Crystal Cathedral reborn Catholic, 'Conjuring' house, Wiki ‘editathon’: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Auburn: Auburn University has a new dual-degree program for students interested in both engineering and the German language, a boon especially to those hoping to work with foreign automakers in the state. A statement from the school says the new program has students taking four years of classes in Auburn and one year in Germany, where they’ll study at a partner school and work in an internship. The degree could help students wanting to work in fields including automotive manufacturing – the German automaker Mercedes-Benz has a plant that employs thousands in Tuscaloosa County. In all, almost 90 German companies have operations in Alabama. The university says the new program is a joint effort between the colleges of engineering and liberal arts. Most Auburn students minoring in German are engineering majors.

Alaska

Juneau: A mining company wants to begin exploratory drilling for the rare element vanadium in southeast Alaska. CoastAlaska reports that Northern Cobalt Ltd., an Australian firm, has applied to the U.S. Forest Service for the proposed project on Snettisham Inlet. The site is located in the Tongass National Forest, about 35 miles southeast of Juneau. Vanadium is used in steel alloys, as well as rechargeable industrial batteries. There are no active federal mining claims at the site. Exploratory drilling for iron ore was conducted at the location in 2012, but those claims were abandoned amid a collapse in iron prices. In a promotional video, the company’s managing director, Michael Schwarz, notes the site’s proximity to a power station. The Forest Service is reviewing the company’s application and accepting public comments through July 26.

Arizona

Phoenix: A new report from Smart Growth America has ranked the state’s 7th Congressional District – which encompasses much of central and west Phoenix, as well as Glendale – the most dangerous place to walk in America. From 2008 to 2017, 344 pedestrians were killed in the 7th District alone – 4.48 for every 100,000 citizens, and the highest of any U.S. congressional district, according to the report. An Arizona Republic investigation published earlier this year found that 10 out of 12 “hot spots” where pedestrian crashes occur frequently are in the 7th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who represents the district, joined with colleagues to introduce a street safety bill titled the “Complete Streets Act of 2019” on Wednesday in the House and Senate.

Arkansas

Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees has approved a 3.1% salary increase for the chancellor at the system’s flagship campus. The raise for Joe Steinmetz, approved Tuesday, brings his annual total compensation to $714,000. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, that amount includes an annual salary of $464,000 and annual deferred compensation of $250,000 for Steinmetz. The board of trustees also approved pay increases for other employees Tuesday during a teleconference meeting, including 10% increases for the deans of UA’s Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design and the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Also Tuesday, the board approved a 2.1% pay increase for UA Chancellor Emeritus G. David Gearhart, bringing his annual salary to just under $290,000.

California

Garden Grove: An iconic, glass-paned church in Orange County that once housed a booming televangelist ministry has been transformed into a cathedral to give the region’s Catholics a long-awaited and much larger place to congregate and pray. The landmark building, with a facade made up of nearly 11,000 glass panes, was long known as the Rev. Robert H. Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral. It appears unchanged from the outside. But the cavernous house of worship is covered on the inside with quatrefoil window shades that send sunlight cascading across a stone altar, wooden pews and steel crucifix befitting a Catholic cathedral. The new Christ Cathedral will be dedicated next Wednesday after a $77 million makeover. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange bought the building after Schuller’s church went bankrupt in 2010.

Colorado

Denver: State wildlife officials have released thousands of cutthroat trout into the wild in an effort to preserve the fish. The Denver Post reports Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials released an estimated 4,500 fingerlings that were transported to Cottonwood Creek near Westcliffe on July 1. Officials say the rare subspecies of fish are descendants of 158 cutthroat trout rescued from a wildfire that burned more than 25 square miles in the Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado. Officials say ash from the fire three summers ago made water in Hayden Creek uninhabitable, and the surviving fish were taken to a hatchery near Crested Butte to spawn. The transport to Cottonwood Creek was conducted by Colorado wildlife and U.S. Forest Service staff and volunteers from Trout Unlimited.

