Poultry pardons, synthetic frogs, Freedom Rocks: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: Researchers are once again trying to determine whether the state’s Black Belt region has a problem with intestinal parasites called hookworm. A study led by University of Alabama at Birmingham is recruiting participants for a program that will screen hundreds of children in Wilcox and Perry counties for signs of hookworm. State health officials took issue with a previous study involving Baylor University that found evidence of hookworm. The parasite was once widespread in the United States and is now a problem mainly in underdeveloped counties. Health officials say poor waste disposal systems and environmental conditions in rural west Alabama put the area at risk for the problem. UAB announced the new program in a statement this week. The work is being funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Alaska

Bethel: Southwest Alaska’s Mulchatna Caribou herd has decreased to less than half its numbers, leaving wildlife officials with suspicions but no clear answers. KYUK-AM reports there were more than 27,000 Mulchatna Caribou three years ago, and the figure is now only 13,500. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says causes could include the animals trampling their food, heavy predation from wolves and overhunting by humans. Officials say the caribou are roaming more in their western range near the Kuskokwim River and Bristol Bay region, an area with more communities than the eastern range. Fish and game officials say surveys indicate more people are hunting caribou than suggested by the 238 animals listed in 2018 harvest reports. State and federal managers plan to respond with restrictions to conserve the population.

Arizona

Phoenix: The city will no longer use red-light and speed-enforcement cameras at intersections starting with the new year. A proposal to extend the contract for the cameras beyond Jan. 1 failed by a 4-5 City Council vote last week. Councilman Michael Nowakowski told KJZZ radio he voted against the extension because city staff never supplied him with the information he requested months ago. Phoenix has stationary red-light cameras at 12 intersections in addition to mobile speed-enforcement units that can be moved around school zones. Council briefing materials said the program generated more than $7 million in net income from Sept. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2018, from more than 205,000 complaints filed in the city court about traffic violations.

Arkansas

Fayetteville: All University of Arkansas students are being required to have up-to-date vaccinations in order to attend classes following a mumps outbreak on campus. The state Department of Health on Friday issued a notice telling students they need to be immunized with at least two doses of the mumps vaccine or sit out of class for 26 days. The agency says nine cases of the viral disease have been diagnosed at the Fayetteville school this fall, and other possible cases are being investigated. University spokesman Zac Brown says the school has vaccination records for its roughly 27,000 students and has already contacted the 407 who don’t have current vaccinations.

California

Arroyo Grande: Cal Fire alleges that fast food chain In-N-Out was responsible for a 2017 wildfire in this rural community, according to a lawsuit filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports that Cal Fire claims the September 2017 wildfire was caused by a tractor mowing grass on In-N-Out property, saying it was covered in “dry annual grasses and scattered brush, which created a receptive bed of flammable vegetation.” The agency also claims that the tractor was improperly maintained and that the driver allowed the fire to spread. Cal Fire is seeking roughly $1.2 million from the burger chain to recoup costs. The fire burned about 245 acres in four days. In-N-Out did not respond to a request from the Tribune.

Colorado

Denver: A survey of passengers who use the metro area’s regional transit system shows more of them would be willing to see service cuts if it leads to more reliable travel. The Denver Post reports the survey by the Regional Transportation District comes as the agency looks at whether and how to pursue service cuts amid one of its worst labor shortages in its 50-year history. RTD Director Judy Lubow called the situation an “emergency” that’s “just creaming us in terms of status and reputation.” In a survey of 13,000 people, 59% favored a temporary service reduction to better balance bus and train runs with RTD’s employee numbers. The respondents said they’d be willing, on average, to wait up to 18 minutes for a bus or light-rail train.

Connecticut

Mystic: A proposal to import five whales to the state has sparked a standoff between animal welfare groups and an aquarium that says the animals will contribute to its research. Mystic Aquarium wants to import the captive-born beluga whales from MarineLand of Canada in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The Connecticut aquarium, where belugas have been a popular attraction for generations, says the acquisition of the whales would enable research that helps protect the species. Animal Welfare Institute and other animal advocates disagree. They say the stress of importation would be too much for the whales, and it would make more sense for the scientists to come to the animals. The importation would require a federal permit, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is taking comments on the permit application until Dec. 2.

