Monument to women, playground scare, Dali theft: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: The National Park Service has named a superintendent to oversee new civil rights historical sites in Birmingham and Anniston. The federal agency says Kris Butcher will take over at the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and the Freedom Riders National Monument starting Oct. 27. Both sites were created during the final days of the Obama administration, and both are undergoing work to get them ready for the public. The Birmingham site encompasses parts of the city’s historic downtown black business district, including the hotel where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed during demonstrations in 1963. The Anniston site marks the bus station where interracial Freedom Riders were attacked in 1961. Their bus was attacked again and burned a few miles away.

Alaska

Kodiak: Wildlife authorities have warned residents to be aware of Kodiak bears after multiple sightings and encounters were reported near residential areas. Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Friday that Alaska Wildlife Troopers confirmed at least three bears could be recognized as frequent visitors to areas inside Kodiak city limits. Troopers say Kodiak bears often break fences and gates and enter vehicles in search of food. Authorities say the animals are learning to break into unlocked vehicles by opening the doors with their teeth. Wildlife officials say Kodiak bears are a subspecies of brown bears and are known as the largest bears in the world. Officials say residents are urged to carry pepper spray and bells especially when hiking, walking a dog in the dark or on foggy days with low visibility.

Arizona

Grand Canyon National Park: Invasive fish species have long been a challenge for scientists in the Grand Canyon because they attract fishermen but can devour threatened native species. Now, the National Park Service is ready to try a new approach to keeping things in balance: paying people to harvest one of the worst offenders, the brown trout. These invaders like to eat other fish, including the canyon’s endangered native species, the humpback chub. Anglers already have to have a fishing license, and many simply fish for sport, using the “catch and release” practice. The new plan would have them catch the fish and remove them – and pay for the effort. Also, according to a Park Service statement, tribal youth from the 11 tribes with cultural and historic ties to the Grand Canyon will be offered guided fishing trips to Lees Ferry Reach, where the incentives will be offered.

Arkansas

Norfolk: State and local officials have dedicated a new historical marker at the Jacob Wolf House. The double-sided sign briefly explains the history associated with the structure, originally built by Jacob Wolf in 1829 to serve as the first permanent courthouse for what was then Izard County. The two-story structure was built overlooking the White and North Fork rivers in the now-defunct town of Liberty, whose land now is part of the modern city of Norfolk. The building has a central breezeway on the first level, often called a dogtrot. The large upper room that extends over the breezeway was used as a courtroom, while rooms on the ground level were used as the county clerk’s office and as a post office. In 2012, the National Park Service declared that the Wolf House was the last remaining two-story, dogtrot public structure left in the United States.

California

San Francisco: Authorities say a brazen thief stole a Salvador Dali etching valued at $20,000 from a gallery, then walked off down the street with the work in his hand. KGO-TV says the etching entitled “Burning Giraffe” vanished Sunday afternoon from an easel at Dennis Rae Fine Art off Union Square. Gallery Director Angela Kellett says the 1960s etching was normally secured with a lock and cable, but they’re missing. It’s unclear whether the thief cut them off earlier or during the bare 30 seconds he was in the store before stealing the piece. Surveillance cameras caught the man strolling down Geary Street with the etching. Kellett says the limited-edition piece is very well known and unlikely to be sold online. Anyone with information on the theft can contact police.

Colorado

Fort Collins: A woman who was arrested outside her apartment complex by an off-duty Fort Collins police officer has sued both the officer and the city. Attorney David Lane filed the lawsuit Oct. 4 on behalf of 27-year-old Kimberly Chancellor seeking compensation and damages for physical injury, emotional distress, and other pain and suffering. Chancellor says officer Stephen Sparacio used excess force during the October 2017 arrest at a parking lot near Colorado State University. Authorities say Sparacio followed Chancellor on his motorcycle after reporting careless driving. Witnesses say Sparacio pinned her to the ground before calling on-duty officers. An internal police department review and a review by the Citizen Review Board determined Sparacio violated policies during the arrest but couldn’t say if he used unnecessary force.

