first African-American children to attend an integrated school in the South in 1960, The Washington Post reported.
FLORIDA Branford: Two people were injured when a sturgeon leaped into the path of their boat on the Suwannee River, The Gainesville Sun reported.
GEORGIA Atlanta: A project to place a Martin Luther King Jr. statue on the grounds of the Capitol are on hold after sculptor Andy Davis died of injuries from a traffic wreck, the Journal-Constitution reported.
HAWAII Honolulu: More than two dozen dogs were rescued by animal welfare workers, Hawaii News Now reported.
IDAHO Middleton: Kyle Cooper said he wants to build a lake where his family can ski, boat and paddle board. But neighboring residents have raised concerns that the project will create noise and air pollution, the Idaho Press-Tribune reported.
ILLINOIS Chicago: Green City Market’s 15th annual barbecue Thursday will feature bites from more than 80 local restaurants and sips from mixologists, distillers and craft brewers, the Tribune reported.
INDIANA Bloomington: A new survey found that many county agencies failed to comply with state laws requiring the disclosure of many public records through electronic requests, The Herald Times reported.
IOWA Cedar Falls: Firefighters rescued a dozen ducklings that fell into a pond overflow drain, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.
KANSAS Wichita: A measure that would allow some school districts to hire unlicensed people to fill teaching positions is set to go before the state education board this week, The Wichita Eagle reported.
KENTUCKY Louisville: Citing deplorable conditions, some that endangered the health and lives of residents, federal officials are cutting off Medicaid and Medicare funds for a nursing home, a move that could force it to close, The Courier-Journal reported. The action against the Hurstbourne Care Center at Stony Brook follows a state investigation that cited filthy, unsanitary and dangerous conditions at the facility of 125 residents.
LOUISIANA New Orleans: Lauren LaBorde, a writer at the real estate website Curbed, took a poll on whether Metairie was becoming “cool,” The Times-Picayune reported. More than half of respondents said, “No way!”
MAINE Bangor: A man who pleaded guilty to killing a school teacher in a car crash was arrested for violating his conditions of release, WLBZ-TV reported.
MARYLAND Jarrettsville: Crews rescued a 16-year-old boy who fell at Rocks State Park, WBAL-TV reported.
MASSACHUSETTS Boston: Rafi Properties, a small development company, wants to build a 30story residential tower on a downtown parcel, The Boston Globe reported.
MICHIGAN Ypsilanti: A contract engineer from here is suing Rapid Global Business Solutions as well as Ford for discrimination after losing an automotive design job because he posted comments criticizing the automaker’s support of the gay community, the Detroit Free Press reported.
MINNESOTA Brainerd: Local lakes are still reeling from storms that downed thousands of trees, left docks twisted and thousands of homes without power. Some resorts said they expect to be closed for a week or more, KARETV reported.
MISSISSIPPI Raymond: Authorities captured one of four inmates who escaped from the Hinds County detention center here. Jermaine Wilson, 19, was arrested in Jackson Monday evening.
MISSOURI Kansas City: A police detective who was diagnosed in April with a rare flesh-eating bacterial infection has left the hospital. The Kansas City Star reported that Josh Ward left St. Luke’s Hospital on Monday. Ward was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis in mid-April.
MONTANA Billings: Some campers have been leaving their RVs or trailers at Bighorn National Forest for longer than they are allowed. The Billings Gazette reported that there have been numerous complaints.
NEBRASKA Lincoln: Through the first six months of the year, commercial airline traffic is up 15% at Lincoln Airport over the same period last year, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. That increase is largely due to a Delta Airlines flight from Lincoln to Atlanta, which started in September.
NEVADA Reno: Real estate in Washoe County posted its second highest number of home sales for the month of June, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
NEW HAMPSHIRE Concord: Local authorities said the city is experiencing an alarming spike in methamphetamine use. Sgt. Marc McGonagle, with the police’s drug unit, told The Concord Monitor that since January undercover police have made at least 19 separate purchases of the narcotic.
NEW JERSEY Long Branch: Someone who visited — or lives at — the Jersey Shore has a Jersey Cash 5 game lottery ticket for nearly $900,000 that has yet to be claimed, the Asbury Park Press reported. The ticket was purchased at a 7-Eleven on Ocean Boulevard. The winning numbers were 19, 32, 33, 34 and 43 for a jackpot of $890,682.