Delaware

Rehoboth Beach: More than 150 people are praying that the city reverses course on a ban that prohibits the display of a Nativity scene on city property. The mostly Catholic protesters gathered Thursday outside City Hall in Rehoboth Beach to ask officials to allow the display. They were joined by the Rev. William Cocco of St. Edmond Catholic Church, who asked city commissioners to let the creche return to its “proper place,” the Rehoboth Bandstand. The city ordered church officials to remove the display last December, saying it hadn’t been given permission to install the display in the first place. The city later announced plans to create an all-inclusive display for 2019. It’s unclear what progress, if any, has been made on that display.

District of Columbia

Washington: Melania Trump opened the holiday season in the nation’s capital Monday by accepting delivery of the official White House Christmas tree. Members of the U.S. Marine Band played “O Christmas Tree” as a pair of horses named Cash and Ben trotted up the driveway pulling a green carriage that carried an 18 ¹/₂-foot Douglas fir. The towering tree will become the centerpiece of Christmas in the White House Blue Room. The first lady appeared moments later, escorted by a military aide, and smiled, waved and chatted up the top-hatted men holding tight to the reins. She walked around the carriage and paused to look at the tree before posing for photos with the Pennsylvania farmer who donated it, Larry Snyder of Mahantongo Valley Farms in Pitman, Pennsylvania.

Florida

New Port Richey: No frogs were harmed in the making of a local high school’s science class. J.W. Mitchell High School began using synthetic frogs for educational dissections last Wednesday. Pasco County Superintendent Kurt Browning says it’s the first school in the world to use the technology. The lives of real frogs are being spared at a cost of $150 per synthetic frog. Tampa-based developer SynDaver received funds from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to help create the “SynFrog.” SynDaver says the fake frogs are made of water, fibers and salts and can be reused. Founder and CEO Dr. Christopher Sakezles says the synthetic frogs are also safer because there are no potentially harmful chemicals. PETA says 3 million frogs are killed for classroom use each year.

Georgia

Social Circle: A state agency says it has money available to help fund projects that give people a closer view of the state’s wildlife. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is taking applications for its Wildlife Viewing Grants Program through Jan. 15. The grants award up to $3,000 per project. The agency awarded money to six projects last year, including a viewing scope and platform at a nature center on Jekyll Island and a tower that provides shelter for federally protected migratory birds at Talking Rock Nature Preserve in Pickens County. The Georgia DNR says the goal of the wildlife viewing program is to create a greater appreciation for animals native to Georgia beyond fishing and hunting. A news release says grant winners will be announced by Feb. 21.

Hawaii

Hilo: A federal transportation agency has awarded the state a $6.5 million grant to purchase new buses for Kauai and Hawaii Island. Kauai and Hawaii county officials say the Federal Transit Administration announced the grant Friday, but it is unclear when the buses would be fully operational. Hawaii County officials say the money would be used to purchase 10 40-foot buses on the Big Island. Officials say the buses would be used on existing and new routes, including from Hilo to South Kohala and over the Daniel K. Inouye Highway. Kauai County officials say an additional three 30-foot buses and three smaller buses would be purchased for Kauai. U.S. Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz says investing in new buses ensures residents have an affordable way to get around.

Idaho

Boise: The U.S. Forest Service has agreed to complete environmental reviews of 20 water diversions in central Idaho that a conservation group says could be harming imperiled salmon. A U.S. District Court judge on Thursday signed off on the agreement between the Forest Service and Idaho Conservation League involving the water diversions in the Sawtooth Valley. The conservation group says the Forest Service is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to complete consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries about the diversions. The Forest Service has three years to complete what are called biological assessments on each of the diversions that mostly supply water to homes in the area. The diversions are on tributaries or the Salmon River, which is home to federally protected salmon, steelhead and bull trout.