Connecticut

Hartford: A preliminary report by investigators on the B-17 crash that killed seven people at the city’s airport this month does not shed light on the possible cause. The National Transportation Safety Board said in the report Tuesday that the wreckage has been kept for further examination. The World War II-era bomber crashed and burned after experiencing mechanical trouble on takeoff from Bradley International Airport the morning of Oct. 2. The plane was carrying 13 people, and the two pilots were among those killed. A third member of the flight crew and four passengers were seriously injured. Another passenger and one person on the ground suffered minor injuries.

Delaware

Dover: Some schools in the state have incorporated breath work, mindfulness and meditation practices into their everyday offerings. Delaware State News reports such techniques have made their way into districts that say the practices help both students and teachers. Smyrna School District Superintendent Patrik Williams says the district is incorporating mindfulness techniques in the hopes of supporting social and emotional learning in the classroom. He said such techniques reduce stressors and distractions while allowing participants to better concentrate. The Milford and Caesar Rodney school districts and the Red Clay Consolidated School District in New Castle County also have added the practices to their repertoire. Principal Karin Jakubowski, of North Star Elementary in Red Clay, says the practices are critical to the district, which has seen a drop in behavior referrals.

District of Columbia

Washington: Public and charter schools in the district are set to get at least $20 million more in funding this academic year. The Washington Post reports the funding increase comes after the public school system struggled with a $25 million deficit in the fiscal year that ended last month. District Deputy Education Mayor Paul Kihn says all schools will get increased per-student funding in fiscal year 2020 as a way to prevent another budget gap. Kihn says the system reduced the gap through non-personnel savings and strategic hiring. He says officials will continue to work on resolving the gap, which Kihn says was influenced by the hiring of more experienced teachers than anticipated. The city has until Nov. 7 to finalize its books. District law bars agencies from carrying debt between fiscal years.

Florida

Dade City: Authorities say a Florida man repeatedly called 911 to report that his roommate had stolen his marijuana. A deputy for the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office posted a Twitter response to the man’s calls Saturday night: Stop calling. Deputy Neal Zalva says in the Twitter video that he called the man back to tell him to quit contacting the sheriff’s office about his stolen marijuana. Zalva recorded the video as part of the agency’s #TweetAlong program, which allows viewers to get a behind-the-scenes look at the police work by the deputies. Recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Florida. A sheriff’s office spokesman says no charges were filed against the caller. Sheriff’s office communications director Kevin Doll said Tuesday they just wanted the man to stop calling about the stolen weed.

Georgia

Atlanta: Alarmed by a rash of recent hospital closings, state lawmakers are requiring rural hospital executives to receive training on subjects including financial management and strategic planning. Nearly all of the scores of rural hospitals in the state must ensure their board members, CEOs and chief financial officers complete at least eight hours of classes by the end of 2020 or risk fines and the loss of a tax credit. The requirement included in legislation last year aims to improve their decision making. Health care experts say they are not aware of any other state that requires training solely for rural hospital officials. Many rural hospitals in the U.S. are struggling amid changes to health care markets. More than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 – seven in Georgia.

Hawaii

Honolulu: State officials say an increase in sexually transmitted diseases to the highest numbers reported in decades can be linked to the prevalence of online dating. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis have increased significantly in Hawaii. The state Department of Health’s Harm Reduction Services Branch says all three infections were at or near their highest rates in about 30 years. State health officials say more connections with many more people are made rapidly through online dating services. Officials also say there has been decreasing reliance on condoms or prophylactics for protection against acquiring or spreading STDs. Officials say the Hawaii figures correspond with the national rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis infections, which have risen for the fifth year in a row.

Idaho

Boise: A utility has reached an agreement involving paying homeowners who generate electricity with rooftop solar panels and other renewable energy methods. Idaho Power and the staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have submitted the agreement to the commission for its possible approval. The Sierra Club, the city of Boise, the Idaho Irrigation Pumpers Association and others also took part in the negotiations. An increasing number of Idaho Power’s 560,000 customers are generating power and being credited for extra power sold back to the utility. Idaho Power says the current system allows homeowners to sell power without paying their fair share to maintain the company’s vast electric grid. Solar power backers fear killing incentives for homeowners to produce clean energy. The agreement calls for the commission to hold public hearings.

