Pancake race, a ballooning problem, Lincoln’s hearse: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: Four victims of racial violence are being added to the Jefferson County Memorial Project. The new names were discovered by students and others working with the project. Among them is Jim Hatter, who was dragged out of his home before bullets tore through his body in 1910. Hatter helped another black man accused of killing a 66-year-old Confederate veteran who was also a deputy sheriff. The other new names are Otis Brown, who was killed in 1886; Fred Spencer, killed in 1910; and Tom Edmunds, killed in 1899. The project involves more than 35 community partners and volunteers who are working to research and educate people about men and women killed in Jefferson County because of racially motivated violence by white mobs, Al.com reports. The Jefferson County effort is inspired by the Equal Justice Initiative’s creation of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

Alaska

Anchorage: An Italian man suffering from frostbite and four other tourists were rescued in the Alaska wilderness after visiting an abandoned bus that has become a lure for adventurers since it was featured in the “Into the Wild” book and movie. Alaska State Troopers say the five Italians were rescued Saturday from a camp they set up after visiting the dilapidated bus on the Stampede Trail near the interior town of Healy. The rescue was the latest episode involving the bus, first made famous by Jon Krakauer’s book published in 1996 and then by Sean Penn’s 2007 film of the same name. Both fueled a lingering mystique about a young idealist, Christopher McCandless, who met his death from starvation in the bus, about 10 miles north of the entrance to Denali National Park and Preserve. Over the years, some hikers have been rescued and others have died while trying to retrace McCandless’ last steps.

Arizona

Phoenix: City Council members voted 5-4 on Tuesday to approve a citizen review board with the power to investigate police after a raucous meeting that stretched five hours into the evening. The council has been examining different proposals for policing the police after Phoenix had more officer-involved shootings in 2018 than any other U.S. department, and video of an encounter between officers and a black family whose young daughter took a doll from a dollar store sparked an uproar last summer. Dozens of mostly Hispanic and African American community members spoke at Tuesday’s meeting for a citizen review board with investigative powers. That option will create two new independent bodies, an office of accountability and transparency comprised of city staff and a community review board. The two bodies would work together to release their own reports on police policy, investigations and training.

Arkansas

Little Rock: A judge blocked the state Tuesday from issuing more licenses to sell medical marijuana after a state panel rejected a Pine Bluff dispensary’s license application. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen granted a temporary restraining order as requested by Medicanna of Pine Bluff, which had sued the state’s Medical Marijuana Commission after another dispensary was awarded a license to sell medical marijuana. Griffen scheduled a March 3 hearing on whether to grant a preliminary injunction against the state. Medicanna is challenging the commission’s decision to award the license to a lower-scoring applicant because Medicanna had received a partial refund of its application fee. Arkansas voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 legalizing medical marijuana, and the first dispensaries in the state opened last year.

California

Laguna Beach: Boaters have been fishing balloons out of the ocean off Southern California since Valentine’s Day, and some say it’s a predictable problem, The Orange County Register reports. “It was crazy. Everywhere I looked,” said Rich German, who rode his personal watercraft several miles off Laguna Beach after Valentine’s Day and picked up 31 balloons in a few hours. Erik Combs, captain on Long Beach-based Harbor Breeze Cruises, told a similar story. “Balloons have been everywhere,” he told the newspaper, adding he expects more balloons after St. Patrick’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and graduations. “If we tried to pick up every balloon, it would take all day long.” A Feb. 17 trip by staff from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center collected about 20 balloons in a few hours, said spokeswoman Krysta Higuchi. “It’s not only dangerous for marine mammals but for marine birds and the whole ecosystem in general,” she said.

Colorado

Breckenridge: A local ski resort has become the first in the state to surpass 300 inches of snowfall for the season. Breckenridge Ski Resort reported 311 inches of snow for the 2019-2020 season as of Monday after receiving more than a foot of snow throughout the day Sunday, Summit Daily News reports. “I would say this is definitely pretty early for us to surpass that 300-inch mark because our annual average is about 350 inches. We’re on track for above-average snowfall, and March can be one of our snowiest months,” Breckenridge spokeswoman Sara Lococo said. Breckenridge has broken its February snowfall record with 87 inches. Breckenridge and Steamboat Resort had been in a race to reach the 300-inch milestone, officials said. Snow on Sunday put Breckenridge over the top, while Steamboat fell short, recording 296 inches by Monday.

