River troll, 29-cob cornstalk, Batman escort: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: A memorial is being dedicated to two black men who were killed in what are described as racist lynchings near the city in the 1890s. The Jefferson County Memorial Project says it will dedicate a marker to Tom Redmond and Jake McKenzie at Sloss Furnaces on Monday night. An announcement says both men worked at mines owned by Sloss-Sheffield Iron and Steel, and both were killed in the old mining town of Brookside during confrontations with police. Redmond was killed during a shootout near a company store in 1890. McKenzie was fatally shot seven years later when a city marshal attempted to arrest a black man for abusive language. A statement by Mayor Randall Woodfin describes both men as victims of “unspeakable hate.”

Alaska

Anchorage: The state’s hot, dry summer has led to severe drought conditions in some communities, which are struggling to meet their water needs. The arid conditions are widespread but acutely felt in a handful of small communities that rely on snow melt and rain to fill their reserves. Among the worst hit have been the Alutiiq communities of Nanwalek and Seldovia in the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage. Their plight prompted regional officials to issue a disaster declaration. Nanwalek is shutting off the public water supply 12 hours each day and barging in jugs of water to deal with water shortages. In the Alutiiq community of Seldovia, automatic flush toilets have been switched to manual flushing, and restaurants are serving meals on paper plates.

Arizona

Phoenix: Inmates have asked a federal judge to take over health care operations in all state-run prisons and appoint an official to run medical and mental health services due to Arizona’s repeated failure to improve the care. Attorneys representing 34,000 inmates said in a filing Friday that the state has failed to fulfill many of the improvements to inmate care that it promised nearly five years ago when the case was settled. The takeover request marks an escalation in the litigation in which the state has repeatedly been accused of dragging its feet. Previously, the state has been fined for failing to follow through on its promises. In the latest request, the inmates requested a receivership be ordered to run health care operations in prisons and asked the judge to follow through on her earlier threat to impose a second contempt-of-court fine against the state for noncompliance.

Arkansas

Helena-West Helena: A newspaper that was expected to shut down Friday has a new owner. GateHouse Media said it has entered an agreement to sell the Helena-West Helena World to a pair of local entrepreneurs. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but new owners Andrew Bagley and Chuck Davis said they intend to publish the newspaper weekly. Last week, GateHouse announced that the Helena-West Helena paper would shut down along with the Stuttgart Daily Leader. The Stuttgart newspaper reports that negotiations are underway for a new buyer there, but nothing has been finalized. GateHouse publishes 154 daily newspapers, most in small- and mid-sized towns. In August, GateHouse announced it was merging with fellow newspaper giant Gannett, USA TODAY’s parent company.

California

Sacramento: Homeowners forced to rebuild because of a wildfire won’t have to install solar panels under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. New rules taking effect Jan. 1 make California the first state in the country to require solar panels on new homes. But thousands of homes across the Golden State have been damaged or destroyed in recent years because of wildfires and other natural disasters. Newsom signed a bill Friday that temporarily exempts homes from the rules in areas where the governor has declared a state of emergency prior to Jan. 1, 2020. The exemption would expire in 2023. Newsom said he supports efforts to rebuild communities as fast as possible. But he urged all Californians to consider installing solar panels.

Colorado

Denver: The state has taken the unusual step of inviting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to downgrade the air quality rating of its biggest population center, and not everyone thinks that was a good idea. The EPA held a hearing Friday on whether to lower the ozone status of Denver and eight other northern Colorado counties from “moderate” to “serious.” That would force the state to work harder to reduce harmful pollution but also bring tougher and costly regulations for businesses. The agency expects to decide by the end of the year. The EPA acted after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said in March that Colorado would no longer ask for an exemption from EPA standards by claiming some of the pollution was drifting into the state from elsewhere. It’s time to stop “sugar-coating” Colorado’s air problems, he said last month.

