Rockefeller Center tree, green tongue pot myth, deer at sea: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Auburn: Auburn University says its famed golden eagle Nova, also known as War Eagle VII, could be in the early stages of heart failure. The university made the announcement Tuesday in a news release. The 20-year-old male eagle for more than a decade soared above the crowd at university football games. He was sidelined from the pregame tradition after a 2017 diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, a chronic disease of the heart. Dr. Seth Oster, faculty avian veterinarian for the college’s Southeastern Raptor Center, said a recent exam indicated the eagle could be in the early stages of heart failure. Veterinarians are adjusting medication dosages to try to treat the condition. Aurea, a 5-year-old female golden eagle, and Spirit, a 23-year-old female bald eagle, have made pregame flights this season.

Alaska

Ketchikan: Attorneys have filed a class-action lawsuit that seeks to reverse a recent rate increase in a group of state-owned homes providing assisted living care. News organizations report the lawsuit filed in Ketchikan Superior Court asks a judge to issue a preliminary and permanent injunction against rate increases at Pioneer Homes. The lawsuit names the state of Alaska, Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services officials as defendants. The Sept. 1 rate changes increased the cost of a Pioneer Homes bed by between 40% and 140%. One of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit says the state abruptly increased rates, harming residents. An Alaska Department of Law official says the department needs to review the complaint but generally does not discuss ongoing cases.

Arizona

Flagstaff: A proposal to create an “ecologically friendly” perpetual resting place on private lands within the Coconino National Forest may not be so restful for the 13 tribes that consider the nearby San Francisco Peaks sacred. Better Place Forests, a San Francisco, California-based firm, purchased the land from a Phoenix owner and announced plans to create its third “memorial forest,” or cemetery, on the property northwest of Flagstaff. The company wants to place cremated remains around a selected tree on the parcel, which sits at an elevation of 8,400 feet and features ponderosa and southwestern white pine, quaking aspens, and Douglas fir trees, as well as a meadow. The project, if it clears state and county regulatory hurdles, would be preserved as a conservation area. But the 160-acre site lies within the boundaries of land deemed eligible to be designated a “traditional cultural property” surrounding the San Francisco Peaks and the Kachina Peaks Wilderness and, eventually, to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. A statement from the Hopi Tribe called the plan a “total violation of our religious and cultural beliefs.”

Arkansas

Little Rock: The city’s teachers are staging demonstrations over the state’s stripping of their collective bargaining power and its ongoing control of the district. But they’re offering few clues on whether they’ll strike for the first time in decades. Teachers, parents and students held “walk-ins” around the 23,000-student district Wednesday, walking into school buildings together before classes started to show their support for the union. They’re part of a series of actions union leaders have planned after the state Board of Education’s decision to strip its collective bargaining power. The union’s contract with the district expired Thursday. The head of the union says it hasn’t ruled out a strike, which would be the first in the district since 1987. Arkansas has been in control of Little Rock’s schools for nearly five years.

California

Riverside: Officials have quashed plans to build a new city called Paradise Valley on the southern edge of Joshua Tree National Park in the Southern California desert. The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept its Planning Commission’s recommendation and deny the project without continuance. The decision is a victory for conservationists and residents who voiced concerns about sprawl in the inland region east of Los Angeles. It’s a blow to GLC Enterprises, which had been trying to get approval for Paradise Valley for 15 years. The developer envisioned a community with 8,500 homes and 1.3 million square feet of space for commercial and civic uses. Supporters say it would have created jobs and $5 million in annual tax revenue.

Colorado

Denver: Proposition DD, which will legalize sports betting in the state, has secured passage. The measure passed by about 1.4%, according to unofficial results posted by the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday afternoon. That difference doesn’t fall within the 0.5% margin of victory to trigger an automatic recount, meaning legal sports betting will be allowed as soon as May, should the result hold up in the official count. Proposition DD would legalize sports betting in Colorado through established casinos and online through websites operated by any of the 38 casinos currently under state oversight. The state would take 10% of net proceeds from sports betting and spend most of its cut – up to $29 million annually – on water projects throughout Colorado.