Connecticut

Hartford: Advocates and state lawmakers called Tuesday for the end of solitary confinement in Connecticut’s prisons and jails. The group called Stop Solitary: Connecticut and lawmakers held a news conference at the Capitol to express support for ending the practice. A replica solitary confinement cell was also on display in the lobby of the building. State Sen. Gary Winfield said many people who’ve been in the replica cell can only stay inside for 10 to 15 minutes. The New Haven Democrat said a bill designed to end the practice is coming to the judiciary committee, which he co-chairs. James Tillman, who was wrongfully convicted of a crime and spent almost 20 years in prison, is on the advocacy group’s steering committee. “I don’t think the cells have changed – it’s still the same cell,” he said. He said the fact that he marveled at simply being able to smell grass when he got out of the cell shows the damage of being locked up in solitary.

Delaware

Wilmington: State officials will test a program this year allowing the recently imprisoned to join their families who live in public housing in hopes of reducing the chances of releasing an inmate from prison into homelessness. It’s part of state officials’ attention to providing more services to those who have criminal convictions, which have long been barriers to jobs and housing after a person’s release. The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, which funds the bulk of public housing through local agencies, only requires applicants who are registered sex offenders or convicted of manufacturing methamphetamines in public housing to be banned. Delaware State Housing Authority’s additional rules, though, prohibit eligibility from anywhere between one and five years, depending on the severity of the crime. Even having “multiple arrests without conviction” bars applicants from public housing for a year.

District of Columbia

Washington: A shuttle bus that helps homeless families get to school and work in D.C. will stick around a little longer, according to city officials. A spokesperson in the deputy mayor’s office told WUSA-TV that Mayor Muriel Bowser plans to extend the shuttle program through the end of the school year. The bus, which picks up homeless families from hotels and motels along New York Avenue in Northeast D.C., was described as an “essential and long-needed resource” for homeless people in a letter from Councilmember Mary Cheh on Monday. In the same letter, Cheh called on the mayor to reallocate $200,000 toward the shuttle’s funding before money for the pilot program was set to run out March 13. DCist first reported that funding for the shuttle would run out soon.

Florida

Tallahassee: A hearse that may have carried the body of President Abraham Lincoln after his death nearly 155 years ago made an appearance Tuesday outside the Florida Capitol. The Independent Funeral Directors of Florida organized the display during the group’s annual day at the Capitol. The horse-drawn hearse, believed to have been manufactured by Cunningham Coach Factory, is owned by Tallahassee Automobile Museum owner DeVoe Moore. He put it in his collection after purchasing it for $532,000. In a 2012 interview with Tallahassee Magazine, Moore admitted he did not have any paperwork vouching for the hearse’s historicity, but he said it’s reportedly one of 16 used during Lincoln’s 14-city funeral procession. He told the magazine the Smithsonian tried to acquire the hearse, but he got it first. John Mixon, executive director of Independent Funeral Directors association, estimated about 2,500 visitors stopped to take a look Tuesday. Two other hearses that doubled as ambulances in their heydays also were displayed at the Capitol courtyard.

Georgia

Brunswick: Officials for a salvage company suing to halt demolition of an overturned cargo ship on the coast appeared to back away Tuesday from claims that sawing the vessel into enormous chunks would cause an “environmental catastrophe.” Officials from the salvage firm Donjon-SMIT told a U.S. District Court judge they would be willing to dismantle the South Korean freighter Golden Ray using the same large-scale method their written lawsuit condemns as too risky. The ship remains off St. Simons Island, where it capsized Sept. 5 after departing the Port of Brunswick with 4,200 automobiles in its cargo decks. Judge Lisa Godbey Wood has treated the suit filed Feb. 13 with a sense of urgency as the multi-agency team overseeing removal of the ship prepares to start cutting it apart in May.

Hawaii

Wailuku: Firefighters have been unable to completely extinguish a large brush fire on an uninhabited island used for military bombing practice for decades because of explosive material in the area. The fire on Kahoolawe island in Maui County had blackened 4 square miles as of Sunday, The Maui News reports. The fire that was first reported Saturday spared fuel tanks, solar panels and other key facilities at the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission base camp, officials said. The Maui Fire Department was unable to battle areas of the blaze because of concerns about unexploded ordnance, including rifle bullets and other munition from the 50 years the U.S. Navy used the island for bombing practice. Since Kahoolawe was returned to Hawaii in 1994, about 65% of the island has been cleared of surface ordnance, while 10% has been cleared to a depth of 4 feet. The uncleared parts of the island are in remote areas where access is limited.