Illinois

Chicago: A planned one-day strike by some 2,200 nurses at the University of Chicago Medical Center has been called off after their union reached an agreement with the hospital. The Chicago Tribune reports that the agreement between the 618-bed hospital and the nurses who have been without a contract since April was reached Saturday morning. The union had planned to strike Tuesday, and the hospital had said it would lock the nurses out for another four days to guarantee replacement nurses a certain amount of work. That’s what happened in September when a one-day strike by nurses was followed by a four-day lockout. The nurses had been seeking lower nurse-to-patient ratios, but the terms of the agreement were not immediately made available.

Indiana

Indianapolis: A foundation is investing up to $50 million to help low-income residents in the capital move up the economic ladder. The Lilly Endowment Inc., based in Indianapolis, says the funding will boost programs and projects aimed at improving residents’ economic footing and move them toward self-sufficiency. The Indianapolis Business Journal reports the endowment is soliciting proposals from not-for-profit groups, including human service agencies, neighborhood groups and churches. The Enhancing Opportunity in Indianapolis grants will range from $50,000 to $10 million. Rob Smith, a senior vice president with the endowment, says an average of 180,000 Indianapolis residents experience poverty each year, and many struggle “to meet even their basic needs.”

Iowa

Sioux City: Artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II recently finished painting his 87th rock in Albia, Iowa, leaving 12 rocks remaining on his Freedom Rock Tour of the state. During the tour, which Sorensen hopes to wrap up by late next year, he honors veterans by painting military-themed murals on large boulders in each of the state’s 99 counties, the Sioux City Journal reports. He has completed rocks in every Northwest Iowa county. In 1999, Sorensen asked permission to paint a large boulder near Menlo. The 60-ton rock had been a popular spot for graffiti. He painted “Thank you veterans for our freedom” and the flag raising at Iwo Jima. After the rock was eventually graffitied over, a group of veterans asked Sorensen if he would go out and paint the same thing for Memorial Day. Instead, he changed the mural. “It just kind of snowballed from there,” Sorensen says.

Kansas

Kansas City: Universities in the state are reducing general education requirements to ensure more students can graduate on time and create more room for classes in their majors. Wichita State University became the latest school to slash the numbers of general ed classes their undergraduates are required to take. Schools are hoping students can learn skills such as ethical reasoning from an engineering course by scrapping philosophy and history requirements in favor of specific goals. But KCUR-AM reports that some liberal arts professors warn the change will remove an essential aspect of what a university education offers – a widespread knowledge of the world. Wichita State’s general education cuts were largely spurred by a Kansas Board of Regents mandate to reduce students’ credit hours.

Kentucky

Frankfort: Outgoing Gov. Matt Bevin has appointed three of his staffers to the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky boards of trustees. Scott Brinkman, the governor’s secretary of the executive cabinet, and Bevin’s state budget director, John Chilton, have been appointed to the University of Louisville’s board of trustees. Brinkman is also a former state legislator from Louisville. Chilton, an accountant, is also from Louisville. Bevin also named Bryan Sunderland, his deputy chief of staff, to the University of Kentucky’s board of trustees. Randall J. Bufford, president of Trilogy Health Services, was also named to the U of L board. Bevin named Sheldon McKinney, executive director of the Kentucky Future Farmers of America Foundation, to the Western Kentucky University board of regents. McKinney lives in Fleming County.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: The Disney movie “Frozen” inspired an assignment for a Louisiana State University class in modeling the marine atmosphere. The question: If the sea froze while the air temperature was well above freezing, could it bring on wintry weather, as it did in the movie after Princess Elsa runs across the ocean and freezes it? The answer was that, under some circumstances, such a change would be possible. Assistant Professor Paul Miller says he got the assignment idea after watching “Frozen” many, many, many times with his 4-year-old daughter. He set the simulations in 1840s Norway, using climate data from a set going back to 1851 – the earliest available.