Connecticut

Hartford: Ride-hailing company Lyft is offering much-needed free transportation in the city to former inmates through a new partnership with the city and a nonprofit criminal justice reform group. Louis Reed, national organizer for the bipartisan group #cut50, announced Wednesday that an initial installment of 60 to 80 codes for free Lyft rides is now available for distribution at the city’s Welcome Center. Mayor Luke Bronin says transit bus routes are limited, and the new partnership will help get people to job interviews or health care appointments. Hartford is the first city to take part in the program, but other cities and organizations around the country are expected to follow, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Oakland and New York City, as well as some rural areas.

Delaware

Dover: Officials are preparing to send potable water to properties near Dover Air Force Base after private wells were found to have chemical contaminants exceeding federal health advisory levels. The Delaware State News reports the city’s utility committee voted Oct. 29 to waive an annexation requirement so the properties can get city water service. State officials announced in July that military officials had notified them about wells contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances. Such chemicals are found in various products, including firefighting foam that has been used at military bases nationwide. City Manager Donna Mitchell says Dover wants the waiver in preparation of the base coming forward and requesting water service help, which she says it has yet to do. The base has been providing bottled water to affected properties.

District of Columbia

Washington: An ex-FBI agent is telling jurors that Donald Trump confidant Roger Stone quoted his hero Richard Nixon as Stone urged an associate not to contradict his own testimony to lawmakers. The quote was cited in a Stone text detailed by former agent Michelle Taylor at Stone’s trial. A Stone associate, radio host Randy Credico, was asked in 2017 to appear before the House Intelligence Committee. That’s when Stone texted him: “ ‘Stonewall it, plead the fifth, anything to save the plan …’ Richard Nixon.” Stone is on trial in federal court in Washington on charges of lying to Congress and tampering with a witness. He was charged under special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Stone denies wrongdoing. Stone has long admired Nixon and has a tattoo of the late president on his back.

Florida

Wauchula: A 33-year-old orangutan granted legal personhood by a judge in Argentina is settling into her new surroundings at the Center for Great Apes in central Florida. Patti Ragan, director of the center in Wauchula, says Sandra is “very sweet and inquisitive” and adjusting to her new home. She was born in Germany and spent 25 years at the Buenos Aires Zoo before arriving in Florida on Tuesday. In 2015 Judge Elena Liberatori ruled that Sandra is legally not an animal but a non-human person with rights. She remained at the zoo, which closed in 2016, until leaving for the United States. At the center, Sandra joins 21 orangutans and 31 chimpanzees rescued or retired from circuses, stage shows and the exotic pet trade.

Georgia

Atlanta: For the first time in three decades, the city will not host a Peach Drop to ring in the new year. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms broke the news Tuesday during an interview with Majic 107.5/97.5’s afternoon host Ryan Cameron. Bottoms says officials are taking a break to reevaluate the location and how the event is planned. She says the city no longer owns Underground Atlanta, which adds complications to hosting the event, which has at times drawn 100,000 people. The Peach Drop debuted in 1989 – a play off New York City’s Times Square ball drop. After a private developer purchased Underground Atlanta, the city moved the Peach Drop to Woodruff Park for New Year’s 2017 but brought it back to Underground Atlanta last year.

Hawaii

Honolulu: A settlement has been reached over a deadly high-rise fire, although the amounts to be paid by insurance companies to plaintiffs remains confidential. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports a settlement conference was concluded Tuesday regarding the July 2017 Marco Polo building fire that killed four people. Officials say the fire at the 568-unit building was one of the worst in modern Honolulu history, requiring the efforts of about 130 firefighters. A judge has ordered defendants to make financial disbursements out of an escrow account by Jan. 15. The settlement appears to resolve several lawsuits filed over the fire that caused an estimated $107 million in damage. Attorneys say they’re not allowed to discuss settlement amounts their clients are expected to receive.