Connecticut

New Haven: A research scientist who worked at NASA and a chronic disease epidemiologist are just two of Yale University’s renowned female graduates, professors and staff who have gone unmentioned on the pages of Wikipedia. Dozens of Yale students and staff gathered Tuesday at the Yale School of Management to learn how to give those and many other Yale women their due on the predominantly male, English version of the crowd-sourced, online encyclopedia. Organizers of Tuesday’s “editathon” said they also hope to encourage more women to edit articles on the popular online encyclopedia, which relies on user-generated information. Professor Julia Adams, a historical sociologist, has written about female academics who were not included in academic papers and says that makes it difficult to refer to them on Wikipedia, which requires cited articles and journals for biographies.

Delaware

Wilmington: Activist Sarah McBride is running for the state Senate in 2020. The 28-year-old Wilmington native announced Tuesday that she will try to replace Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington North, who is retiring at the end of his term. McBride rose to national prominence in 2016 when she became the first openly transgender person to speak at the Democratic National Convention. Long involved in politics, she is the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group in the U.S. She plans to stay in that position part time during her campaign but would leave to be a full-time legislator if she wins, she said. McBride first made headlines in 2012, when she came out publicly as transgender at the end of her term as American University student body president.

District of Columbia

Washington: It wasn’t a one-time deal. President Donald Trump says he’s planning a repeat of last week’s “Salute to America” Fourth of July festivities that included a speech by him on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Trump says that it was “a wonderful day for all Americans” and that, “based on its tremendous successes,” his administration has “made the decision to do it again next year and maybe we can say for the foreseeable future.” Trump’s decision to speak at the event drew protesters who objected to the inclusion of military equipment and what they saw as his co-opting of the holiday. Trump is calling the event “remarkable” and praising the “incredible, big, beautiful crowds” it drew despite the rain. “We celebrated freedom in all of its magnificence,” he says.

Florida

Fort Lauderdale: Non-native iguanas are multiplying so rapidly that a state wildlife agency is encouraging people to kill them. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission news release says people should exterminate the large green lizards on their properties as well as on 22 public land areas across South Florida. It doesn’t say just how civilians should try to kill them. “Homeowners do not need a permit to kill iguanas on their own property, and the FWC encourages homeowners to kill green iguanas on their own property whenever possible,” the agency says. Iguanas aren’t dangerous or aggressive to humans, but they damage seawalls, sidewalks and landscape foliage and can dig lengthy tunnels. The males can grow to at least 5 feet long and weigh nearly 20 pounds. The commission says female iguanas can lay nearly 80 eggs a year, and South Florida’s warm climate is perfect for the prehistoric-looking animals.

Georgia

Atlanta: The mayor has signed legislation banning smoking and vaping in enclosed areas such as bars, restaurants and one of the world’s busiest airports. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the legislation signed by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will go into effect Jan. 2. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been one of the few major U.S. hubs where people could still smoke inside designated rooms. Airport spokesman Andrew Gobeil has said the smoking rooms will be repurposed. Smokers will instead be allowed to smoke in an outdoor terminal smoking area before heading through security. The ban excludes private residences and establishments that ban minors and generate at least 20% of their income from tobacco product sales.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Gov. David Ige said Tuesday he’d veto a bill that would require websites like Airbnb to collect and pay taxes on behalf of short-term vacation rental hosts, saying he wanted the state to coordinate with counties like Honolulu that have new regulations. Ige said he’s concerned the bill, if enacted, would legitimize illegal vacation rental operations. This is an issue across the state, where property owners have been renting homes in residential areas to tourists on a short-term basis without permits. The popularity of the practice has surged with the emergence of websites like Airbnb and HomeAway.com. On Oahu, home to Honolulu and the state’s most populated island, only about 800 vacation rental and bed-and-breakfast operators have permits to rent to tenants for less than 30 days, but there are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 vacation rentals.

Idaho

Boise: The state Department of Labor is eliminating more than half of its job service offices. The Idaho Press reports 14 of the 25 offices in the state will close by September. Department director Jani Revier says the new model will directly serve more people. Labor manager Dave Darrow says the new approach will allow the agency to serve people where there is the most need. Under the plan, there would be six primary regional offices and five affiliate offices providing services for job-seekers and employers across the state. Former state Sen. Shawn Keough says the new model will be a hardship on rural towns. Moscow was the first to close its office last week.