Illinois

Rockford: A local manufacturer’s polymer 3D printer has been declared the globe’s largest by the Guinness Book of World Records. The Rockford Register-Star reports Ingersoll Machine Tools’ printer dubbed MasterPrint was sold to the University of Maine. The school produced a boat measuring 25 feet long and weighing 5,000 pounds in less than 72 hours. That earned two more Guinness records: largest 3D-printed boat and largest 3D-printed object. Ingersoll engineer Nate Hang says the university intends to make molds for the boat-building industry. It will work with the federally sponsored Oak Ridge National Laboratory to create a plastic containing wood fibers. That’s safer for the environment than other materials. Ingersoll CEO Chip Storie says the primary goal for MasterPrint’s development was to create large aerospace tools.

Indiana

South Bend: The University of Notre Dame is shuttering its coal-fired power plant a year ahead of schedule thanks to a sustainable energy plan that’s seen the campus embrace renewable energy. Notre Dame President the Rev. John Jenkins got behind the wheel of a truck Monday and dumped the final load of coal, which will likely burn through Wednesday. Jenkins announced in 2015 the school’s target of ending coal use at the plant by the end of 2020 and reducing its carbon footprint by at least half by 2030. Currently, Notre Dame has cut its carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels. The plant will be replaced by two 5.5-megawatt natural gas turbines, which Notre Dame started using earlier this year. Jenkins says it’s important to nurture the environment for future generations.

Iowa

Sioux City: The city has taken its first formal step to lift its ban on pit bulls. The City Council voted 4-1 on Monday for an ordinance that would remove the ban adopted in September 2008. It came after pit bulls or mixes accounted for a high number of dogs in the city that had been declared vicious or at risk. The current ordinance describes a pit bull as an American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, or any dog that looks like or has characteristics of being one of those breeds. Two more readings and votes on the new ordinance are required for the new policy. City staff research says animal control regulations across the country are moving away from breed-specific provisions.

Kansas

Topeka: A handful of counties in the state are being urged to upgrade their voting machines to a voting system that creates a paper record of each vote. The Topeka Capitol-Journal reports the American Association for the Advancement of Science urged Geary, Grant, Greeley, Hamilton, Harvey, Sumner, Wallace and Wilson counties to upgrade to newer voting machines. Those eight counties currently use machines that record voter choices electronically without creating a paper record. Katie Koupal with the Kansas Secretary of State’s office says fewer than 10 of the state’s 105 counties use election equipment that doesn’t create a paper trail. She says several counties are planning to buy new equipment before next year’s presidential elections.

Kentucky

Rogers: An 18-foot replica of President Donald Trump’s border wall in the Red River Gorge area is being scaled not only by experienced mountain climbers but also by novices and young children. One climber even scaled it while juggling. “You don’t tell a climber that something can’t be climbed or that it’s impossible,” says Rick Weber, the 75-year-old mountain climber who built the replica. Weber, a retired engineer from Indianapolis, decided to create the wall after hearing Trump claim in September that a new section of the wall along the boundary with Mexico is “virtually impenetrable” and “can’t be climbed” because, the president said, 20 mountain climbers struggled to climb a prototype. So a skeptical Weber built his 18-foot wooden replica of the steel border wall at Muir Valley, a nonprofit nature preserve and rock-climbing park he founded along with his wife.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The city’s fire chief says chances of a rescue are diminishing as a search through unstable wreckage continues for a man missing since a hotel under construction collapsed Saturday. Chief Tim McConnell gave an update Tuesday, saying authorities are still hoping for the best. Parts of the 18-story Hard Rock Hotel gave way Saturday morning. Two workers died at the scene. Two construction cranes and the remaining part of the collapsed building remain in danger of toppling. The situation could take weeks to resolve. That means indefinite closure of two major thoroughfares, streetcar lines and bus routes adjacent to the French Quarter and business district. Among businesses affected are those operating in two 1920s-era historic sites: the opulent Saenger Theatre and the New Orleans Athletic Club.

