George Jones mower mural, ‘1969,’ one bold eagle: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: Lawmakers have voted to place statues of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller on the grounds of the state Capitol. State senators on Tuesday voted 29-0 for the bill. The legislation now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. The bill by Rep. Laura Hall creates a Women’s Tribute Statue Commission to fund, commission and place statues of Parks and Keller on the Capitol grounds. Parks was arrested Dec. 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery city bus to a white passenger. Her arrest helped spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the civil rights movement. Keller, who was both deaf and blind, became a world-famous author and activist.

Alaska

Kodiak: Many are familiar with uninvited guests unexpectedly crashing at the house, but an eagle took such a scenario to new heights. An eagle grabbed a piece of freezer-burned halibut that someone had thrown out and apparently misjudged its climb up a cliff with the 4-pound piece of fish while likely being chased by another eagle, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reports. The wrong trajectory led the eagle to smash through a front window of Stacy Studebaker’s home Saturday. “It was so unbelievably loud. My first thought was I thought an atomic bomb had dropped and the windows were blowing out,” says Studebaker, who founded the local chapter of the Audubon Society. She and a neighbor struggled to get the raptor out of her home as it dealt mayhem. Except for some blood around the beak, the eagle didn’t appear to be injured.

Arizona

Phoenix: Tonto National Monument, a desert park northeast of Phoenix, has been designated an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association. That honor is bestowed on areas worldwide that take steps to make it easier for people to enjoy the night sky without the distractions of light pollution. Achieving this designation involves retrofitting light fixtures and bulbs, acquiring data for darkness analysis, and monitoring and interpreting the importance of preserving darkness. The state is awash in dark-sky sites, including the communities of Camp Verde, Flagstaff, Fountain Hills, Oak Creek and Sedona; Grand Canyon National Park; Kartchner Caverns State Park; Oracle State Park; Petrified Forest National Park; Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument; Parashant National Monument; Tumacacori National Historical Park; Walnut Canyon National Monument; and Wupatki National Monument.

Arkansas

Fayetteville: Local leaders are considering a measure that would prevent the city from using public money to buy disposable products made with Styrofoam. The Fayetteville City Council discussed the proposal Tuesday night but took no action. The measure would also prohibit vendors, concession stands or food trucks operating on city property from using polystyrene foam, better known as Styrofoam. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the proposal is set to be considered again later this month. Cities and states across the nation have been busy banning or imposing fees for single-use foam and plastic products, while a wave in the opposite direction has led some states to seek prohibitions against such bans at the local level.

California

Beverly Hills: A fiery debate is breaking out as people at tony hair salons, gas stations and stores weigh in on whether the city of the rich and famous should become the first in the U.S. to outlaw the sale of tobacco products everywhere except a few cigar lounges. The City Council decided Tuesday night to make some changes to the proposal, such as allowing guests in Beverly Hills’ luxury hotels to acquire cigarettes through their concierge or room service. Members indicated they plan to pass the amended measure May 21. Abstainers have said yes to the idea, and the sooner the better, while smokers protested. California already outlaws smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars. It also has one of the highest cigarette taxes in the country – nearly $3 a pack. The proposed ordinance would ban all tobacco products from grocery stores, pharmacies, hotels and gas stations.

Colorado

Denver: Voters narrowly made the city the first in the nation to decriminalize psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in “magic mushrooms.” Decriminalization led by a slim 51%, according to preliminary figures on Tuesday’s election released by Denver’s Election Division. As many as 1,300 votes still remain to be counted, but that figure was not enough to swing the vote the other way, division spokesman Alton Dillard said. Final results will be released May 16, he said. Organizers say their only goal in the mushroom measure is to keep people out of jail for using or possessing the drug to cope with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other conditions. The initiative effectively decriminalizes use or possession of psilocybin by people 21 and older, making it the lowest enforcement priority for police and prosecutors. It does not legalize psilocybin or permit its sale by cannabis businesses.