Connecticut

Ledyard: The state’s hemp industry is beginning to take off. Gov. Ned Lamont announced last week that the state has licensed 82 hemp growers, two processors and 21 manufacturers under a pilot program the Democrat signed into law earlier this year. The law allows for the cultivation, harvesting, processing, and manufacturing of hemp plants and by-products in the state. In total, 294 acres of land are being used to grow hemp in Connecticut. Under the law, which created a new industrial hemp research project, anyone who plans to manufacture hemp products that are consumed in any way by people – such as food products, lotions or oils – must obtain a license from the state Department of Consumer Protection. Lamont said the program is creating more opportunities in the agricultural industry.

Delaware

Dover: The first woman to lead Delaware State University as president has announced her retirement after a little more than a year in the role. News outlets report Wilma Mishoe announced Thursday that she’ll retire at the end of December. Tony Allen, the current executive vice president and provost of the university, will take over as president. Mishoe officially assumed her role in July 2018, having served as interim president since January 2018. She became the first woman to lead the state’s only historically black university. Mishoe had previously left retirement to lead Delaware State. Allen says it was Mishoe’s expectation that she’d help “stabilize” the school, then enter retirement again.

District of Columbia

Washington: Two D.C. councilmembers have asked government officials to examine a local company that has no employees and yet was given the largest workload and payout from a $215 million no-bid sports gambling contract. The Washington Post reports Robert C. White Jr. and Elissa Silverman want an investigation into Veterans Services Corp., which is contracted by Intralot for sports betting and city lottery work. Their votes were crucial in awarding Intralot the sole-source contract, despite concerns about subcontractors, some of whom are connected to local officials. The newspaper says Veterans Services has no employees and lists executives on its website who don’t actually work there.

Florida

Crystal River: It wasn’t Gotham City, but Batman descended on a local preschool to help a 3-year-old girl who was being bullied. When Erica Calculli’s daughter Lydia came home from school with bruises on her face, she chalked it up to regular kids’ play. But then Lydia came home with a swollen black eye last month. The little girl told her mother that her classmates hit her and threw a shoe at her. Calculli says she reported the incident to her daughter’s school, but nothing came of it. She turned to social media, where Batman impersonator Jack Asbury saw the post and offered to walk the little girl to school. Calculli posted an adorable photo of the shy girl holding the black-caped superhero’s hand in the classroom. WTSP reports the toddler has since been moved to an advanced learning class.

Georgia

Marietta: Many Cobb County voters will cast hand-marked paper ballots in Nov. 5 municipal elections as a backup plan for the state’s election equipment ordered by a federal judge. News outlets report paper ballots will be trialed in Austell, Kennesaw, Powder Springs and Smyrna. U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ordered a contingency plan be developed in case Georgia’s newly purchased touchscreen voting machines aren’t fully implemented by 2020. The new machines print a paper record of a voter’s selections. They’ll replace the state’s current outdated machines that don’t produce an auditable paper trail. Cobb County elections director Janine Eveler says she expects Cobb voters to be using the new machines by March, but the paper ballot test is a “fail safe” against any issues.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A federal agency has approved a rail recovery plan submitted by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, officials said. U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said the Federal Transit Administration approved the proposal submitted earlier this year, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports. The recovery plan was submitted by the city transportation authority to demonstrate Honolulu has a workable proposal for completing the 20-mile rail line. The line was originally estimated at $5.2 billion and was supposed to be completed next year, but the transit administration now projects completion in 2026 at a cost of $9.2 billion. The approval recognizes efforts by the city and state to improve accountability and control costs, Schatz said.

Idaho

Boise: BNSF Railway’s plan to build two bridges as part of a second railroad line in northern Idaho to accommodate increased train traffic and future growth meets environmental requirements, federal officials said Thursday. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a final environmental assessment for the bridges across Lake Pend Oreille and Sand Creek at Sandpoint, finding no significant impact. An environmental group said it was disappointed the Coast Guard didn’t do a much lengthier environmental review called an environmental impact statement, saying an increase in crude oil and other hazardous materials crossing bridges could put the lake and residents at risk. The Coast Guard is involved because the structures are over navigable waters. Idaho officials, who have authority over the lake bottom, have already approved the bridges.