Maine

Augusta: Agriculture authorities say an invasive pest that can damage crops such as cabbage and broccoli has been found in the state for the first time. The pest is an insect called the Swede midge. The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry says the UMaine Cooperative Extension made the discovery, the first confirmed appearance of the midge in Maine. The department calls the midge a “serious insect pest” because its larvae feed on the growing tips of plants and disfigure them or prevent their proper growth. It says there have been reports of broccoli damage in some parts of the state stemming from the pest. The Swede midge is native to Europe and Asia and was first found in the U.S. in New York in 2004.

Maryland

Annapolis: An education panel has voted to recommend updating the state’s funding formula between the state and local governments to phase in a major increase in money for schools. The work group is recommending that a state commission phase in new spending that will reach about $4 billion a year for K-12 a decade from now. Under the proposal, the state would contribute about $2.8 billion and local governments would contribute $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2030. The recommendations will go to the full Kirwan Commission, which has been working on investing in early childhood education and increasing teacher pay. It also has focused on implementing rigorous curricula, providing more support to struggling schools and creating accountability for underperformance. The commission will make recommendations to lawmakers this year.

Massachusetts

Eastham: Cape Cod officials are expected to release a long-awaited report on ways the tourist destination can deal with a growing population of great white sharks. The Woods Hole Group will present its findings Thursday at Nauset Regional High School in Eastham. Cape Cod National Seashore officials, state lawmakers, town administrators and representatives from the nonprofit Atlantic White Shark Conservancy will also be present to take public comments and answer questions. The Bourne-based Woods Hole Group was tapped for the $49,950 study after two shark attacks on humans last year, including Massachusetts’ first fatal attack in more than 80 years. The study is expected to examine a range of strategies including deploying sonar detectors, using aerial drones, installing shark barriers, and culling seals and sharks.

Michigan

Detroit: A City Council member is hosting a community forum on the use of facial-recognition technology by police. The event by Roy McCalister Jr., planned for Thursday at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers hall in Detroit, is expected to focus on how the software will be implemented. The city’s Board of Police Commissioners has approved the police department’s use of the technology to investigate crimes. Images from video surveillance are fed into software, which can search databases and social media for a possible match. The software has been used since 2018, but Chief James Craig had sought a permanent policy. Critics say facial recognition amounts to mass racial profiling in a city that is about 80% black.

Minnesota

St. Paul: When former Gov. Mark Dayton’s official portrait is unveiled this week, it will feature the two-term Democrat in front of the Capitol building. Dayton tells Minnesota Public Radio he wanted a strong “supporting cast” in the painting to be unveiled Thursday, and the Capitol fit the bill. The building got a $300 million restoration during his time in office. Dayton told MPR the best advice he got on leaving office was to take six months to decompress before jumping into other commitments. He says he’s largely done that, enjoying time spent with his grandsons and feeling no urgency to do anything. Dayton did recently accept a fellowship at the University of Minnesota. He’s also being careful to stay out of politics, including staying neutral on the Democratic field running for president.

Mississippi

Jackson: The new Mississippi Lottery will start selling scratch-off tickets Nov. 25. That’s the Monday before Thanksgiving, slightly earlier than expected. The lottery corporation had said for months that the sales probably would begin by early December. The corporation, which announced the start date in a news release Tuesday, also is starting to let convenience stores and other retailers know they have been accepted to sell lottery tickets. Mississippi has been one of six states without a lottery, but lawmakers met in 2018 and authorized the games of chance to help generate money for highways. The Mississippi Lottery Corporation said in August that the Multi-State Lottery Association approved Mississippi for Powerball and Mega Millions. Sales for those games are expected to begin during the first three months of 2020.