NEW MEXICO Santa Fe: Police are looking for a suspect who tried to steal a car and then fired five shots at the vehicle owner, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
NEW YORK Greenburgh: A retired police officer was “conscious and alert” after being shot twice when he interrupted an apparent burglary at a neighbor’s home in this township north of Yonkers, The Journal News reported. Peter Schmidt Sr. was shot in the arm and torso after confronting the two suspected burglars late Monday afternoon on the street.
NORTH CAROLINA Charlotte: The city’s first streetcar line in 77 years opened Tuesday with a morning ceremony and service that started in the afternoon, The
Charlotte Observer reported. The free, 1.5-mile line that cost $37 million to build has six stops from Time Warner Cable Arena to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center.
NORTH DAKOTA Devils Lake: The state plans to run the two floodwater diversion outlets here as much as possible this summer, KZZY radio reported. The two outlets are capable of running at a combined capacity of 600 cubic feet of water per second.
OHIO Cincinnati: A federal judge found a Deer Park man, who threatened to kill House Speaker John Boehner, not guilty by reason of insanity, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Michael Hoyt was in the throes of a twoyear battle with mental illness last fall when the former country club bartender told police he was “Jesus Christ” and planned to kill Boehner because he was evil. Federal Judge Timothy Black ruled for Hoyt to remain in jail and undergo further psychiatric testing. Hoyt is due back in court Aug. 21, when he could go free or be sent to a mental-health facility.
OKLAHOMA Tulsa: The Tax Foundation’s annual report shows that Oklahoma’s average combined sales-tax rate at 8.78% is slightly higher than last year’s 8.72%, the Tulsa World reported. The state has dropped from fifth to sixth in rankings, after Alabama moved up to fourth.
OREGON Astoria: A historic ferry that operated here from 1924 to 1966 is visiting its home town and a local effort is under way to keep it in Astoria, The Daily Astorian reported. The 110-foot boat can carry 185 people.
PENNSYLVANIA Erie: A 14-yearold boy wanted in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man has turned himself into police, the Erie Times-News reported.
RHODE ISLAND East Greenwich: A motorcycle carrying two people crashed into the back of an unmarked state trooper car, WJAR-TV reported.
SOUTH CAROLINA Sumter: U.S. Army Central at Shaw Air Force Base said that Staff Sgt. Khasim Martin, 35, of New York City died in Columbia. Martin’s cause of death remains under investigation, WLTX-TV reported.
SOUTH DAKOTA Mitchell: Archaeologists working at the Prehistoric Indian Village here have uncovered an intact ceramic pot, The Daily Republic reported. It’s the first time an intact piece of pottery has been found at the 1,000-year-old site, where research has been ongoing for nearly 90 years.
TENNESSEE Camden: A line of more than 60 vehicles, waving Confederate battle flags, drove to Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near here to protest recent calls to change the park’s name, The Jackson Sun reported.
TEXAS Mansfield: A 10-yearold-girl donated bullet- and stabproof vests for two K-9 officers in the Mansfield police department. Camryn Samuel raised money through several events to purchase the vests as a way to ensure the dogs are protected in dangerous situations, The Star Telegram reported.
UTAH Ogden: The city’s iconic water tower is going to have a paint job, the first in 16 years, the Standard-Examiner reported.
VERMONT South Burlington: The South Burlington Police Department has decided to cease posting mug shots on Facebook, Burlington Free Press reported.
VIRGINIA Vienna: More than 2,600 people have signed an online petition calling for a change in the name of the Jefferson Davis Highway, The Washington Post reported. Davis was president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.
WASHINGTON Sunnyside: The Federal Aviation Administration is providing the city with more than $533,000 to help restore part of its airport’s taxiway and runway, The Olympian reported.
WEST VIRGINIA Charleston: The Kanawha-Charleston Soccer Foundation owes about $1.2 million on a loan due in September 2016, or BB&T Bank will foreclose on the Trace Fork Soccer Complex, the Gazette reported.
WISCONSIN Oshkosh: Minnesota-based Strategic Fundraising faces a lawsuit after closing its Oshkosh call center abruptly last week, forcing more than 100 out of work, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported.
WYOMING Yellowstone National Park: The national park saw record-setting attendance numbers in June. The Cody Enterprise reported that Yellowstone tracked more than 780,700 recreational visits last month, an increase of 17% over June 2014 and 12% more than the previous record set in June 2010. The previous record saw more than 694,800 visits. Data shows that visitation at Yellowstone is up almost 20% for the year thus far. Through May it reached an increase of 24% over last year.