Idaho

Boise: The state granted a conditional waiver Thursday to the U.S. Department of Energy that could allow research quantities of spent nuclear fuel into the state after years of blocking such shipments. The agreement announced by Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, both Republicans, means the Idaho National Laboratory could receive about 100 pounds of spent fuel for experiments as part of a U.S. strategy to expand nuclear power and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The waiver requires the Energy Department to first prove it can process 900,000 gallons of high-level radioactive liquid waste that sits above a giant aquifer that supplies water to farms and cities. The Energy Department has spent some $600 million trying to do that, so far having failed but reporting good progress earlier this year at its Integrated Waste Treatment Unit.

Illinois

Chicago: Advocacy groups including the ACLU of Illinois have filed lawsuits against two county sheriff’s departments for alleged violations of the TRUST Act, which limits cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. The groups say it’s part of an effort announced Thursday to monitor law enforcement agencies for compliance of the 2017 that law prohibits local police from holding a person on an immigration detainer unless there’s a warrant signed by a judge, among other things. The lawsuits allege sheriff’s departments in Stephenson and Ogle counties unlawfully detained several immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after minor traffic offenses. Republican former Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the TRUST Act in 2017 with backing from law enforcement. Democrats widely supported the idea.

Indiana

Indianapolis: Despite warning signs flashing this past summer, Indiana economists say they do not expect a recession in 2020, but the state’s economy will continue growing at a slower pace. A tight labor market, weakness in manufacturing and the ongoing trade war with China are expected to contribute to a slowdown in the state’s economy. Indiana’s economic output is expected to grow at a pace of about 1.25% next year, according to the latest economic forecast released by the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. According to the forecast, Indiana’s 2020 economy will be anemic. There are current bright spots, such as the 50-year low in unemployment, more people participating in the labor force and increased wages. But economists behind the Kelley School forecast said political dysfunction and international trade friction have disrupted supply chains, causing business and consumer confidence to erode.

Iowa

Cedar Falls: The University of Northern Iowa’s president says he’s forming a committee to address minority and other students’ allegations of systemic racism on the Cedar Falls campus. President Mark Nook took responsibility in a recent letter to the university community for the university’s failure to adequately fulfill goals set by an ad hoc student group and backed by the student government. The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports Nook’s action follows a social media campaign of criticism by the student group, Racial and Ethnic Coalition. Among other things, the group posted video testimonials from minority students talking about problems they’ve had on campus, including dealing with a racist professor and trying to navigate university diversity policies.

Kansas

Topeka: Time is running out to begin construction on a new coal-fired power plant before its permit lapses. The battle over the plant has lasted more than a decade. By the time the Kansas Supreme Court cleared the way for construction in 2017, a company involved in it called the chances it would be built “remote.” But the Kansas City Star and Wichita Eagle report that documents they obtained show the utility spearheading the project told regulators “significant interest” remains in building the plant. Sunflower Electric Power Corp. asked for an 18-month extension of a key permit “to finalize arrangements” for its construction. State regulators renewed the permit until March 2020 and warned they would not allow more time. Sunflower didn’t rule anything in or out this week.

Kentucky

Frankfort: State parks are offering a discount on lodging to active-duty military members and to veterans through March 31. A statement from Kentucky State Parks says the USA Military Discount is available to those currently serving in the armed forces, retired members of the military, veterans, National Guard members and reservists. With the discount, lodge rooms start at $59.95 a night, and one-bedroom cottages start at $79.95 a night. The rates are good at a majority of Kentucky’s 17 resort parks, but there’s a $5 upcharge at Barren River, Cumberland Falls, Kentucky Dam Village, Lake Barkley, Lake Cumberland and Natural Bridge. The discount is also available at John James Audubon State Park. More information is available online.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Five hundred seventy-one of the state’s public schools, or about 44%, have “persistently struggling groups of students” and are now required to develop improvement plans. Louisiana’s Department of Education released performance data Wednesday as part of the state’s compliance with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act. Among the 571 schools are 271 labeled as needing “comprehensive improvement,” for persistent low overall grades or poor graduation rates. Three hundred other schools – including some with high overall grades – must work to improve performance among sub-groups of students, including English language learners, low-income students and those with disabilities. The department pointed to promising findings, including more schools earning A and B grades.