Missouri

Jefferson City: State officials are developing a public safety campaign aimed at making young people aware of the risks of vaping. Republican Gov. Mike Parson said at a news conference Tuesday that he is directing leaders of the state health, education and public safety departments to develop a statewide campaign within 30 days. The goal is to educate, warn and discourage vaping. State health director Randall Williams says there has been an “explosion” in the number of youths vaping in Missouri and across the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that nationwide, vaping is now blamed on about 1,300 illnesses and at least 26 deaths. Missouri has reported nearly two dozen vaping illnesses and one death. Parson calls the campaign a “first step.”

Montana

Helena: Authorities evacuated an elementary school Tuesday after officials found what they thought were the remnants of a homemade bomb that exploded, but it turned out to be a plastic bottle filled with nuts and bolts left in the schoolyard. School officials made the discovery shortly before classes began at Rossiter Elementary School. They blocked off the area and called 911, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said. An investigation found the plastic bottle wrapped in black electrical tape was full of washers, nuts and bolts, along with a non-flammable unidentified liquid, Dutton said. There was no detonator. A homeless person found the bottle at a construction site and left it at the playground, Dutton said. No threat had been made against the school, and there were no injuries or damage. “Pretty much it’s solved,” Dutton said.

Nebraska

Lincoln: Youths 15 and younger are encouraged to participate in this weekend’s statewide youth pheasant, quail and partridge season. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission says rooster pheasants will be released on 14 wildlife management areas before the 2019 youth season this Saturday and Sunday. Special youth hunts will be held only on the management areas. The hunts are open to the public, and no registration or special permit is required. The management areas are Powder Creek, Oak Valley, Wilkinson, George Syas, Sherman Reservoir, Pressey, Cornhusker, Kirkpatrick Basin North, Branched Oak, Yankee Hill, Arrowhead, Hickory Ridge, Twin Oaks and Rakes Creek. Accompanying adults must be licensed hunters age 19 or older.

Nevada

Carson City: A group of history buffs has formed Friends of Sutro Tunnel to restore the remains of the abandoned, deteriorating town of Sutro at the entrance to a 150-year-old, historic mining tunnel. “We’re restoring the buildings and grounds, not the tunnel,” Kit Carson Weaver, former Carson City assessor and a principal in the group, told the Nevada Appeal. “The tunnel is far too dangerous to allow anyone in there for a tour.” He said restoration is costly, so the group has scheduled a fundraising dinner for Friday. Skilled volunteers are needed, said Pam Abercrombie, a member of the Friends committee, including masons, plumbers, electricians, professional landscapers, equipment operators, contractors and engineers, along with people with less specific skills but a passion for Nevada’s mining history.

New Hampshire

Concord: The head of the largest agency in the state’s government is heading to the private sector. Jeff Meyers has been commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services since early 2016, when he was appointed by former Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. In a letter to employees, Meyers said he will not seek reappointment when his term ends in January and instead will pursue private-sector opportunities. Meyers previous served as legal counsel to the state Senate, legal counsel to former Gov. John Lynch and director of intergovernmental affairs at the health department. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu on Monday called Meyers a tireless advocate for vulnerable children and praised him for overseeing expansion of the state’s Medicaid program and prioritizing improvements in its mental health system.

New Jersey

Ventnor: The high tides and strong winds that lashed the Jersey shore over the weekend took a piece of it with them. Conditions that pummeled the beaches from Thursday through Sunday morning caused beach erosion that varied in severity along the coast. Some saw large cliffs gouged into the side of what had been large beach berms during the summer. Stewart Farrell, a beach expert with Stockton University, says virtually all the state’s ocean beaches are flatter as a result of the wind and waves. “Sand was shifted seaward into about 10 feet of water,” he said. “These deposits will form offshore bars in a few weeks.” At least some of that sand is expected to be returned to the shoreline over the winter by wave action. Farrell, director of Stockton’s Coastal Research Center, said the northeast part of every barrier island in the state except Long Beach Island “took a hit of significant scale.”

New Mexico

Las Cruces: The state is expected to lead the U.S. in pecan production this year as growers prepare for the upcoming harvest. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s statistics service says production in the Southwest state is forecast at a record-high 97 million pounds. That would mark a 6% increase over 2018. Production in Georgia is expected to hit about 76 million pounds, followed by Texas at 47 million pounds. Pecan production in the United States overall is expected to increase this year by more than 20%, with growers harvesting an estimated 281 million pounds. New Mexico agricultural officials say they’ve been working to build relationships with pecan buyers in other countries amid a tariff war with China.