Connecticut

Hartford: An effort to better market the state as a good place to live, visit and do business has cleared a key legislative hurdle. The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted 113-28 for a bill requiring the Department of Economic and Community Development to come up with a marketing strategy that includes outreach to startup businesses and entrepreneurs, a new social media photo competition highlighting Connecticut’s beauty, and a campaign highlighting successful businesses. The bill, which awaits Senate action, also suggests DECD consider updating the state’s “Still Revolutionary” logo or design a new one with the help of a middle-school design competition. Other suggestions include targeting former residents between ages 30-45 and improving print marketing in airport lounges. Some Republicans opposed the bill, arguing lawmakers should simply cut taxes to attract business.

Delaware

Dover: In an effort to better identify victims of human trafficking, hospitals across the state will start to use the same techniques, making the First State likely the first in the country to adopt a coordinated approach, health officials say. Delaware has become an attractive place for traffickers because of its place along the I-95 corridor – and critics say state officials have been slow to address the growing problem. The Delaware Healthcare Association, which represents all the hospitals in the state, announced five recommendations Wednesday that will be implemented at all hospitals within the next year: educating the entire staff about human trafficking, using a specific assessment to identify red flags, following a step-by-step process to respond to suspected trafficking, using a hospital code for trafficking victims to collect statewide data and following a memo on how best to address minors who are being trafficked.

District of Columbia

Washington: Comedian Dave Chappelle has been chosen to receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The 45-year-old Chappelle shot to international stardom through his Comedy Central program, “Chappelle’s Show,” which gleefully skewered racial stereotypes and hot-button societal issues. He later made headlines for walking away from a lucrative contract over creative differences. Chappelle attended Washington’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, and his first hourlong comedy special was filmed in the nation’s capital. Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter called Chappelle “a hometown hero” and said his social commentary and body of work embody Twain’s statement that “against the assault of humor, nothing can stand.” Chappelle will be presented with the award in a star-studded ceremony Oct. 29 that will be broadcast on television Jan. 6, 2020.

Florida

Gainesville: The lovebugs that are driving Floridians crazy right now may not be good for the finish on cars, but they are good for the environment, particularly the soil, according to the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. The pesky, slow-flying insects lay their eggs in places with dying vegetation, such as thatch, which is the cut grass spit out by lawn mowers. That’s where immature lovebugs, which actually are a type of fly known scientifically as plecia nearctica, live and eat. Feeding on the dead vegetation redistributes essential nutrients back into the ground, and that benefits plants and the environment. Also known as honeymoon flies, double-headed bugs and kissing bugs, the adult insects feed on plant nectar, especially sweet clover, goldenrod and Brazilian pepper.

Georgia

Atlanta: The state is seeking proposals to develop a Medicaid waiver that Republican Gov. Brian Kemp says will make health care more affordable and accessible. If approved by the federal government, the waiver would allow Georgia to expand Medicaid more conservatively than federal rules typically allow. The Department of Community Health asked six consulting firms Monday to submit proposals for waivers addressing Georgia’s Medicaid program and private health insurance. Officials are aiming to submit them to the federal government by the end of 2019. A bill that Kemp signed in March gave his office wide leeway to seek a waiver that reshapes the state’s health care system. Georgia is one of 14 states that haven’t fully expanded Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The State Department of Health has launched a new website that provides near real-time data on the air quality following last summer’s Kilauea eruption. The site is expected to serve as an online resource, particularly in the event of future volcanic eruptions, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. “We listened to the concerns of residents, took action to improve our air quality monitoring system, and created a one-stop, user-friendly website. We’re much more volcano-ready than we have ever been,” says Health Director Bruce Anderson. Data for the website is pulled from air quality monitoring stations at strategic locations throughout the state. Most are on the Big Island. The state upgraded and expanded its air quality monitoring system with more than $1.5 million in federal and state funds. People can access the data via an interactive air quality map.

Idaho

Boise: A planned hiking-and-biking trail connecting the popular central Idaho tourist destinations of Redfish Lake and Stanley is being challenged in federal court by the owners of Sawtooth Mountain Ranch. David Boren and Lynn Arnone filed the lawsuit last month seeking to stop a U.S. Forest Service plan to build a 4.4-mile trail for pedestrians, cyclists and horseback riders. The trail cuts across the Sawtooth Mountain Ranch. But the Sawtooth National Forest has a conservation easement deed dating to 2005 that it says allows the trail to cross the private property. The lawsuit contends the planned trail deviates from the easement and has “numerous flaws and illegalities.”