Maine

Harrington: A lobsterman hauled in an unusual catch 5 miles off the coast – a live deer. Ren Dorr says he was setting traps when he saw a young deer Monday morning. He says the deer had given up swimming and was being carried farther offshore. He and his crew hauled the 100-pound buck aboard. Having a wild animal in a confined space could be trouble. But Dorr tells the Bangor Daily News that the deer was so tuckered out that he “laid right down like a dog.” He says it took a half-hour to return to Harrington, where the deer was set free. Dorr says that he has seen deer swimming before but that this was different. He says that if he and his crew hadn’t intervened, the deer would have been “a goner.”

Maryland

Baltimore: The number of tourists who visited the state last year may have dropped slightly, but a report says they spent more money than in 2017. The Economic Impact of Tourism in Maryland report was announced Wednesday at the annual Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit. The report says visitors spent more than $18 billion last year, up about 2.1% from the previous year. Overall visitation decreased from 42.5 million to 41.9 million in 2018, but the decrease was offset by increases in visitor per-trip spending. That was driven by longer stays at more in-state destinations. The report says most of Maryland’s visitors came by car. However, the Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport served a record 27.2 million passengers last year.

Massachusetts

Boston: The mayor says an effort to rename the square in a historically black neighborhood to Nubian Square isn’t dead despite the failure of a citywide referendum. Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh said Wednesday that his office will be meeting with name-change advocates to discuss next steps. Walsh says that includes officially petitioning the city’s Public Improvement Commission for the name change. He says voters in the Roxbury neighborhood overwhelmingly approved the proposal to rename Dudley Square. Walsh’s office says 1,986 Roxbury residents voted in favor to 957 against. The nonbinding referendum failed citywide, with 46% in favor and 54% against. Supporters want to rename the commercial center after the ancient African empire because Thomas Dudley played a key role in Massachusetts’ slave trade in colonial times.

Michigan

Corwith Township: The state now owns a large, long-sought piece of northern property boasting a lake, forests and rare species that’s in the range of the state’s elk herd. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says it’s completed the $3.8 million purchase of the Storey Lake property. The deal to buy roughly 2,000 acres in the north-central Lower Peninsula took about two decades to wrangle. The land in Otsego and Cheboygan counties sits between other pieces of public acreage: the Pigeon River Country State Forest and a tract of state-managed forest land. Officials say the property is open for legal hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and wildlife viewing. The public will be invited to participate in developing an access plan. The land once was in the hands of an owner from Switzerland.

Minnesota

St. Paul: Gov. Tim Walz has asked U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to declare a disaster for 12 counties of northwestern Minnesota where farmers are having a difficult harvest season. In his request Thursday, the governor said the unrelenting bad weather this season has come on top of challenges farmers were already facing from low commodity prices and trade uncertainties. He says crops have fallen victim to flooding, disease and freezing temperatures. A secretarial disaster declaration would make emergency loans available to affected producers. The USDA typically requires that a county have a 30% loss in production of at least one crop. Walz notes that the soybean and sugarbeet harvests in northwestern Minnesota are running way behind due to heavy rains, while an early freeze ended most of the potato harvest.

Mississippi

Taylor: The mayor has abruptly resigned after more than four decades in office. The Oxford Eagle reports James E. Hamilton sent his resignation to the Taylor Board of Aldermen this week. He also stepped down as the town’s planning administrator. No details or reasoning were provided to the public, and the newspaper says its attempts to contact Hamilton were unsuccessful. Alderman Ellen Meacham says the aldermen unanimously voted to accept both of Hamilton’s resignations, though she wishes Hamilton could’ve finished the remaining two years of his current term as mayor. The board on Tuesday discussed a special election to be held in early 2020. Details aren’t finalized. Hamilton ran unopposed in the most recent election in 2017.