New York

New York: A pack of handsome brothers is getting settled at the Bronx Zoo. The foxlike wild dogs – called dholes – were born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2016. The trio, named Roan, Apollo and Kito, have brownish-red coats dappled with white markings, as well as bushy tails. Dholes are native to parts of southern and central Asia. The Wildlife Conservation Society says populations of the pups are endangered by development, hunting and diseases from domestic dogs. The society’s long-term plans include acquiring female dholes for a breeding program. An exhibit formerly occupied by polar bears has been repurposed for the dholes’s habitat. The Bronx Zoo’s last polar bear, Tundra, died in 2017 at age 26.

North Carolina

Casar: A man says he plans to spend a night hunting for a fabled North American creature because he found a footprint that seemed to be larger than a human could make. Electrician Joe Scarborough tells WCNC-TV that he was working near Casar last week when he spotted what appeared to be fresh footprint about 13 to 14 inches long. “I was looking at that real close and … I said ‘Somebody’s got a big foot,’ ” he says. Scarborough says he now plans to spend the night in the area with some game cameras to see what happens – because “why not?” He says it’s hard to believe in any sort of supernatural finding until you see it for yourself.

North Dakota

Grand Forks: A University of North Dakota political science major has been chosen to fill a Grand Forks House seat left open by the Republican incumbent who resigned to take a job in Minnesota. Twenty-one-year-old Claire Cory was chosen by party activists Friday to fill out the remainder of Jake Blum’s term, which ends next year. Blum was first elected in 2016. UND junior Cory says she has lived her entire life in House District 42, which covers northern Grand Forks. She says she will run to keep the seat in next year’s election. North Dakota law allows local party district organizations to choose a successor for an incumbent legislator who dies or resigns. Activists from the departing legislator’s own party are put in charge of finding a successor.

Ohio

Whitehouse: A wildlife rehabilitation center says this year has been its busiest ever and is looking for more space. Nature’s Nursery near Toledo says it has taken in more than 3,000 animals this year. The nonprofit center gives medical care to injured and orphaned animals with the goal of releasing them back to the wild. Officials with the organization say they’ve outgrown their current location in Whitehouse and plan on beginning a search for a new location next year. They tell The Blade that the ideal location would be 3 to 5 acres in a country setting with an existing building or where a new facility could be built. The organization also is looking for corporate sponsorships to increase its funding, which largely comes from donations.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The board that sets the salaries of state lawmakers has voted to boost legislative pay by 35% next year, just two years after cutting lawmakers’ pay. Jake Lowrey, spokesman for the Office of Management & Enterprise Services, says the Legislative Compensation Board cut legislators’ pay by 8.8% in 2017. Board Chairman Wes Milbourn said at the time that Oklahomans were frustrated with the Legislature. But since then, the board membership has changed. The new board voted 7-2 Tuesday to authorize the raises from $35,021 to $47,500. The legislators’ first pay raise since 1997 will take effect Nov. 18, 2020. The legislative session typically runs for four months. The Legislative Compensation Board is appointed by the governor, House speaker and Senate pro tem. The board also has two nonvoting members.

Oregon

The Dalles: Two Pacific Northwest tribes are calling for the removal of three major hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River. The Lummi Nation and the Yakama Nation said Monday that the U.S. government violated a treaty from 1855 when it built the concrete dams on the lower Columbia River. The construction of the Bonneville, John Day and Dalles dams destroyed important native fishing sites and deeply impacted the migration of salmon. The Yakama traditionally fished for salmon along the river, and the Treaty of 1855 guaranteed the tribe access to those sites even after the tribes ceded 11.5 million acres to the United States. Salmon are also the preferred prey of endangered orcas, which were traditionally hunted by the Lummi Nation.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Gov. Tom Wolf is telling President Donald Trump he won’t be using state authority granted last month to refuse to accept refugees. The Democratic governor wrote Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday to say his state will continue to welcome those facing persecution and danger, including people whom other states won’t accept. Wolf’s letter says refugees have long improved communities, and he’s dismayed that the United States is “sharply reducing” its commitment to vulnerable families around the world. Trump, a Republican, last month slashed the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. and for the first time gave state and local governments the authority to refuse to accept them. The president’s order requires state and local officials to provide public written consent to receive refugees.