Illinois

Chicago: Police investigators have cracked the case: A 4- to 5-foot alligator is living in a lagoon at one of the city’s most popular parks. Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi says investigators went to Humboldt Park Lagoon on the city’s West Side and confirmed the unusual resident is there, as reported on social media. Officials couldn’t say how the creature got there. City officials say alligator traps are being placed around the lagoon in hopes the animal will swim into one and be safely removed. Guglielmi says the animal was expected to be trapped “and relocated to a zoo for veterinary evaluation.” Alligators favor warm-weather climates such as Florida but have been known to survive temporarily in the cold through a process similar to hibernation.

Indiana

Bloomington: Agricultural officials say this year’s corn crop in the state is expected to be among the lowest quality in three decades following planting delays caused by excessive spring rainfall. Greg Matli, a statistician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, tells The Herald-Times that the agency expects Indiana’s 2019 corn to be the fifth-lowest in quality since 1986. Monday’s report from the agency rates just 38% of Indiana’s corn crop as currently of good to excellent quality. That comes after heavy spring rains significantly delayed the planting of corn and soybeans, likely lowering crop yields. Sadie Davis, Purdue Extension office director in Greene County, calls this spring’s wet field conditions “astounding” and something Hoosier farmers haven’t seen in a long time.

Iowa

Orange City: A magistrate has refused to dismiss a criminal mischief charge against a religious activist accused of burning four LGBTQ children’s books that he checked out of a library. Prosecutors say 63-year-old Paul Dorr posted a video on Facebook in October in which he denounced the Orange City library for having the books and threw them into a burning barrel. He argued in his motion for dismissal that he was singled out for prosecution because of the message he was sending. Sioux County District Court records show that Magistrate Lisa Mazurek said in her ruling issued Monday that Dorr didn’t prove his assertions and that the only message being sent to him is “that he cannot burn books that do not belong to him.” His trial is set for Aug. 6.

Kansas

Wichita: The city has opened a 91-acre wetland park in an area where thousands of migratory birds stop each year. The Wichita Eagle reports that visitors to the Pracht Wetlands Park can walk over galvanized-steel boardwalks and watch birds behind two observation points that are similar to duck blinds. Eventually there will be a half-mile loop of boardwalk circling the northern half of the park with multiple observation points and an observation tower. The total budget for the project is about $7.5 million. The City Council representative for the area, Bryan Frye, says that just under $2 million has been invested in it so far. Just to the west of the park, a major new retail-and-restaurant development is in the works. Frye described the project as “an eco-tourism opportunity.”

Kentucky

Burgin: Officials have announced a new aftercare program meant to help prison inmates in addiction recovery avoid relapse. Kentucky Justice Secretary John Tilley says the program will provide a new system of support, mentoring and peer accountability for those offenders. Participants will live together in a dormitory located at Northpoint Training Center, a medium-custody prison in central Kentucky. State officials say SOAR, or Supporting Others in Active Recovery, focuses on preventing drug relapses and providing education and skills to rejoin a community upon release. It’s funded in part by a $300,000 grant from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. It is currently available for up to 88 inmates who have completed a substance abuse program and other requirements.

Louisiana

Columbia: Some 14 alligator snapping turtles reared at a fish hatchery are now swimming about in the wild. The release at Boeuf Wildlife Management Area in Caldwell Parish was part of a head-start program to replenish the species, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says. The federal government is scheduled to decide next year whether to declare the turtles endangered or threatened. State biologists are working to reduce the need for such a listing. Adult alligator snapping turtles have formidable jaws. But most babies get eaten by larger animals. So since 2012, department biologists have raised hundreds of turtles for release when they’re bigger. Those released Wednesday ranged from 6 inches to 12.5 inches and from at least 2 to at least 6 years old, biologist Keri Lejeune of the department’s Wildlife Diversity Program says. The 51,100-acre wildlife management area southeast of Columbia includes eight bayous and 26 lakes.