Missouri

Kansas City: A cold weather system had people in the metro area wanting more than just a sweater this week – it also had them reaching for nose plugs. The National Weather Service speculated in a tweet that a cold front that swept into the metro Wednesday night carried farm odors with it and trapped them in the shallow part of the atmosphere. One person responded to the explanation saying, “I thought my dogs tracked in poo from outside! I’m not crazy.” Meteorologists later tweeted what they described as a high-resolution reverse trajectory model to explain the likely source of the “questionable air quality.”

Montana

Helena: The Great Divide Ski Area will be the first ski area in the state to open for the new season this Saturday. Aided by the early cold and snow this fall, the staff has been making snow for a few weeks now. Owner Kevin Taylor tells the Independent Record that the Nov. 9 opening will be its earliest ever to having a chairlift running. Taylor says the ski area opened Nov. 10 last year and Nov. 11 in 2017. Operating on Saturday will be the Good Luck Chairlift on the lower mountain as well as the backyard towrope. Snowmaking continues on some additional runs, but because the latest cold snap was so short, Taylor is uncertain whether other runs will open this weekend or next.

Nebraska

Lincoln: Officials plan to cut staff at one state-run home for juvenile offenders while adding to the workforce at two other facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services announced the changes Wednesday as part of a larger overhaul of its Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center system. Department officials say they plan to reduce the workforce at the YRTC in Geneva effective Jan. 6, 2020, because that facility won’t be serving as many youths. But they plan to hire additional employees at YRTC facilities in Lincoln and Kearney. Department officials say staff members who lose their jobs will have the opportunity to apply for jobs at the other YRTC facilities or elsewhere in state government. They say they hope to retain employees whenever possible.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ decision to remove from its website a document about a sacred American Indian site is drawing criticism. A department official said the removal decision came at the request of the State Historic Preservation Office over concerns it could expose the site to vandalism or looting. But Rupert Steele, chairman of the Utah-based Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, whose tribe is among those that consider the site sacred, said no one consulted the tribe about the decision. The Goshute, Ely and Duckwater Shoshone tribes all consider the site, known as the swamp cedars, sacred and believe the trees are threatened by a proposal to pipe groundwater from northern and eastern Nevada to Las Vegas. “I want that up there,” Steele said of the removed document. “That way the information can be free flowing to all the people.”

New Hampshire

Plymouth: Plymouth State University has received a $48,000 grant to implement a program to educate teens about the dangers of e-cigarettes. The program is called “CATCH,” an acronym for Coordinated Approach to Child Health. It includes classroom lessons, peer-led activities, and social and community support to educate teens. Through January 2020, students in the PSU Health and Physical Education Teacher Certification program who are preparing to complete student teaching or school health field experiences will receive training. They will implement the program in 35 middle and high schools across the state in spring 2020. The grant is from the CVS Health Foundation.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: The federal government has dropped its objection to some southern New Jersey towns using sand from a nearby offshore site to replenish their beaches. The recent action by U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt should make ongoing beach widening and storm protection projects less costly. It also removes the need for an unusual proposal floated several months ago that would have let some towns shave sand off the top of some of their larger dunes and use it to widen beaches. On Monday, Bernhardt wrote to Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who represents the affected area of the southern New Jersey coast, announcing the policy reversal. The prohibition “was creating unnecessary red tape that was having the opposite effect of its original intent,” Van Drew said in a statement.

New Mexico

Roswell: A lawyer from this town renowned as the site of an alleged 1947 UFO crash says he will challenge President Donald Trump in early-voting New Hampshire. The Roswell Daily Record reports attorney Rick Kraft has filed the paperwork needed to appear on the ballot as a Republican candidate in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. According to the New Hampshire secretary of state’s website, Kraft filed his declaration of candidacy Tuesday. The 61-year-old Kraft says he decided to run after he and his wife visited the New Hampshire State House in Concord, New Hampshire, and learned how easy it is to get on the ballot. He called the move “a bucket list-type thing.” Kraft says he does not plan on entering any other state primaries or caucuses.