Rhode Island

Providence: The mayor says he would consider moving a Christopher Columbus statue that was vandalized. Democratic Mayor Jorge Elorza told WPRO on Tuesday that he’d entertain the idea of moving the statue from the city’s Elmwood neighborhood to the Federal Hill neighborhood, which is known for its Italian American community and Italian restaurants. His spokeswoman later said that any move would require input from the community. “It is a treasure,” Elorza said. “So if there’s a way that we can preserve it in a way that makes more sense and satisfies all the constituencies, then I’m all for that.” The statue was one of several Columbus statues around the nation vandalized with red paint and messages against the 15th-century Italian navigator Monday, when the U.S. holiday named for one of the first Europeans to reach the Americas was being celebrated.

South Carolina

Columbia: The U.S. Supreme Court has shut down the state’s attempt to complete a nuclear fuel facility. The justices declined Tuesday to hear the state’s appeal of a ruling allowing the federal government to stop construction. The government has already spent $8 billion on the plant, under construction at the Savannah River Site near Aiken. The U.S. Energy Department has said it should cut its losses because the plant is over budget and decades away from completion. A federal appeals court ruled last October that the department could stop construction. The Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility would have taken plutonium used in nuclear weapons and processed it into nuclear plant fuel. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson says the government is still obligated to remove plutonium from the site somehow.

South Dakota

Rapid City: The Internal Revenue Service has hit Pennington County with more than $87,000 in penalties for mishandling payroll taxes. The Rapid City Journal says county auditor Cindy Mohler has asked the Pennington County Commission to authorize payment of the penalties. The IRS imposed the penalties this month after examining the county’s employment tax records from 2016 to 2018. Officials say the penalties are the result of a long-standing payroll-tax practice. Mohler says county employees have the option of being paid twice a month, instead of monthly. The IRS says the county wrongly did not withhold payroll taxes from the mid-month checks. Instead, the county waited until the end of each month to withhold payroll taxes from employees’ total monthly pay.

Tennessee

Memphis: The Memphis Zoo has introduced its first newborn jaguars in more than 25 years. The Daily Memphian reports the two sister jaguars were born Sept. 4, but their gender wasn’t revealed until last week. Head veterinarian Felicia Knightly said they’re in great shape and “look absolutely perfect.” The cubs’ parents, Philomena and Diego, are on loan for breeding as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for jaguars. The cubs’ progress will determine when they make their debut to the public. A contest will be held to decide names for the cubs. The zoo will post social media updates on the cubs’ development and is considering putting in a live webcam to show the cubs.

Texas

San Antonio: A Native American group is calling on officials to slow down the renovation of the Alamo church, after archaeological reports showed human remains were found at the property. The Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation filed a federal lawsuit last month seeking to halt the $450 million makeover of the sacred shrine that’s on track to be completed by 2024. The San Antonio Express-News reports the group wants a say in what happens to unearthed human remains because many group members are descendants of people who lived near the site. Ramon Vasquez, an executive member of Tap Pilam, said Monday on Indigenous Peoples Day that the discovery of bones and bone fragments validate his group’s concerns. The Texas Historical Commission has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Utah

Orem: A state records committee has ruled that Utah Valley University Police can no longer charge student reporters for incident reports. The Daily Herald reports the committee unanimously voted in favor of making the incident reports free to UVU student journalists. Police used to provide the documents to student reporters for free but began charging them $5 per report in 2017. The Utah chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists helped students at the UVU Review, the campus newspaper, challenge the move. Chapter President Eric Peterson said the decision will help students keep the public safe and informed. He said campus police shouldn’t “price reporters out of doing their jobs.” UVU spokesman Scott Trotter said the school respected the committee’s decision and would abide by it.