Idaho

Boise: Legislation setting 16 as the minimum age for a person to get married headed to the full state House on Tuesday. The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee approved the measure that would also limit the marriages of 16- and 17-year-olds to someone not more than three years older. Idaho currently has no minimum marriage age. Backers say the legislation is needed to prevent young girls from marrying much older men. A similar bill failed in the House last year that required a judge to sign off on someone marrying at 16 or 17. The new legislation only requires parental consent. Democrats on the committee voted for the measure as an improvement over no minimum marriage age but said removing a judge from the process means parents could coerce children into unwanted marriages.

Illinois

Chicago: Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich won his freedom last week when President Donald Trump commuted his prison sentence, but he may lose his law license. At a hearing Tuesday before a panel of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, commission attorneys urged the panel to recommend that Blagojevich’s suspended license be permanently revoked. Making their case, the attorneys reminded the panel about some of the things that led to Blagojevich’s conviction and 14-year prison sentence, which Trump put a stop to after about eight years. They spoke about the former governor’s attempts to auction off an appointment to President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat and how Blagojevich tried to shake down the CEO of a children’s hospital. Blagojevich didn’t attend the hearing, but his attorney, Sheldon Sorosky, echoed the argument that Blagojevich has been making since even before his 2011 conviction on corruption charges and since his release from prison: that he didn’t break the law.

Indiana

Indianapolis: State lawmakers are poised to double the fines stores could face for selling smoking or vaping products to anyone younger than 21 years old. Legislators advanced an agreement Wednesday reached by Senate and House negotiators on a bill supported by health advocates and business leaders. The proposal aims to help reduce Indiana’s high smoking rates by making it more difficult for youths to obtain tobacco-related items such as cigarettes or e-cigarette liquids. The additional penalties are part of a bill increasing Indiana’s minimum age for smoking and vaping from 18 to 21 to conform with a new federal law. But the Republican-sponsored proposal doesn’t include any additional taxes on cigarettes or regulations on vaping liquids as sought by health advocates.

Iowa

Des Moines: School districts will receive more than $13 million to address funding inequities under a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Tuesday. The bill’s signing comes as lawmakers in the House and Senate continue to work out how much state aid they will give to schools for the next budget year. The law, Senate File 2164, will distribute $7.2 million to the more than 200 school districts facing above-average transportation costs. The high transportation costs cut into the amount of state funding available for the districts’ other needs. The Central Decatur Community School District in Leon was the district hit the hardest by transportation costs last year, Reynolds said. Costs were about $1,096 per student, nearly three times the state average. Reynolds said Tuesday that the bill will offset the transportation costs in Central Decatur by about $748 per student, meaning the district will receive more than $460,000 in new money for other needs.

Kansas

Liberal: An Englishwoman barely squeaked out a victory over a competitor across the pond in Kansas in Tuesday’s annual pancake race between their British and American hometowns. Katie Godor, from Olney, in Buckinghamshire, ran the 71st International Pancake Day race with a time of 1 minute and 6 seconds. That just beat the time of Whitney Hay, a student at Seward County Community College, who won the Liberal, Kansas, leg of the race in 1 minute, 9 seconds. Women in the event must run a 415-yard race while carrying a pancake in a frying pan and flipping it at the beginning and end. The race began in Olney in the 15th century. Liberal challenged Olney to an international competition in 1950. The event expanded this year in Liberal to a four-day event that includes pancake eating and flipping contests, a parade and a carnival. Other events include a 5K fun run, races for all ages, and a shriving service, the religious component of the holiday, according to race organizers.

Kentucky

Lexington: The James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits will hold its first bourbon industry conference this week at the University of Kentucky. The Beam Institute collaborated with the Kentucky Distillers Association to plan the event around key industry issues, according to a statement from the university. The conference will include presentations and discussions on topics such as grains, fermentation, warehousing and logistics. A panel composed of representatives from UK, Beam Suntory and master distillers from multiple distilleries will answer questions about the future of the industry and the Beam Institute. Farmers, distillers and tourism officials are invited to attend. The event is being held Thursday at the University of Kentucky’s Gatton Student Center.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The idea of establishing a new law school in northwest Louisiana has been rejected in a study for state higher education officials. Two state lawmakers – Democratic Rep. Cedric Glover and Republican Sen. Barrow Peacock – had asked for the feasibility study by the Louisiana Board of Regents. The study presented last week at a Regents meeting found “little compelling evidence” that a new law school should be placed in the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Glover said he was disappointed in the study’s findings. “Unfortunately the trend continues of a great deal of inertia against the effort to improve the width, breadth and depth of higher education in northern Louisiana,” Glover said. “We’re way behind the curve to have what’s necessary to grow the economy we need.” The study recommended the region establish initiatives to attract more attorneys to Shreveport rather than establish a law school to educate new lawyers there.