Maine

Augusta: The state’s agriculture commissioner is asking the federal government to use a new program to buoy the wild blueberry industry during a difficult time. Blueberry harvesters collected about 57 million pounds of the fruit in 2018. That was down nearly 11 million pounds from the previous year, and prices have been low. Maine Agriculture Commissioner Amanda Beal is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture for help via its market facilitation program. USDA launched the program last year to assist growers negatively affected by foreign trade retaliation. Beal says the program will provide more than $14 billion in direct payments to producers this year, but wild blueberries are not included in the program’s list of crops. Beal says Maine’s blueberry growers are often overlooked by programs and “deserve this needed support.”

Maryland

Glenelg: It appears Wi-Fi was the downfall of four teenagers who sneaked onto their school’s property the night before graduation last year and covered it in racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic graffiti. The Washington Post reports in a Tuesday story that the teens covered their faces during the hate crime but didn’t realize their cellphones automatically connected to Glenelg High School’s Wi-Fi under their individual student IDs. Seth Taylor, Tyler Curtiss, Joshua Shaffer and Matthew Lipp were soon arrested. Taylor said the teens meant to spray-paint “Class of 2018” on the sidewalk as a senior prank, but things got out of hand. Sentences for the four teens ranged from eight to 18 weekends behind bars.

Massachusetts

Great Barrington: A couple is working to preserve a crumbling hilltop cabin in western Massachusetts where the civil rights leader James Weldon Johnson wrote one of his most famous works. The Berkshire Eagle reports Rufus Jones and Jill Rosenberg-Jones, of New Jersey, purchased in 2011 a summer home on a 5-acre property in Great Barrington that once belonged to Johnson. They’re now turning their attention to saving the cabin where Johnson wrote “God’s Trombones,” a 1927 book of spiritual poetry. Johnson was an early leader of the NAACP and also a college professor, diplomat and songwriter. He died in 1938. Jones and Rosenberg-Jones say the cabin perched in an ancient hemlock grove has fallen into disrepair and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to restore. The couple created a foundation in 2016 to help keep Johnson’s legacy alive.

Michigan

Jackson: DTE Energy and the state’s prison system have launched a tree-trimming program that aims to fill open jobs and find full-time employment for released inmates. State, utility and union officials announced the program Tuesday at the Parnall Correctional Facility’s Vocational Village in Jackson. The first class of 24 started there last month. Prisoners who complete the training program will be eligible to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 17 and take an open job with a local tree-trimming supplier. Creators say the prisoners gain experience and get a job upon release – a challenge for many parolees. A stable job also reduces the chance they will return to prison. Officials also say the new pool of eligible workers will ease a shortage of trained people for the tree-trimming work.

Minnesota

St. Paul: A new report finds that murders decreased in the state last year, but rapes increased. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension released the 2018 crime report Monday that says violent crimes – including murder, rape, robbery, human trafficking and aggravated assault – decreased by nearly 7% in 2018. Murders in Minnesota decreased from 114 in 2017 to 104 in 2018. But rapes were up 9% in 2018. Robberies and aggravated assault both declined in 2018. Property crimes in Minnesota decreased nearly 9% in 2018. Motor vehicle theft was up for the third consecutive year. But burglary, theft and arson all declined, with arson numbers dropping to 426 in 2018, the lowest number since Minnesota started tracking arson crimes. The report is based on data reported by local law enforcement agencies.

Mississippi

Jackson: A Republican candidate for governor says he would not let a female journalist follow him while campaigning unless she was accompanied by a male colleague – and now he’s trying to raise campaign money based on that because he says the “liberal media” are attacking him. “Before our decision to run, my wife and I made a commitment to follow the ‘Billy Graham Rule,’ which is to avoid any situation that may evoke suspicion or compromise of our marriage,” Robert Foster said in a fundraising email Wednesday. Larrison Campbell with online publication Mississippi Today wrote that she requested to “shadow” Foster to report about his campaign before the Aug. 6 primary, and his campaign director told her Foster wouldn’t ride in a vehicle alone with her because people could insinuate Foster and Campbell are having an affair.