Maine

Portland: Taking a cue from Uber and Amazon, two heating oil distributors in the state are stepping up their game by letting consumers order quickly from their phones. The Portland Press Herald reports the first company was Heatable, which is owned by Dead River Co., followed by Order Oil Online. Both distribute in southern Maine. Both Heatable and Order Oil Online are aimed at people who are looking for the lowest prices and quick delivery – not furnace repairs or maintenance. David Simmons, the crew leader of Heatable, says the company serves as a “disruptor” in the marketplace by resetting customer expectations. Kai Nice, president of Order Oil Online, says he plans to drive people to the website primarily with Facebook, Instagram and Twitter campaigns.

Maryland

Annapolis: Letting a balloon float away would draw a fine of $250 under a bill sponsored by state Sen. Clarence Lam, D-Howard and Baltimore counties. The legislation is similar to a Queen Anne’s County law. Lam says he hopes the bill reduces the amount of waste that ends up in the environment and raises awareness of the need to properly dispose of balloons. He says there would be a $250 civil fine for each act of intentionally releasing a balloon, but no one would go to prison for it because it’s not considered a criminal offense. Lam says the state, unlike in Queen Anne’s County, will not allow biodegradable balloons. Because there is not a definite label that states when a balloon will biodegrade, they are still considered damaging and could affect farms, water and wildlife, he says, calling it a bipartisan issue.

Massachusetts

Stow: The state is honoring its best and bravest firefighters this week. State Homeland Security Undersecretary Jeanne Benincasa Thorpe and state Fire Marshal Peter Ostroskey will recognize heroic acts of bravery at the 30th annual Firefighter of the Year awards at Mechanics Hall in Worcester on Tuesday. Awards to be given out include the Medal of Honor, Medal of Valor, Group Meritorious Conduct, Excellence in Leadership, and the Norman Knight Award for Excellence in Community Service. Firefighters from departments in Andover, Boston, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Lawrence, North Andover, Revere, Rochester, Rockland, Saugus, Sudbury, Westborough and Worcester will be honored during the ceremony. Worcester firefighter Christopher Roy, who died fighting a house fire last year, will be honored posthumously.

Michigan

Lansing: Health officials say the state’s drug overdose deaths declined last year for the first time in several years. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state had 2,599 overdose deaths in 2018. That’s a 3.2% drop from 2017’s 2,686 overdose deaths and the first decline in six years. Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state agency’s chief medical executive, calls the decline “a step in the right direction” but says much work remains to be done, including addressing disparities in access to drug treatment. Michigan’s opioid-related overdose deaths fell by 0.8% from 2017’s tally to 2,036 such deaths last year. That decline was largely driven by decreases in the number of deaths due to poisoning by heroin and commonly prescribed painkillers.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Democrats say the decision by the Republican leader in the state House of Representatives to join a Washington, D.C.-area government relations firm as its director of public affairs is a conflict of interest. The Star Tribune reports that Stateside Associates of Arlington, Virginia, announced the hiring of Rep. Kurt Daudt on Friday. The Republican from Crown will continue to serve in the Legislature and as GOP caucus leader. Minnesota DFL Chairman Ken Martin called on Daudt to resign from one of the roles, arguing that he is “opening himself up to massive conflicts of interest by working for a lobbying firm” while serving in the Legislature. Daudt told the newspaper he will not be lobbying or working on any Minnesota issues in his new job.

Mississippi

Jackson: Hardy Middle School now has a mural of the late, prominent author Margaret Walker Alexander. WAPT-TV reports the mural was dedicated last week. Alexander was part of an African American literary movement called the Chicago Black Renaissance. While in Chicago, she was part of the Federal Writers’ Project and the Southside Writers Group. She and her family moved to Jackson, where she was a literature professor from 1949 to 1979. She was the director of the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People and organized several conferences that were the first of their kind. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said at the mural dedication that Alexander used her words to bring beauty and light. She died in 1998.