Maine

Portland: China is making U.S. lobster eligible for a tariff reduction, good news for lobster fishermen who lost a key export market during trade hostilities, Maine’s congressional delegation announced Tuesday. The one-year exemption process may exclude $300 million worth of U.S. seafood from punitive tariffs imposed during a trade war with the United States, Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden said in a joint statement. Starting next week, Chinese businesses could apply for a tariff exemption that would let them buy U.S. lobster at a lower price, officials said. The delegation’s announcement won’t have an immediate impact on Maine’s lobster industry, but it’s good news in the long run, said William Bruns, operations manager at The Lobster Co. in Arundel, Maine.

Maryland

Annapolis: The state would phase out its six remaining coal-fired plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under legislation that has bipartisan support, but opponents who work at the plants cited the loss of hundreds of jobs and urged lawmakers to study the idea further before taking action. Del. Kumar Barve, a Montgomery County Democrat, and Sen. Chris West, a Baltimore County Republican, are lead sponsors on the legislation, which would set aside funds to help workers and communities that are affected by the plant closings. Maryland’s six coal-fired plants only operated for a total of 17 days last year, West said at a news conference before a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee. “It’s not sustainable,” West said. “These plants are going to close, whether they close tomorrow or three years from now ... and this bill provides lots of benefits for the displaced workers.”

Massachusetts

Boston: A bill scheduled for debate by the state Senate this week would make it easier for homeless families and young people to obtain state identification cards. The bill would require the registrar of motor vehicles to come up with what supporters call a burden-free process for homeless individuals to obtain the IDs. That process would be free of fees and would accept alternative forms of documentation to prove Massachusetts residency, including information from homeless service providers or other state agencies. The specific kind of documentation would be left up to the registrar. The bill sponsored by Sen. Harriette Chandler is scheduled to be debated by the Senate on Thursday. The Worcester Democrat said under current law, gathering the necessary documents and coming up with a fee can be insurmountable barriers for some people, particularly unaccompanied homeless youth and LGBTQ youth who are homeless.

Michigan

Lansing: The state and nonprofit groups on Wednesday launched a $16 million outreach campaign to push people to be counted in the 2020 census, saying it will take less than 10 minutes to complete once residents start getting invitations March 12. Officials said the census is important because undercounting will mean communities get less federal funding for education, health care and other important programs. They especially want to target more than 1.8 million of the state’s 10 million people who are hard to count – those areas with high poverty, low access to internet, and immigrants and minorities. “The census really is a 10-minute process. The forms are simple, but they are so important. Their magnitude cannot be understated,” Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist said during a news conference at the Capitol, where he was joined by Michigan’s census director, state lawmakers and others.

Minnesota

Alexandria: Investigators are working to learn what caused a massive fire that wiped out part of the city’s downtown. More than 100 firefighters battled a blaze Tuesday that destroyed RM Tattoo, Raapers Eatery & Ale, Charlie’s Bazaar and Little Darlings Children’s Boutique. About two dozen tenants who lived in apartments above the stores were evacuated safely. Firefighters used a drone with thermal imaging for the first time, according to city spokeswoman Sarah Stadtherr. The Star Tribune says it allowed them to locate hot spots and more effectively use their hoses. Carlette Vernlund, who owns Charlie’s Bazaar, said she’ll be meeting with her insurance agent this week to determine how to proceed. Pam Botker, co-owner of Creative Touch and president of the city’s Downtown Merchants Association, said her business and others not directly affected by the fire have significant smoke damage.

Mississippi

Jackson: A rare snake has won protection in two states under a critical habitat lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday. As a result of the suit, the wildlife service said 325,679 acres of critical habitat in Mississippi and Alabama will be protected for the rare black pinesnake, which can grow up to 7 feet in length. Critical habitat protection means federal agencies must consult with the wildlife service for any federally funded or permitted projects to make sure activities don’t hurt the pinesnake or its habitat. “This will help give these elegant snakes the space and safety they need to survive,” said Elise Bennett, an attorney for the center. The new rule will protect eight units of critical habitat, including occupied areas in Forrest, George, Greene, Harrison, Jones, Marion, Perry, Stone and Wayne counties in Mississippi and in Clarke County, Alabama. These areas are already home to pinesnakes and contain crucial habitat features such as deep, sandy soils, unfragmented pine forest and safe refuges.