Missouri

Jefferson City: Older residents of the Show-Me State soon will be able to get out of jury duty, if they so choose. Legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Mike Parson will allow anyone age 75 or older to ask a court to be excused from jury duty. The judge will have to grant the request. The exemption is being added to a list of a half-dozen other categories of people who can be excused from jury duty. Those include nursing mothers, health care providers, and people for whom jury duty would impose an extreme physical or financial hardship. The new jury duty exemption will take effect Aug. 28.

Montana

Missoula: Two groups are working on ballot initiatives seeking to legalize and tax recreational marijuana in the state. One group, MontanaCan, submitted proposed ballot language to the secretary of state’s office June 28. The Legislative Services Division is reviewing the language. The Missoulian reports another group, Coalition 406, is still surveying people and holding focus groups as it drafts its proposed ballot language. The organizations would have to gather about 25,000 signatures to qualify the issue for the November 2020 ballot. Both measures call for using the tracking, testing and regulation of the state’s medical marijuana program, taxing recreational marijuana at about 15%, and reducing or eliminating the tax on medical marijuana.

Nebraska

Hastings: Runoff from heavy rains in south-central Nebraska is moving down several rivers, posing new flood threats. Warnings were issued after up to 9 inches of rain fell in some spots during storms that struck Buffalo, Dawson, Frontier, Gosper, Kearney and Phelps counties overnight Monday. Floodwater entered several communities, including Kearney, where several people were stranded in their homes or vehicles. The National Weather Service says the Wood River at Alda is expected to crest Friday less than a foot below the record set June 16, 1967. The service says the water will reach houses on the north side of town and cover U.S. Highway 30. Floodwater also invaded the town of about 660 residents after the drenching March storms that hastened the snowmelt and caused widespread flooding in much of eastern Nebraska.

Nevada

Reno: Burning Man and neon lights are the predominant theme for the planned Reno Neon Line, which will see the installation of several art pieces in the Biggest Little City’s downtown Fourth Street corridor starting this week. Two sculptures will be installed this week, followed by two more next week, according to Jacobs Entertainment. A total of eight to 10 sculptures will be installed at the Reno Neon Line over the next two years. The first four sculptures are Desert Guard, a giant steel Mongolian warrior by artist Lu Ming; SQUARED, a 50-foot, tree-like LED lantern sculpture by industrial artist Charles Gadeken; Bloom, a large interactive sculpture by Michael Christian featuring lights and steel; and Rearing Horse, a kinetic horse sculpture made of found objects and built by Elko artist and inventor Barry Crawford. The installations will light up in the evenings with vibrant neon colors.

New Hampshire

Concord: The state’s Democratic congressional delegation is welcoming Senate passage of a bill creating a commemorative coin to honor Christa McAuliffe, the Concord High School teacher who died in the NASA space shuttle Challenger disaster 33 years ago. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan introduced legislation in January to create a $1 coin to raise money for the FIRST Robotics program, while Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas introduced a House version of the bill. They said the coin would both honor McAuliffe and reaffirm Congress’ commitment to science education. The Senate bill passed Tuesday, and the House will now take up the bill. McAuliffe would have been NASA’s first designated teacher in space. She and six crewmates were killed when the Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff Jan. 28, 1986.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: America’s Playground is going green this week. The second annual Atlantic City Vegan Food Festival comes to the Showboat Hotel from Friday through Sunday. This year’s celebration of the vegan lifestyle, which uses no animal products, will be headlined by a talk from actress and activist Harley Quinn Smith. Smith, the star of “Yoga Hosers” who is featured in Quentin Tarantino’s July 26 release “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,” will appear in on-stage conversation with Alex Biese, features reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. The Red Bank-born Smith also happens to be the daughter of Highlands-native filmmaker Kevin Smith. General admission tickets, if purchased in advance, are $8 for the food truck festival Friday and $15 for the food festival Saturday. Kids ages 13 and under are free.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Environmentalists are going back to court in hopes of putting the brakes on plans to thin thousands of forested acres in the mountains bordering the city. Wild Watershed and others filed their appeal Monday, arguing that a U.S. district court judge erred when allowing the Santa Fe National Forest to move ahead with its plans for Pacheco Canyon and areas near Hyde Memorial State Park. The plaintiffs say forest officials failed to analyze the cumulative and indirect effects of clearing and burning in the area. In initially approving the projects, forest managers said the work needed to be done to reduce risks posed by disease, insect infestation and catastrophic wildfire. The environmentalists are concerned that the projects will end up targeting larger, older trees that are critical for many species.