Illinois

Downers Grove: This year’s Illinois Tollway high school art contest will honor the Illinois State Police. Tollway officials announced last week that the winning design will appear on the cover of the 2020 tollway map. The art contest is presented with Blick Art Materials and MB Real Estate. Several Illinois State Police officers have been killed in the line of duty this year. Two died while working on the 294-mile tollway system. Officials say students who enter the contest should “illustrate the service and sacrifice” of state troopers. Artwork could focus on how the state police helps motorists through its principles of integrity, service and pride; how it promotes traffic safety; or how it serves the tollway with motorcycle, K-9 and detective units.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Ball State University will lead archaeological surveys at three state parks to locate possible prehistoric sites and homesteads from the early 1800s. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources says those surveys are among 15 projects around the state sharing in about $450,000 in federal grants for historic preservation and archaeology. The archaeology surveys are planned at Summit Lake State Park, the Wilbur Wright Fish and Wildlife Area, and Versailles State Park. About $150,000 was awarded toward the surveys. A variety of other projects received grants, including roof replacement at the former Peru High School gymnasium, which is now the Miami Nation’s tribal headquarters, and repairing the century-old entrance gate at St. Mary of the Woods College near Terre Haute.

Iowa

Fort Madison: Officials say the Sheaffer Pen Museum has reopened. The museum closed in May last year amid financial concerns and worries about the fate of company archives. The Fort Madison Daily Democrat reports the archives had been on loan from A.T. Cross, Sheaffer’s owner. The museum board president, Tim Gobble, says Cross has agreed to donate virtually all of the company archives to the museum. Grants and other financial pledges of support since have allowed the museum to reopen. Plans are being made for new and refreshed exhibits, as well as video from the company archives. The museum’s regular hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday or by appointment for larger groups.

Kansas

Wichita: The local zoo is beginning a 25-year process of rebuilding and expansion. The Wichita Eagle reports the next few weeks will bring moving day for animals large and small at the Sedgwick County Zoo. The first noticeable change will be the demolition of the second-oldest building at the zoo, a 47-year-old Asian-themed barn with a corrugated steel roof. It will be torn down to make way for a temporary entrance while the main entrance is rebuilt at twice its current size. During the process, a 1,400-pound Zebu bull named Milkdud that’s native to south Asia will be moved in with the Watusi cattle at the African Barn. Plans also are in the works for a new home for the Amur leopards, new office space and a solar-powered train.

Kentucky

Pikeville: Grants totaling $34.4 million have been announced in an effort to spur economic development and job creation in eastern Kentucky – a region hard-hit by the coal sector’s downturn. Officials say the grants will support projects affecting 14 counties. The support includes nearly $4.8 million for Pikeville Medical Center to develop a children’s hospital and pediatric clinic expected to provide health care services for more than 100,000 children. Leslie County will receive more than $2 million to develop a program expanding internet connectivity and providing job training. U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers says grants will help advance health care, enhance tourism, improve infrastructure and create jobs.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The city is closing a historic cemetery in the Garden District for maintenance and repairs. Tours and public visits won’t be allowed until the work is complete at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1. Appointments will be needed for funerals or visits to family tombs. The work starts Monday. A news release says tomb owners can call the property management department for appointments. The area was a separate city, Lafayette, when the cemetery was founded in 1833. Novelist Anne Rice used the cemetery as the setting for her fictional Mayfair witches’ family tomb. Planned work includes fixing a water line, improving drainage, removing and repaving paths, fixing a brick wall and abandoned tombs, removing magnolia trees, and thoroughly cleaning up debris.