Vermont

Montpelier: A local middle school teacher is the state’s 2020 teacher of the year. The Vermont Agency of Education announced Tuesday that Elisabeth Kahn, a French and Spanish teacher at Main Street Middle School, has earned the title. Education Secretary Dan French says Kahn is an inspiring and talented teacher who is focused on the success of her students. He says she is also a leader working to help her colleagues implement best practices. Kahn will start her tenure as Vermont Teacher of the Year on Jan. 1. She says she is particularly excited to work with colleagues around the state to identify ways to help struggling students overcome barriers to education.

Virginia

Richmond: About a thousand people filled Capitol Square on Monday for the dedication of statues honoring some of the state’s trailblazing women, part of a monument organizers say is unlike any other in the country. The new women’s monument, about a decade in the making, will eventually feature a dozen life-sized bronze statues dotting a granite plaza a short distance from the Capitol in Richmond. Girl Scouts pulled blue drapes off the seven figures being dedicated Monday, including Native American chieftain Cockacoeske and Jamestown colonist Anne Burras Laydon, as the women’s names were read aloud. Sculptor Ivan Schwartz called it “a new beginning, a deeply significant moment in the history of the nation, as we begin to address centuries-old sins of omission.” The women – who also include a frontierswoman, a dressmaker and confidante to Mary Todd Lincoln, an entrepreneur, and educator and a suffragist – were chosen from more than four centuries of Virginia’s history.

Washington

Bremerton: A man was charged with a felony assault after police say he attacked his roommate believing he acknowledged being a vampire. A Kitsap County court charged the 40-year-old Bremerton man Monday after he was suspected of using a metal rod to nudge his roommate in the chest. The roommate told county deputies that the suspect accused him of being a vampire, threatened to kill him and struck him with a metal rod. The roommate says he feared his life because the suspect has severe mental health issues and is physically larger. The suspect’s brother told deputies the roommate jokingly said, “Is that what the kids are calling me these days?” Authorities say the suspect believed the roommate acknowledged being a blood-sucking creature.

West Virginia

Morgantown: Farmers more than quadrupled the state’s industrial hemp crop this year. Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt’s office says about 130 farmers grew 641 acres of industrial hemp in 2019, up from 155 acres in 2018. And more is coming: The department’s statement says more than 400 applications have been submitted for the 2020 growing season, double last year’s numbers. Licensed grower Mary Hastings told The Dominion Post that it’s great news for farmers, showing real potential for profit. Hemp is a type of cannabis from the same plant species as marijuana that mostly lacks intoxicating compounds. It’s used to make textiles, plastics and cannabidiol products.

Wisconsin

Madison: The nation’s largest independent spice retailer is peppering Facebook with ads calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Wisconsin-based Penzeys Spices spent nearly $100,000 on Facebook ads last week calling for Trump’s impeachment, making it one of the largest social media spenders on impeachment to date. And the company plans to spend another $397,000 on Facebook posts encouraging the impeachment of Trump. Facebook says Penzeys already spent nearly $96,000 on ads supporting impeachment between Oct. 4 and Oct. 10. Penzeys CEO Bill Penzey says the attention his unusual stance is attracting will boost his company’s brand and lead to increased sales. House Democrats are pursuing an impeachment inquiry to investigate Trump’s suggestion that Ukraine investigate the business dealings of Joe Biden’s family.

Wyoming

Casper: A recent analysis by the Washington, D.C., nonprofit RepresentWomen ranks the state 26th in the nation for gender parity in elected office. The Casper Star-Tribune reports that in a state known as the Equality State for being the first to give women the right to vote, women currently hold just 16% of the available seats in the Legislature and just 20% of all positions on the county commissions of the state’s five most populous counties. The state has made additional strides in recent years, including the election of the first female mayors in the history of two of its largest cities. However, Jen Simon of the Wyoming Women’s Action Network noted a relative dearth and recent decline of women in elected office at the state levels.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Monument to women, playground scare: News from around our 50 states