New York

Albany: The state has expanded a law that prohibits gender pay discrimination, making it illegal to pay someone less based on characteristics including race, religion, disability or gender identity. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the changes into law in Manhattan on Wednesday, just before joining the U.S. women’s soccer team for a parade in New York City honoring their World Cup victory. Members of the team have filed a lawsuit demanding pay equity with the men’s soccer team, adding fuel to the broader debate over pay disparities that continue to affect millions of American workers. The new law, which takes effect in 90 days, also changes a legal standard for pay equity to make it easier for employees to prove discrimination in court.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Hurricanes, thievery and wrecks are taking out the state’s popular historical highway markers faster than the state can keep up. Historical marker program administrator Ansley Herring Wegner says five historical markers are missing, and a sixth that had been missing may be damaged beyond repair. More than 1,600 of the markers known as “history on a stick” stand along state roads, telling the stories of people and places that shaped the past. Replacing each costs $1,790. Wegner says the annual budget for new markers, repairs and replacements is $60,000. When she took her job in 2014, Wegner began keeping a database of missing markers and found some that had disappeared in the 1980s. The program began in 1936, when the first marker was placed in Granville County in honor of John Penn, who signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Fourteen high schools in the state plan to form competitive video gaming teams during this upcoming school year as interest in esports increases nationwide, including at the collegiate level, where scholarships are offered for varsity teams. The Bismarck Tribune reports Mandan High School is one of them. Mandan Superintendent Mike Bitz says the school will spend about $20,000 this year to buy computers and other equipment to construct an esports lab for students. Bitz says esports will help an “underrepresented population” of students who might not otherwise partake in school athletics or activities feel more included. The Mandan esports season is slated to begin in October and will last through December. Two universities in North Dakota have an esports team, and two more colleges will launch teams this fall.

Ohio

Cleveland: Discussions are underway to build a kid-friendly park as the city’s downtown population grows. Estimates show the number of people living downtown has grown to between 15,000 and 20,000 people, making it one of Cleveland’s biggest neighborhoods. Heather Holmes, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance’s vice president for marketing, tells Cleveland.com that her group, the city and downtown councilman Kerry McCormack have all been talking about the idea. Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that more than 1,100 children live in the general downtown area, with the number of children under 14 more than doubling over a decade. The park would be in addition to green space like the newly renovated Public Square.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Community leaders say they’re cautiously optimistic that the city’s new police chief will improve relations between the police department and historically underrepresented groups. Wade Gourley, 51, was appointed Monday as the department’s first new chief in 15 years and will oversee more than 1,200 uniformed officers. A 30-year veteran of the force, Gourley replaces former Chief Bill Citty, who retired in May after 41 years with the agency. Kris Steele, executive director of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, told The Oklahoman he hopes Gourley recruits and employs a diverse police force. About 6% of the department’s officers are Hispanic, 6% are black, and 1% are Asian. But the Census Bureau says Oklahoma City’s population is 18.5% Hispanic, 14.3% black and 4% Asian.