Illinois

Chicago: Community and environmental activists are pushing for the opening of Lake Calumet on the city’s South Side to public access for recreation. Currently, a chain-link fence topped with razor wire surrounds the lake, blocking public access to hundreds of acres of natural habit. Ders Anderson of Chicago-based Openlands told the Daily Southtown in Tinley Park that Lake Calumet has long been recognized for the waterfowl, bald eagles and other bird species that roost nearby. Anderson says in addition to bird-watching, walking or bicycling on trails near the water, canoeing on the shallow lake or simply relaxing would benefit residents of Chicago and nearby suburbs. About 1,500 acres around Lake Calumet are part of the Port of Chicago, controlled by the Illinois International Port District.

Indiana

Franklin: Researchers at Franklin College have received a record-breaking research grant to study the behavior and management of Canada geese in the state, where the migratory bird’s population is growing along with complaints. The four-year grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act includes a $250,000 award that will fund Franklin College’s contribution to the study, on which the college is partnering with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Ball State University. It is the largest research grant ever awarded to the small college about 20 miles south of Indianapolis. Indiana’s Canada goose population is estimated around 130,000, according to the DNR, but the rise in complaints involving geese in urban areas suggests that figure may actually be higher.

Iowa

Onawa: A new report has named this small town, known for its wide main street and its claim to the invention of the Eskimo Pie, the poorest in the state. According to 24/7 Wall Street, Onawa is the only town in Iowa where more than 1 in 4 residents lives below the poverty line. The town’s 24.9% SNAP benefit recipiency rate is more than double the 11.2% rate statewide, the report says. The town with a population of 2,849 has a median household income of $31,089 (state: $56,570), a poverty rate of 25.3% (state: 12%) and a median home value of $93,500 (state: $137,200). The population is 90% white and 8% American Indian. Onawa is most widely known for staking a claim as the town with the “widest main street in America” at 150 feet wide. It’s also known as the birthplace of the Eskimo pie, a frozen treat made of ice cream encased in a chocolate coating, reportedly invented by Chris K. Nelsen in the summer of 1919.

Kansas

Kansas City: A water park where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated isn’t hiring lifeguards, advertising or selling tickets with just weeks left before its typical Memorial Day weekend opening date, underlining speculation that it could be put up for sale. Schlitterbahn remains mum on its plans but has largely removed reference from its website about the park where Caleb Schwab was killed in 2016 when the raft he was riding on the 17-story Verruckt slide went airborne and hit a metal pole. Verruckt – German for “crazy” – never reopened and was torn down last year. Season tickets have been on sale for months for Schlitterbahn’s four Texas locations, but not the Kansas park. Speculation about a potential sale was fueled by mortgage lender EPR Properties announcing last week that Schlitterbahn is expected to pay off its approximately $190 million loan on the property soon.

Kentucky

Walton: The high school senior who went to court over a restriction tied to chickenpox at his school has come down with the illness, his lawyer says. Christopher Wiest says Jerome Kunkel, 18, got sick last week, nearly two months after the Northern Kentucky Health Department issued its order to control an outbreak at two small parochial schools in Boone County. “He’s fine,” Wiest said. “He’s a little itchy.” In January, chickenpox broke out at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School and Assumption Academy, its high school. The schools and church in Walton are affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X, a conservative branch of Roman Catholicism that rejects Vatican II reforms. Nearly 90% of the schools’ students have religious exemptions against vaccinations. Kunkel and his classmates did not receive the vaccine because its production involves laboratory-generated cells taken from a fetus aborted in 1966.

Louisiana

Shreveport: A display of “magic, luck and friendship” will brighten up downtown’s Shreveport Common neighborhood this fall. The FriendsWithYou artist group will install a vivid, colorful public park called Rainbow City, including more than 35 larger-than-life, vinyl, multicolored inflatable sculptures standing up to 50 feet high. Rainbow City will be unveiled in late October in the Common Park. Various interactive and entertaining experiences are programmed at the inflatable park from Oct. 26 through Dec. 7, including a Dia de los Muertos celebratory dance party, a PJs and Pancakes breakfast, a romantic movie screening under the stars, a yoga session and more. On Oct. 26, FriendsWithYou will lead a Rainbow City Parade, featuring a new inflatable character named “Gumball,” designed by Caddo Parish student Isaiah Roberts. The fourth grader’s drawing was selected from hundreds of submissions.