Missouri

St. Louis: The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has elected an openly gay man as its next leader. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Rev. Deon Johnson will replace Bishop George Wayne Smith upon Smith’s retirement next spring. The election was held over the weekend at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis. Preaching there Sunday, the Rev. Kathie Adams-Shepherd said the Episcopal Church “has not always been a safe space” for all, but a “new season is ahead.” Johnson is rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brighton, near Detroit. He and his husband have two children. He says he has a passion for “social justice and inclusion.” The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has about 11,500 active members who live in the eastern half of the state.

Montana

Bozeman: Yellowstone National Park officials report significant progress in reducing the number of unwanted lake trout in Yellowstone Lake. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reports that the National Park Service says Yellowstone and contract crews culled 282,960 fish this year from the lake. The total is smaller than last year and the year before that, signaling a decline in the overall number of lake trout. That’s good news for Yellowstone cutthroat trout, which suffered a major decline after the detection of the nonnative lake trout 25 years ago. More than 3.1 million fish have been removed in the effort to help bolster native cutthroat trout in the lake. But a panel of experts told the park in May that it would need at least another five years of suppression work.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is releasing rooster pheasants at 14 wildlife management areas in time for the Thanksgiving weekend. The 14 areas are Powder Creek (Dixon County), Oak Valley (Madison County), Wilkinson (Platte County), George Syas (Nance County), Sherman Reservoir (Sherman County), Pressey (Custer County), Cornhusker (Hall County), Kirkpatrick Basin North (York County), Branched Oak (Lancaster County), Yankee Hill (Lancaster County), Arrowhead (Gage County), Hickory Ridge (Johnson County), Twin Oaks (Johnson County) and Rakes Creek (Cass County). The pheasant season runs through Jan. 31. Permits, including the nonresident two-day hunt permit, may be purchased online.

Nevada

Las Vegas: A team of school police motorcycle officers is getting attention not just with tickets but with its posts on social media. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the school zone enforcement unit dubbed the “Fab Five” is racking up traffic stops while providing comedic commentary that might include photos of offending cars (emojis cover license plates), hashtags, memes and humor geared to an extremely online crowd. One recent post included “#JankMachine #MoreSqueaksThanAPetShop.” No one’s spared – not the Review-Journal photographer ticketed for speeding in a school zone on the way to cover the story, and not the school bus driver whose citation prompted the hashtag “#SchoolBusTED.” The crackdown is noticeable. Last school year, the unit cited 3,600 drivers for traffic violations. Just three months into the current year, it’s on pace to about double that number.

New Hampshire

Concord: Another turkey will live free, not die, after a successful pardon plea at the Statehouse. In his third such request, Gov. Chris Sununu asked the Executive Council on Monday to spare the life of a 2-year-old, 18-pound female turkey named Joanna, noting that while the state abolished the death penalty this year, it doesn’t apply to turkeys. The council’s vote was unanimous, with Councilor Mike Cryans joking that he had no choice given the way the bird was staring at him. Joanna, raised at Birch Rise Farm in Sanborton, will join last year’s pardon recipient, Brooke, at Crotched Mountain School. Two years ago, the lucky pardon recipient was named Hale, after Sarah Josepha Hale, the New Hampshire native known as the mother of Thanksgiving.

New Jersey

Trenton: Gov. Phil Murphy says the state has made a deal to buy a 1,400-acre farm in order to protect endangered species. The Democrat announced the deal Monday. The price the Department of Environmental Protection paid to Atlantic City Electric, which owns the farm, is confidential until the deal closes next month. Known as Holly Farm in Millville, Cumberland County, the property sits between two rivers federally designated as “wild and scenic.” Murphy says the farm has the “largest concentration of endangered species” in the state, and the land will help mitigate climate change. The DEP says a rare plant called the joint-vetch is on the property, along with other threatened and endangered species. The DEP says it doesn’t disclose their locations to protect them.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: A top official with the state’s court system says bail reforms are working, and the state is moving in the right direction. Artie Pepin, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, appeared Monday in Santa Fe before a panel of state lawmakers. His testimony comes as critics contend the voter-approved system has allowed for the release of violent and dangerous offenders. Pepin disputed those claims, pointing to a new study by the University of New Mexico’s Institute for Social Research that shows the majority of people released pending trial will show up for subsequent court hearings and aren’t committing new crimes. The researchers reviewed the cases of nearly 6,400 defendants over 21 months. Pepin says the study shows bail reforms are not to blame for Albuquerque’s high crime rates.