Missouri

Independence: The mother of a man shot and killed by police claims in a lawsuit that Independence and Sugar Creek officers used excessive force during the confrontation. Tamy Lorraine Lukecart claims police actions were “unreasonable and unjustified” in the death of 22-year-old Dakota Lukecart on Jan. 24, 2017. Lukecart, of Lincoln, fled when officer tried to stop him because his car had expired tags. A chase that reached “dangerous” speeds through Independence and Sugar Creek stopped at a dead end. Police said Independence Officer Darren Spade and Sugar Creek Officer Victor Contreras shot Lukecart after he and passenger did not obey commands to show their hands and Lukecart accelerated toward police, The Kansas City Star reports. Lukecart did not pose a threat, and officers had a duty to “exhaust all other reasonable means” to arrest him before they resorted to deadly force, according to the lawsuit.

Montana

Missoula: New cell towers and communications gear will be built and installed in Glacier National Park, park officials said. The National Park Service plan would designate locations for cellular infrastructure, increase the height of radio towers from 40 to 80 feet, and move some communications equipment to a site outside the park on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the Missoulian reports. Limitations in park communications “reduce administrative and visitor service capabilities; increase costs; limit communications for law enforcement, backcountry patrols, and resource management; can affect emergency response capabilities; and present an increased safety risk to personnel,” park officials said in a statement. The park agency is already taking public comments for an environmental assessment and plan that would make communications improvements for both park staff and the visiting public.

Nebraska

Lincoln: State officials will seek bids this spring from companies to run buses between Lincoln and Omaha, a service aimed at the thousands of people who commute between the cities daily. A state feasibility study has put the more than 15-year-old idea closer to getting the green light, project officials said Tuesday. An annual cost of $5 million has been estimated for the first two years, and transportation officials think federal funds earmarked for intercity bus service can offset half of the operating costs and most of the capital investment. The proposed route for Lincoln-to-Omaha commuters would begin at the Nebraska Innovation Campus and head to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s downtown campus, then to the StarTran Transfer Center, before heading to park-and-ride sites before leaving for Omaha. The route would stop once en route, at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum near Ashland, before stops in Omaha. Another route would serve both Lincoln and Omaha and run along U.S. Highway 6.

Nevada

Las Vegas: A new health science building is expected to be built at a southern Nevada university after the school’s foundation received $6 million in donations toward the project. The 73,000-square-foot facility will be operated by the College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College through a collaborative effort supporting students seeking a career in health care, KSNV-TV reports. The building will support the demand for skilled nurses in southern Nevada with plans to double the number of graduates in nursing, certified nursing assistants, medical office assistants, phlebotomists, lab scientists and technologists, college officials said. The building would also make room for expansion of the biological science program, with an estimated 20% increase in anatomy, physiology and microbiology courses, officials said. The state-of-the-art Betty Engelstad School of Health Sciences building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021.

New Hampshire

Lisbon: An 8-year-old girl has been awarded the American Red Cross’ Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action after saving her younger cousin from drowning. Victoria Lombardi used her water rescue training when 5-year-old cousin Ariana Chattin stepped onto a frog pond that was 5 feet deep and covered in blue-green algae, The Caledonian Record reports. Lombardi was given the award Tuesday by Maria Devlin, the CEO of the American Red Cross in New Hampshire and Vermont, at a reception at Evergreen Sports Center, where Lombardi learned the rescue procedure used to save her cousin. Lombardi used the “Reach, Throw, Don’t Go” rescue procedure she learned in a Red Cross class. She said it made her feel good to save someone’s life and encouraged more people to learn water safety skills. Lombardi’s mother, Lori, said she doesn’t think her daughter fully grasps the magnitude of her efforts.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: Beachgoers at the Jersey Shore would have to tether their beach umbrellas to the sand to prevent them from flying off and injuring people under a recently introduced bill. Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, a Monmouth County Democrat, wrote a bill that would require beach umbrellas to be secured to the sand with an attachment that bores down into the sand, with tie-down straps or by using sandbags. The bill as introduced Feb. 20 would only require that umbrellas be secured on days when the wind speed at the beach is 25 mph or more. But Houghtaling said in an interview Wednesday that he plans to eliminate that provision as the bill moves forward, making it apply whenever beach umbrellas are used. It also would require stores that sell beach umbrellas to post a sign warning of the dangers they can pose.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a red-flag gun bill Tuesday that will allow state district courts to order the temporary surrender of firearms, and she urged sheriffs to resign if they still refuse to enforce it. Flanked by advocates for stricter gun control and supportive law enforcement officials at a signing ceremony, Lujan Grisham said the legislation provides law enforcement authorities with an urgently needed tool to deter deadly violence by temporarily removing firearms from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. Some sheriffs from mostly rural areas opposed the bill in committee hearings as a violation of constitutional guarantees to due process, free speech and the right to bear arms. Lujan Grisham said sheriffs should have the opportunity to oppose any proposed policy change, but “they cannot not enforce.”