Maine

Portland: The state’s baby eel fishermen are enjoying a steady harvest and strong prices during the first season in which regulators are using new controls to stop poaching. Baby eels, called elvers, are one of the most lucrative marine resources in the U.S. on a per-pound basis, but the fishery has had problems with poaching. This year, packing and shipping of the fish is subject to more scrutiny by the Maine Marine Patrol. Fishermen are more than 90% of the way through their quota for the year, which is slightly less than 10,000 pounds. The average price is more than $2,000 per pound, which would be the third highest average on record if holds, state officials said. “For the guys who want to do the right thing and grow this fishery, they’re happy to comply,” says Jeffrey Pierce, a former state legislator who is an adviser to the Maine Elver Fishermen Association.

Maryland

Baltimore: Police arrested seven people Wednesday as they ended a monthlong sit-in in the lobby of an administrative building at Johns Hopkins University, where a group of protesters have demonstrated against the creation of a campus police force and the institution’s contracts with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency. City police officers and firefighters “provided assistance” shortly before 5 a.m. to reopen Garland Hall, the primary administrative building, the university announced. Protesters had chained the doors shut and blocked stairwells, defying a city fire marshal’s orders to keep the entrances and exits clear. Firefighters used an electric saw to get inside. The city’s top prosecutor swiftly dismissed the idea of prosecuting them. “No one arrested, student or community member, will be prosecuted,” said Melba Saunders, spokeswoman for State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

Massachusetts

Boston: America’s oldest performing arts group is looking for a child who was literally wowed by a recent classical music concert. The Handel & Haydn Society had just finished its rendition of Mozart’s “Masonic Funeral” at Symphony Hall on Sunday when a youngster blurted out loudly: “WOW!” Boston classical music station WCRB-FM captured the exuberance on audio. The crowd can be heard bursting first into laughter and then into rousing applause for the child. Now the organization founded in 1815 has mounted a search for the kid it’s calling the “Wow Child” – not to reprimand him or her but to offer a chance to meet the conductor and hear the orchestra again as a guest of honor. “It was one of the most wonderful moments I’ve experienced in the concert hall,” Handel & Haydn president and CEO David Snead wrote in a letter to concertgoers asking them to share the child’s name.

Michigan

Detroit: A 17-foot bronze sculpture that arrived downtown last year got people talking, taking selfies and wondering what exactly it means. This week, the conversation sparked by “Waiting,” a work of art by internationally acclaimed artist Kaws, will get some fresh context, thanks to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. “Kaws: Alone Again,” which opens Friday and runs through Aug. 4, is a solo exhibition of work by Brooklyn-based artist Brian Donnelly, who goes by the alias Kaws. The show was organized by MOCAD’s executive director Elysia Borowy-Reeder in collaboration with the contemporary art superstar. “Riffing on specific genres of pop art, figuration, deconstruction, collage and fashion, the exhibition represents an underlying irreverence and affection for our turbulent times, as well as Kaws’ agility as an artist to appropriate and transform,” MOCAD says about the exhibition.

Minnesota

St. Paul: Mississippi River flooding in the capital this spring swamped the record for the longest period of flooding ever measured in the city. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the river was above flood stage for 42 straight days, easily surpassing the 2001 record of 33 days. The National Weather Service says the river fell below flood stage last weekend. The city is continuing to assess and clean up riverside streets that were submerged before reopening them. All of the city’s flood plain parks, including boat launches, remain closed.