Maine

Portland: The state moved ahead Friday with plans to become the first to allow voters to rank candidates in a general presidential election. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, said she’ll allow a bill to become law in January without her signature. The legislation requires ranked choice voting in presidential elections and primaries. Ranked voting won’t be used in a planned presidential primary in March 2020, Mills’ office said. The bill won’t go into effect until 90 days after the Legislature is set to adjourn in April. But future presidential primaries would use ranked choice voting, according to the governor’s office. Maine voters in 2016 approved ranked voting, but the system was limited to federal races and primaries.

Maryland

Annapolis: A two-year project to rehabilitate the westbound span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge that’s expected to cause major delays will be getting underway this month. The Capital Gazette reports some work on the $27 million project was scheduled to start after Labor Day but was delayed. The westbound right lane will now be closed on weekdays starting Sept. 24. Then, starting in October, the right lane will be closed 24/7 through April 16, with restrictions lifted during Thanksgiving. From April 16 through May 20, the westbound right lane will be closed continuously during weekdays. All lanes are expected to be open during next summer’s travel season. The lane closures resume beginning in fall 2020 into spring 2021. The project, fully funded by tolls, is expected to be complete in August 2021.

Massachusetts

Boston: State transportation officials are restoring 21 historic road markers installed nearly 80 years ago to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony because they’ve grown weather-beaten over the decades. The cast iron markers, originally installed in 1930, feature black lettering and trim, plus the state’s coat of arms in blue and gold. They describe historic events and figures and provide facts and stories about their communities. All of the markers are 36 inches wide, between 35 and 45 inches high, and 165 to 200 pounds. The state Transportation Department says the markers being restored are in Bernardston, Brimfield, Deerfield, Greenfield, Hadley, Hatfield, New Braintree, Northfield, West Brookfield and Worcester. The project is expected to be completed this winter.

Michigan

Isle Royale: The second year of the National Park Service’s wolf relocation project has kicked off with a capture of a wolf on the state’s mainland and a flight to Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Mlive reports the 70-pound male that’s believed to be about 3 years old was captured last week. The wolf that was flown by seaplane joins 14 others already on Isle Royale, and officials hope to ultimately bring as many as 30 new wolves to the island that’s been overrun by more than 2,000 moose. Officials hope the new predators will be able to reduce the number of the leaf-eating moose before the latter eat their way through the island located about 60 miles northwest of the Upper Peninsula.

Minnesota

St. Paul: Gov. Tim Walz has finally made good on a long-held campaign promise. After “eight months of negotiations and dealmaking,” he signed off on adopting a new dog for the family. Scout is a 3-month-old black lab mix the Walzes adopted from Midwest Animal Rescue in the metro area. The governor said he had in March 2017 promised son Gus a dog if he won the 2018 election. Walz said his promise wasn’t brought up during the campaign trail, but Gus reminded Walz about the dog on election night once it became clear Walz would prevail. Scout comes as a bit of a surprise, as it wasn’t certain whether the Walzes would get a dog. Walz’s wife, Gwen, said Walz made that promise to Gus without consulting her first. And some of Walz’s family are allergic to certain dog breeds, to say nothing of how other pets would view a dog. “Afton the cat has not been happy,” Walz said.

Mississippi

Jackson: The state is considering new rules that let companies continue to use food-labeling terms such as “veggie burger” and “vegan bacon,” as long as the terms are prominently displayed so consumers understand the products are not meat. The state agriculture department on Thursday proposed new regulations for plant-based products that are sold as alternatives to meat. The regulations came in response to a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization advocating plant-based foods and an Illinois food company. The lawsuit was filed July 1, the same day the state enacted a law saying that “a plant-based or insect-based food product shall not be labeled as meat or a meat food product.” Meat producers have been trying to protect meat terminology by pushing for state laws that restrict labeling of products such as meatless meatballs.