New York

Rochester: An intruder didn’t count on an 82-year-old woman living alone being an award-winning bodybuilder with nerves of steel. Willie Murphy tells WHAM she was getting ready for bed Thursday at her home in Rochester when a man pounded on the door and said he needed an ambulance. Murphy called police but wouldn’t open the door. Then the man broke in. She says she clobbered him with a table, poured shampoo in his face and was beating him with a broom when police arrived. The man was sent to a hospital. Police tweeted a selfie with Murphy, calling her “tough as nails.” Murphy works out almost daily at a Rochester gym and says she can deadlift 225 pounds.

North Carolina

Asheville: Despite bouts of rain that fell in Haywood County over the weekend, the Cold Mountain Fire continues to burn, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Adrianne Rubiaco says. According to National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Outlaw, 1 to 1.5 inches of rain fell Saturday in southern Haywood County, in the vicinity of Cold Mountain. The fire was first detected at 3 a.m. Thursday on the summit of the iconic mountain in the Shining Rock Wilderness area of Pisgah National Forest, according to the Forest Service. As of Monday morning, it was considered 15% contained. The cause of the fire is not yet known. The entire 18,000-acre Shining Rock Wilderness area about 30-35 miles southwest of Asheville, including all 53 miles of hiking trails, remains closed to the public, Rubiaco says.

North Dakota

Bismarck: An 18-week-old turkey got an official Thanksgiving pardon from Gov. Doug Burgum on Monday. Lilly was brought to the Capitol by North Dakota Turkey Federation President David Rude. He says the 18-pound turkey was raised on organic feed at his farm near Tolna. As part of the annual tradition, the governor pardoned the bird from being Thanksgiving dinner. The annual event also benefits charity. The Turkey Federation is donating a dozen frozen turkeys each to the Heaven’s Helpers Soup Cafe and the Abused Adult Resource Center, both in Bismarck. North Dakota isn’t a big turkey producer. Nine farms in the state produce about a million birds each year.

Ohio

Canton: The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission says it is now providing free, reliable public Wi-Fi inside all 14 service plazas along the toll road. It says the upgrade replaces an inconsistent patchwork of systems that had been provided by food vendors at those stops along the 241-mile roadway across northern Ohio. Director Ferzan Ahmed says the new system offers seamless Wi-Fi access even at service plazas in more remote areas. The commission says the contract cost nearly $1.9 million, including Wi-Fi and 24-hour customer support for five years, plus equipment, installation and configuration. The project also included network connectivity improvements for turnpike operations, such as toll plazas and maintenance buildings. Agile Network Builders will manage and support the Wi-Fi system.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The Oklahoma Health Care Authority has hired a consultant to help devise a state Medicaid program as an alternative to Medicaid expansion. The Oklahoman reports the OHCA finalized a contract last week with Michigan-based Health Management Associates Inc. for up to $1.49 million during the next year to develop a plan. OHCA CEO Kevin Corbett said Gov. Kevin Stitt is looking for an experienced consultant to advise him on alternatives to Medicaid expansion, which Stitt has opposed. Last month, supporters of Medicaid expansion turned in about 313,000 signatures on petitions calling for a statewide vote next year to expand Medicaid coverage in Oklahoma to adults ages 18 to 65 whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level. An estimated 200,000 Oklahomans currently can’t afford health insurance.