New York

New York: The New York Police Department hired a group of trained nurses to help officers with homeless outreach, the commissioner said Tuesday. The nurses will give medical evaluations to homeless men and women in the city while police are interacting with them and encouraging them to check into shelters, the New York Daily News reports. “Nurses are going out with police officers,” Commissioner Dermot Shea said. “This is a new age.” The objective is to have the nurses follow along while officers are dispatched to respond to complaints of homeless encampments or when they are focused on areas where homeless tend to congregate. “What we’re running into many times is mental illness,” Shea said. “We’re running into people who, for many reasons, don’t want to go to a shelter.”

North Carolina

Winston-Salem: An advertising company says it likely won’t accept a request from an animal rights group to erect a billboard memorializing 21 cows killed in a tractor-trailer crash in the state. Lamar Advertising Co. received a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to place the billboard, but the company says it doesn’t accept advertising from the advocacy group, spokeswoman Allie McAlpin told the Winston-Salem Journal. PETA’s vice president responded that the company ended a “long relationship” with the group over complaints about a billboard calling for the release of an orca at SeaWorld, according to a statement obtained by news outlets. Lamar Advertising’s director of investor relations told The Advocate in 2017 that the company’s decision wasn’t based on the SeaWorld billboard but rather on violations of its policy against using “provocative and critical copy to create negative impressions of other entities.”

North Dakota

Mandan: A settlement has been reached in a legal battle over a Western-themed mural on the outside of a bar. Brian Berube and August Kersten, co-owners of the Lonesome Dove, filed a federal lawsuit last year after the city ordered the mural removed. Attorneys for the Lonesome Dove argued that the mural is protected free speech. Berube told KFGO Radio that he “wasn’t going to lay down because they told me to” and that “they picked on the wrong guy.” A federal judge approved the settlement Monday. Berube says the city has to refund $150 in permit fees. The Lonesome Dove was represented by the Institute for Justice, an Arlington, Virginia, law firm that specializes in First Amendment issues. The painting depicts the name of the bar along with a rearing horseman against brown hills at sunset. The city approved an ordinance in December allowing the Lonesome Dove to keep its mural but holding new murals in the city to different standards.

Ohio

Columbus: The state is sharing free video training to help more school districts use threat assessment strategies to identify concerning behavior and prevent targeted violence. The online videos released Wednesday total about three hours and feature experts discussing how to create and use threat assessment teams, providing useful information not just for educators and law enforcement but for parents and students as well, Attorney General Dave Yost said. Too often in cases such as school shootings, officials learn afterward that someone knew something was amiss but didn’t speak up or know how to address it, Yost said. “This aims to make sure in every school district there is a somebody to reach out to, that there are people who are trained to know the warning signs and are prepared to take action,” he said.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: A state House committee approved legislation Tuesday that would require signs bearing the national motto “In God We Trust” to be displayed at all state buildings. The House Rules Committee voted 6-1 to advance to the full House the bill by House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. The bill is fiercely opposed by the religious equality watchdog group American Atheists, which says the message is exclusionary. It says the bill is related to a campaign that seeks to weaken the separation of religion and government. “It sends the harmful message to atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus and other polytheists that they are unwelcome in Oklahoma,” American Atheists Oklahoma State Director Tim Ward said in a statement. A fiscal analysis of the bill suggests it will cost taxpayers more than $85,000 to display the signs in 342 separate state buildings.