Mississippi

Oxford: The mayor is apologizing about confusion over parking meters. Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill says drivers will not be ticketed for parking at a malfunctioning meter. The Oxford Eagle reports the city put stickers on meters a couple of weeks ago warning people not to park at broken ones. The city’s parking director, Matt Davis, had also told the newspaper that citations would be issued. Parking meters are still fairly new on the town square in Oxford. Tannehill says the mayor and aldermen never voted to allow ticketing for vehicles parked at broken meters. She said Saturday on social media that if someone finds a broken meter, the city should tell that driver: “ ‘It’s your lucky day.’ ”

Missouri

Springfield: An Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel has upheld a previous ruling on a city ordinance that prohibits women from showing their nipples and areolas in public, despite protests from local activists who argue the policy is discriminatory. The decision Monday is the latest in a four-year controversy that started when some women walked shirtless through downtown Springfield to protest the differing rules for men and women. Members of the City Council, who feared the scandalizing of children and moral degradation of the community, later passed an ordinance prohibiting women from showing their nipples in public. But the ACLU and local “Free the Nipple” activists sued, and a federal judge upheld the city’s ordinance in 2017. On Monday, a three-judge panel for the appeals court agreed with the lower court, citing at least eight cases during which courts upheld similar laws.

Montana

Billings: Law enforcement officials say they’ve managed to slow an increase in violent crime rates in the state’s most populous county that’s being driven largely by methamphetamine trafficking and abuse. U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme and Montana Attorney General Tim Fox on Wednesday announced results from the first year of an initiative targeting violent criminals in Yellowstone County. They say the number of murders, robberies and aggravated assaults increased just over 1% over the past year, after surging 26% in the prior 12-month period. Alme credited the government’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative for helping bring federal charges against 170 defendants in Yellowstone County for drug trafficking, armed robbery and firearms offenses. Alme says a similar effort in Missoula County is also showing positive results.

Nebraska

Niobrara: People who suffered losses when the Spencer Dam failed have gotten more bad news: State law limits the liability of the dam’s owner. That owner, Nebraska Public Power District, has said the March 14 collapse was due to a combination of high Niobrara River flows and massive chunks of ice. The home of a man who lived below the dam, Kenny Angel, was swept away. His body still has not been found. The Norfolk Daily News reports that attorney David Domina addressed a gathering of homeowners, farmers and businesspeople Monday in Niobrara. He told them state law limits the district liability to $1 million per claim per occurrence and $5 million per occurrence for all claimants. He says Knox County already is listing more than $17 million in damages.

Nevada

Sparks: The Forest Service’s rejection of a proposal to drill for oil or gas in the Ruby Mountains has become official after no one complained during the 45-day objection period. Forest Supervisor Bill Dunkelberger says the agency’s decision became final Tuesday. He says the service didn’t receive a single objection after it determined the drilling wasn’t suitable for the area and selected the “no leasing” alternative in mid-March. He says that reaffirms his belief he made the right decision for future management of more than 82 square miles of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest along the mountain range in northern Nevada’s Elko County. Dunkelberger concluded any economic benefits from the drilling would be limited compared to money the natural resources contribute to the area economy through tourism, recreation and livestock grazing.

New Hampshire

Durham: University of New Hampshire researchers say they’ve discovered a new strain of canine distemper virus in wild animals in New Hampshire and Vermont. Over one year, pathologists diagnosed canine distemper virus infection in eight mammals: fishers, gray foxes, a skunk, a raccoon and a mink. Pathologists found all of the animals were infected with a distinct strain of the virus that had been identified only in a single raccoon in Rhode Island in 2004. They said the identification of this strain fills a gap in the general knowledge of canine distemper virus strains circulating in North America. The strain was identified by UNH pathologists in collaboration with colleagues at Cornell University, University of Georgia, Northeast Wildlife Disease Cooperative, and state Fish and Game departments.

New Jersey

Newark: Gov. Phil Murphy has signed four bills into law aimed at improving maternal health care, particularly for residents using Medicaid. The Democrat signed the measures Wednesday at University Hospital in Newark. The new laws were enacted just a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that pregnancy-related deaths are rising and that being black is a main risk factor. One measure provides for Medicaid to cover doulas. Another sets up a pilot program for perinatal care for those on Medicaid. The third bill bars early, elective deliveries that are not medically necessary for those on Medicaid and on the state’s health benefits plans. The final measure codifies a current practice by requiring perinatal risk assessment forms be filled out by Medicaid providers.