Oregon

Newport: The carcass of a giant blue whale that’s been submerged off the Oregon coast for more than three years is being hauled to the surface so it can be reassembled, studied and put on public display. Oregon State University said Friday that the dead whale washed ashore near Gold Beach in 2015. It’s extremely rare for a blue whale to wash ashore intact, as the creatures can be the length of two school buses. Scientists removed 58 tons of its flesh and then placed the bones in the water off Newport so scavengers could pick them clean. The university says the 365 bones were brought back to land Thursday, including 18-foot-long mandibles and a skull weighing 6,500 pounds. The skeleton’s reassembly will take a year.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: State lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials will collect another annual salary increase, with the governor passing $200,000 and rank-and-file lawmakers passing $90,000. Increases for 2020 will be 1.9%, a figure tied by law to the year-over-year regional change in consumer inflation. The boost takes effect Dec. 1 for lawmakers and Jan. 1 for judicial and executive branch officials. Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Saylor is the highest paid, pulling down a $4,000 raise to just above $221,000. Gov. Tom Wolf’s salary will rise about $3,800 to almost $202,000, although he donates it to charity. Both are among the nation’s highest. Most lawmakers, the nation’s third-highest paid, will see increases of $1,725 to about $90,300 in base pay. They also receive per diems, pensions and health benefits. Lawmakers in leadership posts will top out at $141,000.

Rhode Island

Providence: A Christopher Columbus statue has been vandalized for a second time in recent weeks. The statue’s pedestal was splashed overnight with what appeared to be red paint. Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza’s office said Monday that city workers had already cleaned it, and police are investigating. The statue was splashed with red paint Oct. 14, when the U.S. holiday named for one of the first Europeans to reach the Americas was being celebrated. A sign that said “stop celebrating genocide” was leaned against the pedestal. It was one of several Columbus statues vandalized nationwide. Elorza said then that he’d consider moving the statue from the city’s Elmwood neighborhood to the largely Italian American Federal Hill neighborhood. The Democrat wants the city to form a committee to review commemorative works, like the Columbus statue.

South Carolina

Anderson: A judge has ruled a school board member couldn’t cancel his resignation by sending another email three days later. Anderson County School District 2 Trustee Stu Shirley sent an email to the board saying he was resigning immediately May 14 after a meeting over whether to buy out the superintendent’s contract. Shirley sent another email three days later saying he rescinded his resignation. But the board split 3-3 on a vote whether to let Shirley back on the board, and a lawsuit was filed. Judge Cordell Maddox ruled against Shirley, saying the board removed his photo, biography and email from its website immediately, showing the intent of the members.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Some tribes in the state are laying the groundwork for residents to begin growing hemp in the next year. The 2018 Farm Bill allows tribes to implement their own hemp programs separate from the state. While Gov. Kristi Noem and the Legislature continue their stalemate over legalizing hemp, tribes have been moving quickly to adopt hemp ordinances, create committees to oversee their hemp programs and submit hemp plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval. The Flandreau Santee Sioux and Oglala Sioux tribes have already submitted their hemp plans to the USDA. Some tribes, such as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, are still educating themselves about hemp and haven’t yet formally voted on creating a hemp program.

Tennessee

Gatlinburg: More than 40 insurance companies are suing the federal government over its handling of a 2016 wildfire that killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 2,500 buildings in Sevier County. The companies are seeking more than $450 million for claims they paid after high winds swept flames from a wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into Gatlinburg and its surrounding areas. Five lawsuits filed last week in federal court in Knoxville claim National Park Service officials violated their own policies by letting the blaze burn despite prolonged drought and predicted high winds. It says they also failed to monitor the fire or warn residents of the danger. The park faces a separate lawsuit by victims of the fire.

Texas

Austin: Central Texas could be on pace for a ninth straight year of record-setting home sales, according to new data from the Austin Board of Realtors. Real estate agents sold 2,721 homes across the region last month, the board said in its latest home sales report. That’s the most for any October on record and a 17% jump over October 2018’s volume, the board said. The latest numbers bolster the chances that the five-county Austin region could end 2019 with sales at an all-time high, said Kevin Scanlan, the board’s president. In addition to October’s home sales tally for the Austin region, several other records were shattered last month. The median home sales price in the region was $327,500, the highest on record for any October and a 7.4% increase over October 2018.