Missouri

Columbia: Critics say a loophole in a new law meant to ensure the safety of children in unlicensed child care homes has caused some children to be pushed out of licensed facilities. Before the law took effect Aug. 28, unlicensed, in-home child care providers could care for four or fewer unrelated children and an unlimited number of their own children. Under the new law, unlicensed providers may care for only six children, and no more than three under age 2. Day care operators’ children over age 5 are excluded in the count. The Columbia Missourian reports lawmakers inadvertently required licensed day care providers to count all their own children, regardless of age. That discrepancy has forced some licensed day care providers to refuse spots for unrelated children. A waiver process for licensed providers for their children over 5 is being used on a case-by-case basis to fix the loophole.

Montana

Helena: State health officials are proposing new rules to regulate medical marijuana testing laboratories. A notice issued Friday by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services says a hearing will be held on the proposed rules Sept. 26 at its offices in Helena. The health department drafted the regulations after state lawmakers earlier this year put the agency’s state laboratory in charge of licensing and inspecting the marijuana testing labs. The proposal would set new rules by which the labs are licensed and accredited and how they operate. Existing licensing and accreditation regulations would be repealed. State law requires medical marijuana providers to test their products in a licensed lab for quality assurance before they can be sold.

Nebraska

Omaha: Officials have unveiled a blue, 300-pound bronze statue of a troll that now sits below the popular Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge spanning the Missouri River from Omaha to Council Bluffs, Iowa. Omar the Troll – short for Omaha Metro Area River – was introduced during a news conference Wednesday. The 4-foot troll with a toothy grin now greets visitors from atop a concrete cottage set up on a mulched area by one of the bridge’s pillars. The sculpture is the brainchild of tourism group Visit Omaha and has been in the works for three years. The idea behind his creation is to keep visitors excited about the riverfront bridge. Deborah Ward with Visit Omaha tells the Omaha World-Herald that “every bridge needs a troll.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: A preservation group plans to use a grant to redevelop and preserve a historically black community. The Westside neighborhood, virtually the only area of the city where African Americans were permitted to live in the 1940s, saw hundreds of homes razed and thousands of people displaced, with residents not compensated for their destroyed dwellings, the Las Vegas Sun reports. Some vacant lots in the neighborhood just blocks northwest of downtown still date to that ugly period, says Heidi Swank, executive director of the Nevada Preservation Foundation. The foundation plans to use a $50,000 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to identify and highlight Westside stories of triumph, innovation and success. Frank Woodbeck, a foundation board member, says that unlike in traditional redevelopment, the foundation aims to keep people in the neighborhood or even bring back former residents.

New Hampshire

Lincoln: This year’s New Hampshire Highland Games is hosting the World Championship in Heavy Athletics, where athletes from seven countries will compete in traditional Scottish events to test strength and agility. The competition will feature the stone throw, hammer throw and caber toss. The games are scheduled for Sept. 20-22 at the Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln. Chuck Kasson, the reigning world champion and winner of the 2018 New Hampshire Highland Games, is among those scheduled to compete. Also featured will be a performance of the bagpipe band The Red Hot Chili Pipers on Sept. 21.

New Jersey

Deptford: A cornstalk that was planted by accident has now shattered a Guinness world record. The record belongs to Matt Jacovelli, a Deptford retiree who noticed the unusually abundant cornstalk over the summer. “I started counting and got up to 12, 13 and 14 cobs and couldn’t believe it,” he said. The final tally was 29 cobs, verified by Rutgers agricultural agent Michelle Infante-Casella on Aug. 30. Jacovelli submitted the official count to Guinness and received a quick ruling. On Thursday, he learned he now holds the Guinness record for “most corn cobs on a single plant.” The previous world record was held by another place known for corn: Iowa. But Jacovelli nearly doubled that 2009 record, which was for 16 cobs. A typical cornstalk yields two cobs.

New Mexico

White Sands Missile Range: White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico has scheduled an Oct. 5 open house at Trinity Site, the second of two such events planned this year. Trinity Site is where the world’s first atomic bomb was detonated July 16, 1945. Range officials said the open house is free, and no reservations are required. Entry will be allowed from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors can walk to ground zero, where a small obelisk marks the spot where the bomb was detonated. Historical photos are mounted on the fence surrounding the area. Visitors can also ride a shuttle bus to travel the 2 miles from ground zero to ranch houses where scientists assembled the bomb’s plutonium core.