New Mexico

Las Vegas: A group of college students is helping redesign the Jemez Historic Site visitor center using multimedia tools. New Mexico Highlands University announced this week that 15 of its media arts students are creating floor-to-ceiling video projections of historic images and oral histories at the Native American site. The students also are adding interactive touch-screen computer tablets that focus on artifacts and an event called “Light Among the Ruins.” Supervisory archaeologist Ethan Ortega says the students used oral histories and texts written by Jemez tribal members to create the new components. The Jemez Historic Site includes the stone remains of a 500-year-old village and the San Jose church, which dates to 1622. It’s located at Jemez Springs, about 50 miles north of Albuquerque.

New York

Albany: A new exhibit chronicling the end of one of the most turbulent decades in American history has opened to the public at the Empire State Plaza. The exhibit titled “1969” opened Wednesday at the Vietnam Memorial Gallery in the Robert Abrams Justice Building in downtown Albany. Events such as the first moon landing and Woodstock music concert occurred 50 years ago this year, while the Vietnam War raged in Southeast Asia. The exhibit includes photographs, archival footage and artifacts from the era, along with audio recordings of veterans from New York telling stories about their Vietnam experience in ’69. Nicholas Valenti, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and is now a leader of the Vietnam Veteran chapters of New York, joined state officials at the official opening.

North Carolina

Durham: Duke University has received a $5 million grant to improve the 55-acre Sarah P. Duke Gardens site on campus, which attracts about 400,000 visitors each year. University President Vincent Price said in a news release that The Duke Endowment is providing the grant for the Garden Gateway Project, a fundraising campaign. The grant brings the total raised to $16 million of the $30 million goal for the project, which will revitalize the gardens’ front entrance and fund new and improved facilities and classrooms. The plan also calls for a new performance lawn and expanded indoor event hall. The Duke Endowment is a private foundation based in Charlotte. The university, the foundation and Duke Energy are separate organizations despite sharing a name.

North Dakota

Medora: Part of the scenic drive and some trails are being temporarily closed at Theodore Roosevelt National Park’s North Unit while prescribed fire projects are completed. Planned burns are used as a resource management tool. The National Park Service says one fire Thursday is to encompass about 4,300 acres, or nearly 7 square miles. There also will be a smaller fire covering 700 acres, or about a square mile. The scenic drive will be closed at the Caprock Coulee trailhead to the end of the road. Portions of the Achenbach and Caprock Coulee trails will be closed for visitor safety. Burning is expected be completed by the end of the day.

Ohio

Cincinnati: The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden is expecting two new babies this year. “Two of our giraffes are pregnant. One, Tessa, is due in June, and the other, Cece, is due in the fall,” spokeswoman Michelle Curley says. Both Tessa and Cece have given birth at the zoo before, but these will be the first giraffe calves in three years. Cece’s daughter Cora and Zoey, who was born to Jambo, made their debut in 2016. In 2014, Tessa gave birth to Nasha. Way back in 2011, Tessa gave birth to the zoo’s first baby giraffe in 26 years. According to the zoo, giraffe calves typically weigh about 125 pounds at birth and are approximately 6 feet tall.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: Fines, dues and court expenses assessed to defendants in the state have spiked since fiscal year 2007, and some criminal justice reform advocates say state and local government agencies are increasingly relying on them as an income source. Tulsa World reports that citations, fees and costs have risen 27% since 2007. State lawmakers have also imposed two administrative charges that collectively require defendants to pay an additional 25% of all fees amassed by the courts for the executive branch. Court collections have contributed to about 66% to 90% of yearly district court subsidies over that same period. Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform director Kris Steele says an impoverished person’s inability to pay either puts them in jail or leads to their return to crime in order to satisfy the debts.