Oregon

Medford: Local officials in southern Oregon are asking the federal government to reject a proposed natural gas pipeline. The Medford Mail-Tribune reports the Canadian company Pembina wants to build a 229-mile underground pipeline to ship natural gas overseas to Asian markets. But county commissioners in Southern Oregon’s Jackson County say in a joint letter this month that the project would violate environmental laws and provide only short-term economic benefits to the area. Commissioners say Pembina is asking for exemptions to federal environmental regulations meant to protect forests and rare species. They add the project would only bring temporary construction jobs to the area and provide fleeting economic benefits. Pembina says it hopes to address the county officials’ concerns in future meetings.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf is moving to borrow up to $90 million to help counties pay for new voting machines ahead of 2020’s election, announcing the step Tuesday after a dispute between the Democrat and the Republican-controlled Legislature doomed funding legislation. Wolf said he was ordering a bond issue that would reimburse each county for 60% of their cost, according to Wolf’s administration, which provided little detail about the financing it will seek or the timeline for the move. Wolf began pressing counties last year to replace their voting machines before 2020 after federal authorities warned Pennsylvania and at least 20 other states that Russian hackers targeted them during 2016’s presidential election. That prompted a wide range of election integrity advocates and experts to urge states to switch to machines that produce an auditable paper trail.

Rhode Island

Harrisville: A farmhouse that inspired the horror movie “The Conjuring” has new owners. Cory Heinzen tells the Sun Journal in Maine that he’s heard doors opening, footsteps and knocks. He says the house in Harrisville, Rhode Island, is “very busy.” The movie is based on the story of a family that lived in the farmhouse in the 1970s. The previous owners said the 1736 farmhouse was indeed haunted – by trespassers hoping to get a glimpse thanks to the 2013 movie. Heinzen, of Mexico, Maine, says he became interested in the paranormal while bivouacking at a Civil War battlefield and hearing screams and cannons. He and his wife bought the Rhode Island home last month and hope to open it to visitors and investigators later this year.

South Carolina

Charleston: A second police officer has resigned after authorities determined he was writing bogus traffic tickets to drivers without their knowledge. A statement from the Charleston Police Department says Blaine Morgan resigned Wednesday. Officer Michael Baker quit last week after an internal review of the traffic tickets. The department says the officers were writing the tickets so it looked like they were properly patrolling their area of Charleston. They would then dismiss the bogus tickets. The officers have not spoken about the investigation. Police say they have dropped all pending tickets written by the two officers.

South Dakota

Pierre: Regulators have approved a permit for construction of a wind farm in the northeastern part of the state. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission approved a permit with conditions Tuesday to build the Crowned Ridge Wind Farm. The proposed wind farm will cover more than 53,000 acres in Grant and Codington counties and be capable of producing as much as 300 megawatts of energy from up to 130 wind turbines. Northern States Power Co., doing business as Xcel Energy, will purchase energy produced by the wind farm. Among the conditions the PUC placed on the permit are addressing sound levels and shadow flicker experienced by nearby residents, detecting ice on turbine blades, and monitoring grouse mating areas within the wind farm area once construction is complete. Crowned Ridge Wind estimates the wind farm will cost $400 million. Construction is expected to be completed by 2020.

Tennessee

Nashville: State health officials are launching a new public education and awareness campaign focusing on the impact of the opioid crisis. The state Department of Health says the campaign will kick off next Tuesday at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville. The initiative will feature stories from people from every Tennessee county about how they have been personally affected by the opioid epidemic. It will also share information on how people can be part of the solution. With the project, state health officials will introduce a statewide media campaign and share materials with community partners to provide info on local resources. The campaign is funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Opioid Crisis Cooperative Agreement.

Texas

Surfside Beach: Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are critically endangered, but numerous volunteers patrol Brazoria County beaches every day during the nesting season to do their part to change that. The (Brazosport) Facts reports Texas A&M University at Galveston and Turtle Island Restoration Network partner to bring the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle eggs found along the Upper Texas Coast to Padre Island National Seashore, where they are incubated until ready to hatch and crawl out to the Gulf of Mexico. Volunteers patrol the 72 miles of beach from the Bolivar Peninsula to Surfside Jetty County Park by foot and utility task vehicles to spot turtle tracks and nests of eggs, says Joanie Steinhaus, the Gulf of Mexico program director for Turtle Island Restoration Network. Volunteers patrol each year during the nesting season from April 1 to July 15, says Christopher Marshall, director of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The state is planning to expand its remote-working program in hopes of reducing emissions and saving office space. Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said Monday that more than 2,500 state employees could eventually become authorized to work from home. Utah recently ran a teleworking pilot program with 136 employees who worked at least 3 days a week from home. Officials say it saved carbon-dioxide emissions from cars, and employees showed a 20% improvement in performance. Employees who participated in the program gave up permanent work spaces in favor of temporary shared workspaces, a model that saved space and is expected to be repeated at the new West Valley State Office Building.