New York

New York: The state has a new license plate that features several famous landmarks. The Department of Motor Vehicles announced the design Friday based on the results of a statewide survey. The winning plate showcases iconic settings like the Statue of Liberty, Niagara Falls and the Montauk Lighthouse. It also features the state motto “Excelsior,” a Latin word meaning “ever upward,” and a blue-and-yellow color scheme on a white background. DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder says some 325,000 New Yorkers participated in the survey. About half of them selected the winning design over four other options. He said the design represents “what the Empire State is all about– our diversity, our unparalleled architecture and natural beauty.” The new license plate costs $25 and will be available to motorists in April.

North Carolina

Raleigh: The state’s Historic Preservation Office has set up an online form so local governments and residents can report damage to historic properties caused by Hurricane Dorian. The office wants information about wind and flooding to historic structures, cemeteries and state highway historical markers. With that information in hand, the office can offer aid, technical expertise, and consultation with federal and state entities. The Historic Preservation Office offers technical advice and consultation for the restoration of damaged historic properties at no charge. A building must be at least 45 years old, but it doesn’t have to have any special historic designation. In addition, the office’s website offers tips for drying out flooded buildings, documenting damage for insurance purposes and other technical advice.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Authorities relying on DNA collected from a cigarette butt have charged a man with engaging in a riot for his involvement in a Dakota Access pipeline protest three years ago. The Bismarck Tribune reports Morton County prosecutors also charged 23-year-old Lawrence Malcolm Jr. with felony conspiracy to commit criminal mischief. An arrest warrant was issued Thursday. The charges relate to a Sept. 6, 2016, protest on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. An affidavit says more than 100 demonstrators, many with their faces covered, halted construction and vandalized equipment. North Dakota crime lab officials notified investigators last month that DNA from a cigarette butt found at the scene was a match for Malcolm, whose DNA profile was on file from an earlier arrest.

Ohio

Sharonville: A man confused about state drug laws has called a police department demanding that officers return the small amount of marijuana they “stole” from him. WXIX-TV reports the man told a Sharonville police dispatcher in an expletive-laced call Tuesday that it’s legal to possess 100 grams of marijuana, and the amount officers seized was just 4 grams. Sharonville police posted a recording of the call on their Facebook page. The suburban Cincinnati department wryly noted: “People may be a bit in the weeds, so we would like to take this opportunity to clear the haze.” While some Ohio cities have decriminalized pot possession, it remains illegal in the state. Sharonville police said they “don’t make the rules” but must uphold them.

Oklahoma

Perry: Hundreds of strangers have honored a 97-year-old World War II veteran who funeral home officials say died with no known surviving family. Motorcycles carrying U.S. flags were part of Wednesday’s service for Herman White, who died Aug. 11. White was buried next to his wife and son in Perry, 60 miles north of Oklahoma City. Funeral director Rebecca Raines, with Brown-Dugger Funeral Home, reached out to the community after learning White had no known surviving relatives. White married in 1941, joined the Navy in 1945 and served aboard the USS Muliphen in the Pacific. After the military, White returned to Oklahoma and worked in the oil and gas fields. The couple had a son in 1951. White’s wife died in 1998. Their son died in 1999.

Oregon

Salem: Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities being attacked and locked up in isolation – this is what some kids from Oregon were subjected to after being sent to out-of-state facilities because of a lack of services in their home state. After investigations revealed deplorable conditions, Oregon is now bringing them back. A state senator at the forefront in the effort says it is critically important for Oregon to provide mental health services. Sen. Sara Gelser, a Democrat from Corvallis, says the Oregon Department of Human Services planned to have 120 children in out-of-state placements by the end of June. Instead, 37 children are in out-of-state facilities, down from as many as 88. Gelser said she wants the number at zero and for strong programs to be built in Oregon.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state will receive another $75 million in federal aid to fight the opioid-addiction crisis, money that Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says will help with treatment, prevention and education. Wolf’s administration said Friday that about $56 million will go to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The money will also help extend programs designed to help people in addiction treatment find stable housing and to attract treatment professionals by helping repay their education loans. The state Department of Health received $8.4 million, a grant that is expected to repeat each of the next two years, while Philadelphia received $5.9 million, and Allegheny County received $5.2 million.