Oregon

Salem: The Legislature is considering a bill that would let farmers sue companies, such as Bayer and Syngenta, that hold patents on genetically engineered seeds if crops grown from those seeds contaminate other crops. Contamination from genetically engineered crops can make organic and conventional crops unable to be sold. GE crops also can escape their fields and become a nuisance for other farmers that is hard to eradicate. House Bill 2882 would allow landowners or tenants to seek three times actual economic damages if GE organisms, also called GMOs, are present on their land without permission. It also would allow residents to sue the corporations if GE organisms are found on land owned or occupied by a public body in the area where they live.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Three Mile Island, site of the United States’ worst nuclear power accident, will begin a planned shutdown starting June 1 now that it is clear that it will not get a financial rescue from the state, its owner said Wednesday. Exelon Corp.’s statement comes two years after the energy giant threatened to close the money-losing plant without what critics have called a bailout. The fight over Three Mile Island and Pennsylvania’s four other nuclear power plants invigorated a debate over the “zero carbon emissions” characteristics of nuclear power in the age of global warming and in one of the nation’s largest fossil fuel-producing states. Three Mile Island’s Unit 1 is licensed to operate through 2034, and shutting it down will cut its life short by 15 years. It will go offline by Sept. 30, Exelon said.

Rhode Island

Warwick: A school district has changed its policy after facing criticism for a plan to serve students who owe lunch money sun butter and jelly sandwiches instead of a hot meal. Warwick Public Schools, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, said Wednesday that a school subcommittee recommended students get the lunch of their choice regardless of their account balance. Chairwoman Karen Bachus clarified that under the current policy students would’ve been provided the sandwich, which is also a daily choice on the school lunch menu, vegetables, fruit and milk. The district faced pushback after announcing in a Facebook post Sunday that students who owed money on paid, free or reduced lunch accounts would be served cold sandwiches until the balance is paid starting May 13.

South Carolina

Charleston: The state’s largest detention center is facing a serious staffing shortage, and officials are hoping to hire those looking for work. WCIV-TV reports there are about 90 vacancies currently out of nearly 400 jobs at the Al Cannon Detention Center. Deputy PJ Skipper says the job isn’t for everyone, but it’s one that has kept her coming back every day for 23 years. She says she initially planned a short two-year stint but realized working there is a calling. She says if she can make a difference with just one inmate, she’s done her job. The sheriff’s office is holding a Career Day on Saturday. Those interested should bring a driver’s license or other ID and be ready to take tests to see if they qualify for the posts.

South Dakota

Keystone: Fireworks will return to Mount Rushmore National Memorial for the Fourth of July celebration in 2020. Mount Rushmore’s fireworks were discontinued after 2009 due to concerns related to the pine beetle infestation that increased fire concerns in the Black Hills National Forest. The forest has since rebounded, and advances have been made in pyrotechnic safety. Gov. Kristi Noem, federal Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith on Tuesday announced the resumption of fireworks. Noem said the agreement came after several months of meetings and discussions.

Tennessee

Nashville: Along with classic country songs like “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” there’s a legendary tale that millions associate with George Jones – the lawn mower story. Once, during a terrible bout of binge drinking, Jones says he was left alone in his house with no booze. To stop him from driving to the liquor store, his wife had hidden all his car keys. “But she forgot about the lawn mower,” Jones wrote in his autobiography, “I Lived to Tell It All.” Jones cleaned up his act for good in 1999, living a sober life until his death in 2013, but the lawn mower legend lives on. Now, it’s been immortalized in a new mural on the side of Nashville’s Colonial Liquors, where Jones was once a frequent customer. The mural was painted by Nashville artist Shawn Catz, along with a crew of musician friends. But the cartoon design actually comes from an episode of “Tales From the Tour Bus,” an animated TV series by Mike Judge (“Beavis & Butthead,” “King of the Hill”).

Texas

Austin: Removal of Confederate and other historical markers would need approval from voters or state lawmakers under a bill that won initial approval from the state Senate on Tuesday. The measure would take removal powers away from local governments and other public entities who have grappled with calls to remove Confederate markers that are now facing protests over the era’s racist history. The Dallas City Council voted last year to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a park, and the University of Texas in 2017 removed several statues of Lee and other Confederate figures. Earlier this year, Gov. Greg Abbott and other top state Republicans agreed to remove a Capitol plaque that said slavery was not the underlying cause of the Civil War.

Utah

Cedar City: Southern Utah University has secured funding for a new child development center, which officials say could fill a previously unmet need of on-campus child care. But city residents as a whole may also be struggling to find quality, affordable child care. Data suggests care in Cedar City isn’t just hard to come by but also expensive. Though finding affordable, quality child care is an issue many families and individuals face, SUU is focusing its services on students who are single mothers. Construction on the Sorenson Legacy Child and Family Development Center will begin in July, and it will be open for student use by August 2020. Kathy Wyatt, steering committee chair of the child care center and SUU’s first lady, says the center will double as a preschool, taking in children who are infants up to age 5.