Oregon

Pendleton: The city will get $1.8 million through an emergency loan for repairs to a critical levee damaged by massive flooding in northeast Oregon earlier this month in hopes the structure can be fixed before the spring snowmelt, Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday. Brown, a Democrat, said in a statement that the no-interest loan is part of a larger $11.65 million recovery package she outlined last week, but it is the only part of the proposal that can advance without lawmakers’ approval because the remaining dollars come from the state’s general fund or lottery dollars. GOP politicians in both the Oregon House and Senate walked out Tuesday to stall a vote on a climate change bill championed by Democrats. The walkout stopped the bill to cap Oregon’s carbon emissions, but it has also tied up legislation on wildfire mitigation, homeless assistance and a landmark compromise between the timber industry and environmentalists.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: A local nonprofit group detailed plans Wednesday to open next week what would be the nation’s first medically supervised injection site to combat overdose deaths, despite outrage from neighbors and opposition from the local federal prosecutor. The announcement came after a federal judge who oversaw months of litigation ruled Tuesday that the Safehouse plan wouldn’t violate federal drug laws because it aims to reduce drug use, not encourage it. The decision to open the first site in residential south Philadelphia, and not the Kensington neighborhood north of downtown that has become the epicenter of the city’s opioid problem, took many by surprise. At a heated news conference Wednesday, neighbors complained that the site selected has a day care center in the building and schools, stores and restaurants nearby. “We will monitor this,” said former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Safehouse board member. “If problems arise, we can always stop and go to a different location.”

Rhode Island

Bristol: It’s expected to cost $20,000 to redesign nearly two dozen doorways at the Rhode Island Veterans Home because they are not suitable for residents with larger wheelchairs, officials say. The $121 million long-term care facility that opened in 2017 has hired an architectural firm to design 23 new doorways, Michael Jolin, a spokesman for the state Office of Veterans Affairs, told WPRI-TV. The design work should be completed by the summer, the firm said. The state will then need to hire a construction company to make the actual alterations, Jolin said. The home in Bristol houses about 200 veterans. The work order comes two weeks after the station reported that some residents with larger wheelchairs are unable to use certain doorways. Vietnam War veteran John Leonard said he has to travel an estimated 150 yards through multiple hallways if he wants to exit sliding doors at the front of the facility in his wheelchair.

South Carolina

Sumter: A sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed while trying to serve an eviction notice Tuesday morning, authorities said. Sumter County Sheriff’s Cpl. Andrew Gillette was shot in the chest and died a short time later, Sheriff Anthony Dennis said. Gillette was wearing a protective vest, Dennis said. The man being evicted, 56-year-old Terry Hasty, was also killed, according to the Sumter County Coroner’s Office. The sheriff gave few details about Hasty or why he was being evicted. “We lost a family member today. We lost a brother,” Dennis said at a news conference. Gillette, 37, was part of a sheriff’s office team that serves civil papers such as eviction notices. He had been a Sumter County deputy since 2013 and leaves behind a wife and child, Dennis said. A 12-year Air Force veteran stationed at nearby Shaw Air Force Base, he decided at the end of his military career to go into law enforcement as many of his relatives had done, officials said.

South Dakota

Rapid City: A new Lakota cultural and healing program is expanding after officials say it helped those who commit crimes get back on the right track. State’s Attorney Mark Vargo said the Pennington County jail and his office are expanding the Seven Directions program this year to ensure that incarcerated participants are released with a new mindset and skills, the Rapid City Journal reports. Vargo noted it is difficult for offenders to change their behavior if they are released into the same environment with no treatment. Seven Directions has had a “profound impact” on participants and the entire “dynamics of the cell blocks” because those involved share the skills they learn with others, Jail Commander Rob Yantis said. Chissie Spencer and Ruth Cedar Face, who have worked in the mental health and addiction fields since 1993, run Seven Directions. The pair began offering classes last spring in the jail and at the Fork Real Cafe for people on pretrial release and probation.

Tennessee

Crossville: State officials say more than 6,000 acres of land have been added to the Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park to support wildlife habitat, native ecology and public recreation. Known as the Lone Star property, the land in east Tennessee was purchased in November 2019 by The Conservation Fund, an environmental nonprofit group, state officials said in a news release. The group held the land until the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation would buy it. The land was transferred last week to the department, which will use it to develop a segment of the Cumberland Trail that will connect Ozone Falls State Natural Area to existing state owned land, officials said. When completed, the Cumberland Trail will extend more than 300 miles from Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park just outside Chattanooga, officials said. The trail follows a line of high ridges and deep gorges near the eastern edge of Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau.

Texas

Houston: Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they believe 69 additional people might have been convicted on false evidence from a former police officer whose cases are being reviewed following a deadly drug raid. The announcement comes after judges earlier this month declared innocent two brothers who had been convicted based on testimony from former officer Gerald Goines. Goines’ work with the Houston Police Department’s narcotics unit has come under scrutiny following the January 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed. Prosecutors allege Goines, 55, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couple’s home by claiming that a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said that there was no informant and that he had bought the drugs himself, they allege. Five officers, including Goines, were injured in the raid.