Rhode Island

Cranston: The organization that oversees high school sports in the state is asking overzealous parents to settle down because they are driving away qualified game officials. The executive director of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League tells WJAR-TV the primary reason the state has a shortage of referees and umpires is that officials don’t want to put up with obnoxious parents. In a letter to parents of high school athletes, Tom Mezzanotte wrote: “Yelling, screaming and berating the officials humiliates your child, annoys those sitting around you” and “embarrasses your child’s school.” He says the shortage of officials results in games being rescheduled, postponed or canceled. Softball umpire Susan Johnson says an angry parent drove toward a colleague’s car after a game before swerving away at the last second.

South Carolina

Greenville: An upstate school district has started work on a new $15 million building at its science center. WSPA-TV reports the Greenville County school district is constructing a building that will house exhibits on the water cycle and sustainable living, plus a cafeteria and several classrooms. The building is supposed to be complete in fall 2020 and replaces an unused outdoor amphitheater. The science center is owned by the school district, which is providing $12 million in funding. The Roper Mountain Science Center Association has raised the other $3 million privately. Exhibits were designed in collaboration with the Shi Center for Sustainability. The science center already has an observatory, planetarium, living history farm and other exhibit buildings.

South Dakota

Pine Ridge: The Oglala Sioux Tribe has passed legislation aimed at hate crimes on the Pine Ridge reservation. The Rapid City Journal reports the law passed by the tribal council Wednesday makes hate crimes punishable with up to one year in jail, which is the maximum allowed under tribal law. The law defines a hate crime as one where the defendant intentionally targets a victim or property because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability of any person. The law comes two months after the tribe legalized same-sex marriage on the reservation.

Tennessee

Nashville: A priest who banned Harry Potter books from a Catholic school’s library was accused by parents of causing their children psychological and spiritual harm. A 2017 letter from 14 St. Edward Catholic School parents urged the Nashville diocese to remove the Rev. Dan Reehil. The letter, with 50 bullet points, said Reehil is a toxic narcissist who hates Pope Francis and views himself as “a soldier of God.” It said: “Our school, however, consists of children, not soldiers.” Diocesan spokesman Rick Musacchio said Reehil’s views, like that of the retired, more liberal pastor he replaced, both have homes in the church. Reehil didn’t respond to the Tennessean’s interview requests. In an email, he said he removed J.K. Rowling’s books because they contain “actual spells and curses.”

Texas

Houston: A federal judge is expressing frustration that officials don’t seem to be honoring a settlement of a lawsuit over oppressive heat at some state prison facilities. During a court hearing Friday in Houston, U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison debated whether officials should be sanctioned by having them experience the same temperatures as inmates. Ellison delayed a ruling on possible sanctions until he’s heard from officials, including prison wardens, at a hearing Tuesday. Last year’s settlement resolved a lawsuit filed in 2014 over temperatures at the Wallace Pack Unit, about 95 miles northwest of Houston. Attorneys for the inmates say prison officials are not adhering to the settlement. A lawyer with the Texas Attorney General’s Office told Ellison officials are working to fix problems affecting the prisoners.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Conservative groups in the state have addressed school officials to disapprove of a new teacher instructional guide for sex education. The Deseret News reports Utah Eagle Forum was one of many groups that addressed the state Board of Education on Thursday criticizing the changes. Board officials say instructional guides were created addressing specific topics including sex education after new K-12 health standards were passed in April. Officials say teachers are now allowed to respond to student questions to provide medically accurate data and clarify or correct misinformation. Officials say the guide does not allow teachers to answer technique or how-to questions. Some parents say teachers should be encouraging students to speak to their parents, nurses or counselors and not expose other students to these types of questions or their answers.