Utah

Provo: Wildlife officials say the number of reported human encounters with black bears in the state has almost doubled since last year. The Daily Herald reports the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has received 53 reports statewide of incidents involving black bears since Nov. 7, and two involved physical contact with a person. Wildlife officials say there were 27 reports in 2018 and more in 2017. Officials say most of the reported incidents occurred between Salt Lake City and Santaquin, including in northern Zion National Park. Officials say the increased sightings could be due to the increased number of bears in the state over the past decade, but it doesn’t indicate an upward trend. Officials urge campers and canyon residents to secure food and stay informed with safety tips online.

Vermont

Middlebury: Local high school students are seeking a patent for an invention they think will help the maple syrup industry. Mynbc5.com reports the invention that measures sap flow was created by technical education students at the Hannaford Career Center in Middlebury. The device measures the flow of maple tree sap moving from trees through plastic tubing to a collection site. The students say it helps to determine if tubing is clogged or frozen. Maple syrup is created by boiling down sap. The Lemelson-MIT program has awarded the team a $10,000 grant to refine the device. The students have met with a manufacturer and with University of Vermont researchers, who their faculty adviser says were encouraging.

Virginia

Lorton: A new museum honoring the women’s suffrage movement is set to open early next year. The Lucy Burns Museum is scheduled to open in January to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. The museum will present the story of 91 years of prison history and the imprisonment of suffragists who were arrested in 1917 for picketing the White House for the women’s right to vote. The Workhouse Arts Center funded, designed and renovated the new museum, restoring a decrepit prison building vacated in 2001. The museum is scheduled to open to the public Jan. 25. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for May 9.

Washington

Seattle: Officials say it’s safe to eat squid caught in Puget Sound. KOMO-TV reports King County officials recently tested squid from the sound for metals and other contaminants for the first time in two decades. King County officials say the results show it’s safe to eat Puget Sound squid for eight to 12 meals a month. Jenee Colton with the King County Department of Natural Resources says pollution in the sound is contaminating fish. But squid doesn’t have a lot of fat, which means that it doesn’t store a lot of contaminants like other seafood. Dave McBride with the Washington State Department of Health says contaminant levels in squid are low. He says squid is a good choice for consumers and anglers.

West Virginia

Fayetteville: Sportsmen’s groups say they are not happy that they could lose about 4,800 acres of hunting land if the New River Gorge National River is designated a national park and preserve. The Register-Herald reports the proposal by U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin would designate about 64,000 acres as a national preserve, with hunting and fishing allowed. The National Park area would consist of a little less than 8,000 acres, with hunting restricted. Some of that land already has hunting restrictions, but more than half does not. West Virginia Wildlife Federation President Jerod Harmon tells the paper the group will not support additional restrictions on hunters, anglers or trappers. The senators say a national park designation will boost tourism.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: A federal report shows that the state’s job growth dropped dramatically in the first half of 2019, although economists say there’s little cause for concern. The U.S. Department of Labor says the state had 2,945,000 nonfarm jobs through June, up 9,340 from the same period last year. That lagged well behind the year-over-year increases for every June since the recession ended a decade ago. From June 2017 to June 2018, Wisconsin added 27,000 jobs. The previous year, the state added 35,000. Dennis Winters, chief economist for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, says job growth has slowed nationally and in many other states. He says a key reason is that unemployment continues to be low, at 3.3% in Wisconsin in October and 3.6% nationally. Winters says many business owners would expand if they had the workforce.

Wyoming

Casper: New rules calling for disciplinary action against Republicans who break from the state party leadership’s views have exposed a rift between state and county GOP leaders. The new rules come after some county party leaders, such as Natrona County GOP Chairman Joe McGinley, criticized the state party’s actions. The Casper Star-Tribune reports members of the party’s state central committee approved the resolutions during a meeting in Lusk last weekend. The committee rejected proposals by Natrona County GOP officials seeking to protect free speech. The resolutions say the First Amendment “does not supersede the conduct and expression within the confines of a private organization.” They also say that violating the party’s principles, bylaws or rules of order “could subject a fellow Republican to a disciplinary committee review or disciplinary action.”

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Poultry pardons, synthetic frogs: News from around our 50 states