Utah

Salt Lake City: A woman who fought criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless in her own home took a plea deal Tuesday to avoid the risk of having to register as a sex offender if convicted, her lawyer said. Tilli Buchanan’s decision brought an end to the case that drew attention to a debate over whether it’s fair to treat men and women differently for baring their chests. Her husband was not charged even though he also had his shirt off at the time. Tilli Buchanan and her attorneys argued that Utah law on lewdness involving a child was unfair to women and asked a judge to throw out the charges and declare part of the law unconstitutional. Buchanan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had pointed to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel a movement. But the judge instead sided with prosecutors who argued that lewdness is commonly understood to include women’s breasts in American society.

Vermont

Newport: Nearly 100 swimmers are expected to brave the icy waters of Lake Memphremagog in northern Vermont this weekend for the sixth annual winter swim festival. The festival takes place Saturday and Sunday at the lake in Newport. Participants will swim 25- to 200-meter distances in a two-lane pool cut in the ice, the Caledonian Record reports. Organizers said 93 swimmers have signed up and are coming from 17 states, two Canadian provinces and Ireland. The event is hosted by Kingdom Games and The East Side Restaurant & Pub. The number of swimmers has grown from 41 “pioneers” in 2015 to 85 last year and 93 this year.

Virginia

Richmond: The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says it expects to administer nearly $540,000 in federal grants for the development of specialty crops. The agency said in a news release that groups looking to improve the competitiveness of specialty crops in the state are eligible to submit proposals for grants of up to $60,000 per project. Agricultural associations, industry and producer groups, community-based organizations, educational institutions and nonprofits may submit applications through March 23. Individual producers are not eligible. Specialty crops include fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and nursery crops that are not typically covered by traditional crop insurance. VDACS said it will give priority to projects with the sole purpose of enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crops as they pertain to improving food safety, increasing nutrition knowledge, enhancing sustainability and improving efficiency of distribution systems.

Washington

Richland: Three radioactively contaminated structures are at high risk of collapsing on a former nuclear weapons production site, but they could be stabilized by filling them with a concrete-like grout within the next year, the federal government said. Otherwise, the U.S. Department of Energy has concluded the structures on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation could fail and release radioactive contamination, the Tri-City Herald reports. “A number of structures are over-stressed and at risk of age-related failure, which could result in a release of contamination with impacts to human health and the environment,” DOE said in a letter last week to the Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates nuclear waste at Hanford. The Hanford site, located near Richland, Washington, for decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons.

West Virginia

Hurricane: Pet oxygen masks have been given to the local fire department to help animals injured in fires. Hurricane Fire & Rescue Lt. Bobby Bragg told WSAZ-TV the department received the masks through the Emma Zen Foundation, which donates masks to departments across the country. Bragg said he noticed a gap in the department about a month ago when two pets were trapped inside a large house fire. “We were able to save one of the animals, and the other one was not able to make it,” he said. “So I wanted a better way to help the community and our four-legged family members, as well.” Each kit has three different sized masks: small, medium and large. The kits have been placed on fire engines, and the department donated one kit to the Hurricane Police Department and two to Putnam County EMS.

Wisconsin

Madison: Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed a Republican-authored $250 million income tax bill on Wednesday at an elementary school in Wauwatosa, arguing that the Legislature should instead work with him on a compromise that includes more money for education. But Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald flatly rejected that call. “There’s no time for compromise right now,” Fitzgerald said, noting that the Assembly adjourned last week for the year. The Senate plans to meet just one more time in about a month. In rejecting his call to compromise, Fitzgerald took a dig at Evers, the former state superintendent for education, saying that he has a “soft spot” for schools, that increasing funding for them will come at the expense of other needs and that the issue will be his ”Achilles heel.”

Wyoming

Cheyenne: Industrial hemp-growing regulations in the state were approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after producers expressed concerns about missing the upcoming growing season. While industrial hemp was legalized by the state about a year ago, producers were unable to grow the non-psychoactive strain of the cannabis plant until they received approval from the federal department, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. Wyoming lawmakers were forced to rework and refile their plan last month to be in compliance with federal regulations after an original plan was submitted in April 2019 and denied because of delays at the federal level. Some investors argued that the state could have missed out on tens of millions of dollars in revenue for this year’s crop if the plan was denied again.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pancake race, a ballooning problem: News from around our 50 states