Vermont

Derby Line: U.S. officials have marked the completion of a new U.S.-Canada border crossing facility that is designed to smooth the flow of people and trade between the two countries while keeping the U.S. safe from terrorism and criminal organizations. The new $33 million facility at the northern end of Interstate 91 in the Vermont town of Derby Line replaces another facility that was built in 1965. High-tech improvements make the new facility more energy efficient, and it includes technological upgrades and larger spaces where officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection can process both people and cargo. Construction began in fall 2016. The port of entry processes about 1.1 million people a year, says Christopher Averill, the regional administrator of the General Services Administration.

Virginia

Richmond: A police officer who cursed at a group of black middle schoolers and later promised to publicly apologize has rescinded the offer. Richmond police Chief William Smith tells The Richmond Times-Dispatch that the officer, whose name hasn’t been released, no longer feels he can handle the large setting. A March video shows the officer telling the Albert Hill students to “wait until your asses turn 18, then you’re mine.” Student Cameron Hilliard filmed the video and says someone outside her group yelled an obscenity directed at officers, launching the confrontation. The officer apologized to the students and their guardians last week and signed an agreement to publicly apologize at a school assembly. The chief says the officer is sorry for not being able to meet with the school.

Washington

Olympia: Gov. Jay Inslee, who is seeking a path to the White House on the message of climate change, signed a measure Tuesday that makes the state the fourth in the nation to establish a mandate to provide carbon-free electricity by a targeted date. The measure was among several environmental bills that Inslee signed at a park in Seattle, surrounded by climate advocates and others. The signing of the new law comes less than a week after Inslee unveiled his first major policy proposal of his presidential campaign, in which he called for the nation’s entire electrical grid and all new vehicles and buildings to be free of carbon pollution by 2030. “We are determined to build a solar and wind and electrical system where people can access clean energy and cleaner air to breathe for our kids as long as Washington state is here,” he said.

West Virginia

Charleston: The U.S. government sued nearly two dozen of Gov. Jim Justice’s coal companies Tuesday to get them to pay about $4.8 million in unpaid mine safety fines. The civil lawsuit was filed by federal prosecutors on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Justice’s companies committed more than 2,000 federal Mine Health and Safety Act violations since May 2014 but have refused to pay the penalties despite multiple attempts by federal agencies to get the money, according to the lawsuit. “This is unacceptable, and, as indicated by this suit, we will hold them accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen.

Wisconsin

Madison: Assembly Republicans with prisons in their districts are complaining about Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ decision to grant temporary raises at only six institutions. Nineteen Republicans sent a letter Wednesday to Evers saying that the raises aren’t fair and that compensation should be addressed through the state budget. A state audit released last week found entry-level guard pay in Wisconsin was second-lowest among seven Midwestern states. Evers’ budget calls for spending an additional $23.8 million to create a pay progression system for prison workers. Days before the audit was released, Evers’ administration gave temporary raises of up to $5 an hour to workers at Columbia, Dodge, Green Bay, Taycheedah and Waupun correctional institutions as well as the Lincoln Hills youth prison. Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff says Evers is trying to fix problems Republicans have ignored.

Wyoming

Laramie: If Thomas Foulke has his way, some of the oldest domesticated crops in the world will help grow a new industry in the state. Foulke, a senior research scientist at the University of Wyoming in the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, is leading an effort called the Wyoming First-Grains Project, which aims to develop a niche industry around growing “first grains.” He describes those as the earliest domesticated cereal crops, among them Emmer wheat, spelt, barley and einkorn. “People were making bread from wild grains before they even domesticated it,” he said. “There was something about bread and something about wheat that was really important to early humans.” In conjunction with UW research farms in Lingle, Powell and Sheridan, the First-Grains Project produced about 20 acres of spelt and Emmer wheat last year.

From staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: George Jones mower mural, ‘1969,’ one bold eagle: News from around our 50 states