Vermont

Burlington: Officials say an invasive beetle discovered a year ago in the state is chomping its way through trees in northern and central Vermont. Arborists in Burlington and other cities have considered treating prize trees to kill the emerald ash borer. Foresters, meanwhile, simply want to slow the spread of the pest. The emerald ash borer was first found in Michigan in 2002 and has spread to dozens of states and four Canadian provinces. Tony D’Amato, forestry program director at the University of Vermont, says the insects normally spread 1 to 2 miles a year, but they’re spreading much faster by hitching rides on firewood containing the insect’s eggs and larvae.

Virginia

Richmond: Deep-pocketed interest groups and activists on both sides of the long-running fight over gun laws are gearing up for a major clash in the state, now a key election battleground in the issue after Republicans on Tuesday adjourned a special legislative session called by the governor to consider gun-control measures in the wake of a mass shooting. The state’s off-year election will be closely watched because Virginia is the only state where control of the Legislature is up for grabs in 2019. Republicans currently hold a narrow majority. GOP lawmakers abruptly ended the session after less than two hours and postponed any movement on gun laws until after the November election. Democrats and gun-control advocates vowed to force them from office. Scores of gun-control advocates had gathered Tuesday outside the Capitol.

Washington

Spokane: The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has authorized killing some members of a wolf pack that are preying on cattle in northeastern Washington state. Agency director Kelly Susewind on Wednesday gave authority for the state to kill some members of the OPT pack in an effort to change the behavior of the pack. The action came after a cow was found Saturday in Ferry County that had been killed and partially consumed by wolves. The agency says the carcass suffered numerous bite wounds, accompanied by hemorrhaging. Wolf tracks were also seen at the site. Last year, the agency killed most members of the OPT pack that were preying on livestock. Conservation groups contend that repeatedly killing wolves in the same area does not stop cattle depredations.

West Virginia

Charleston: A teachers union says it plans to sue over a sweeping GOP education bill that allows the creation of the state’s first charter schools. The West Virginia Education Association released a statement Wednesday saying it has sent the attorney general a formal intent-to-sue letter that alleges the legislation violates the state constitution. Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed the measure late last month after a gridlocked special session drew several heavy protests from teachers. The broad-based measure deals with several aspects of the state’s education system, but educators and Democrats fiercely opposed the provision to allow charters. They argued that charters would end up steering money away from public schools.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: Mortgage foreclosure filings in the state have plunged to less than a quarter of what they were during the Great Recession and, in another economic downturn, aren’t likely to become so pervasive, says an economist who tracks foreclosures in Wisconsin. “I almost think it would be hard to get back there because we’re at such a low level now,” says Russell Kashian, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater economics professor who oversees the college’s Fiscal and Economic Research Center. Data gathered by the center shows that through the first half of 2019, foreclosure filings in the state totaled 3,565 – the lowest in at least 19 years for that span. This year’s foreclosure tally amounts to 16% fewer than the 4,248 filed during the same period in 2018 and less than a fourth of the 15,427 recorded in the January-through-June stretch of recession-riddled 2009.

Wyoming

Rock Springs: The state Game and Fish Department wants people to turn in dead sage grouse they find so the birds can be tested for West Nile virus. Sage grouse have little resistance to West Nile, and the virus is often fatal to the chicken-sized, ground-dwelling birds. Wyoming is among just a handful of states with large populations of sage grouse. Leslie Schreiber with the Game and Fish Department says recent wet weather could encourage mosquitoes that can transmit West Nile to sage grouse. The Rock Springs Rocket-Miner reports you’re unlikely to catch West Nile by handling a dead bird. State officials say people who find a sage grouse that hasn’t died from an obvious injury should double-bag the carcass and take it to a local Game and Fish office.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Crystal Cathedral reborn Catholic, 'Conjuring' house, Wiki ‘editathon’: News from around our 50 states