Vermont

Strafford: A river poisoned by a mine that dates to the United States’ early days is looking good two decades after cleanup began. Contractors working for the Environmental Protection Agency as part of the federal Superfund program are doing final work on the Elizabeth Mine in Strafford before turning it over to the state for long-term monitoring. The mine was once important enough to the economy of the young country that President James Monroe visited in 1817. It stayed in business for decades, feeding industrial, electrification and war efforts before closing in 1958. For decades, acid- and metal-contaminated water from the waste piles near the abandoned mine left local waterways almost dead. Now after the estimated $90 million cleanup, the state has changed the designation of the Ompompanoosuc River. It now supports aquatic life.

Virginia

Alexandria: Three couples planning to get married have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a state requirement that they disclose their race on their marriage application. Lawyer Victor Glasberg says that the requirement is a vestige of Jim Crow laws and that Virginia is one of only eight states requiring marriage applicants to disclose their race. According to the lawsuit, one Virginia county provided a list of more than 200 potential races to a couple who questioned the requirement. It included “American,” “Aryan,” “Moor” and “Mulatto.” A spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the office will examine the complaint closely and determine how to proceed. Glasberg says he does not think Herring should defend the law.

Washington

Colfax: The work of plowing, planting and harvesting is still done the old-fashioned way with teams of draft horses and mules on a parcel of farmland in eastern Washington. On Labor Day, several hundred spectators watched an annual, public demonstration of those methods near Colfax. A combine header pushed by a team of six Percheron draft mules fed cut grain into vintage wagons, each pulled by a pair of horses, as several acres of barley were harvested. Volunteers with the Palouse Empire Threshing Bee Association, a group dedicated to preserving the way land was farmed decades ago, took time away from their own harvest work to bring in the barley. Stan Riebold, a longtime member of the group, said it plans to continue preserving the old way of doing things.

West Virginia

Clarksburg: The city has approved an ordinance that would regulate a needle exchange run by the local health department. News outlets report the Clarksburg City Council voted Thursday to approve the final reading of the proposal, which would require those receiving needles to meet requirements that include submitting to blood tests and showing photo identification. Health department administrator Chad Bundy had expressed concerns with some of the ordinance’s provisions, including the photo ID requirement and limiting the program to Harrison County residents. City Attorney James Cann said prior to the meeting that he had reviewed the ordinance and found no legal problems. Clarksburg Mayor Ryan Kennedy has said the needle exchange program is “creating some negatives,” and officials want to eliminate those “while still retaining some positives.”

Wisconsin

Madison: Organizers say a campaign to encourage Midwestern millennials to move to the Badger State will continue despite a lack of funding from this year’s state budget. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers declined to grant the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.’s request for $10 million over the next two years. The campaign that began in early 2018 was the brainchild of Evers’ Republican predecessor, Scott Walker. Wisconsin Public Radio reports WEDC officials say the organization has identified $4 million within its budget to fund the program this year and expects to do the same in 2020-21. Evers’ spokeswoman, Melissa Baldauff, says he is focused on developing infrastructure and communities to attract and retain a talented workforce. The campaign aims to attract workers ages 21 to 35 in science, technology, health care and financial services.

Wyoming

Laramie: The University of Wyoming has announced plans to honor the Black 14 after they were cut from the school’s football team for wanting to protest during the civil rights movement. The Casper Star-Tribune reports 14 student-athletes were dismissed for wanting to wear black armbands during a 1969 game against BYU in protest of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ then-policy barring black men from the priesthood. Athletic officials say nine of the living 11 members are expected back this week for the scheduled tribute. Officials say the weeklong commemoration includes a plaque presentation, football halftime recognition and a free public panel discussion. It could be the largest known contingent of the Black 14 on campus since they were dismissed 50 years ago.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: News from around our 50 states