New York

Florida: A Norway spruce that years ago was displayed on its owner’s coffee table will soon rise in a much grander setting: the middle of Rockefeller Center. Carol Schultz bought the sapling for the 1959 Christmas season. After displaying it in her home in the village of Florida, New York, she planted it in her front yard. In 2010, Schultz and her companion Richard O’Donnell went on Rockefeller Center’s website and made the 14-ton tree’s bid for stardom. Earlier this year, they learned it had been chosen. It was cut Thursday and lifted by crane onto a flatbed truck. It will arrive Saturday at Rockefeller Center, where it will be hoisted and surrounded by scaffolding for the decoration process. The lighting ceremony is slated for Dec. 4.

North Carolina

Charlotte: Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg says she plans to attend a youth-led climate rally in the Tar Heel State this week. Thunberg tweeted Wednesday that she will join the strike Friday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Thunberg gained international attention for a speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September. News outlets report the protest Friday is being organized by the student-led N.C. Climate Strike movement. Hundreds of people attended a rally the group hosted in September, the same day millions of people around the world skipped school and work to urge government action on climate change.

North Dakota

Bismarck: A fall survey indicates the mule deer population continues to recover in the western North Dakota Badlands thanks to another good year of fawn production. Mule deer in the region endured three straight harsh winters ending in 2011 that led to record-low fawn production. The Bismarck Tribune reports biologists counted 2,218 mule deer during the October survey, close to last year’s 2,446. The ratios of 41 bucks per 100 does and 84 fawns per 100 does also held steady. State Wildlife Chief Jeb Williams says the stable numbers are encouraging even though they don’t represent an increase. Hunting mule deer does was banned for four straight seasons beginning in 2012 to help the population recover. North Dakota’s gun season for mule and white-tailed deer opens at noon Friday.

Ohio

Columbus: Gov. Mike DeWine has signed into law a measure repealing the state’s sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. The Republican governor signed the measure Wednesday. It was included in another bill that provides a tax credit to teachers who buy school supplies. Democratic state Rep. Brigid Kelly, of Cincinnati, and Republican state Rep. Niraj Antani, of Miamisburg, cosponsored the original legislation repealing the so-called pink tax. Most states still tax tampons and other menstrual products, including pads and cups. They’re often classified as “luxury items” rather than necessities that might not be taxed, such as food or medical supplies. Ohio is among about a dozen states that have recently changed such policies.

Oklahoma

Tulsa: A Republican state lawmaker has abandoned his effort to rename a stretch of Route 66 after President Donald Trump. State Sen. Nathan Dahm told the Tulsa World on Wednesday that he’s done trying to rename the 4-mile stretch of the iconic highway in northeastern Oklahoma after Trump. The Oklahoma Route 66 Association and Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell both swiftly rejected naming sections of Route 66 after Trump or any other political figure. Pinnell, who oversees Oklahoma’s marketing and branding, and others have been working to establish the route of the former U.S. 66 for tourism. Pinnell says a “uniform branding” will soon be rolled out. State Rep. Ben Loring, who represents the district where the proposed stretch of highway is located, says it could have adversely affected tourism.

Oregon

Portland: The state Department of Environmental Quality says smoky skies and stagnant air are expected to hang around in Oregon and southwest Washington for another week. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the agency initially issued an air quality advisory Monday but on Wednesday extended the warning. The agency now expects the air quality advisory to be in effect until at least Nov. 12. Stagnant air conditions are trapping smoke and other contaminants near the ground where people breathe. Several county and local health agencies have issued burning restrictions. DEQ asked people to follow burn restrictions in their areas and avoid unnecessary outdoor activity, especially those with lung or heart problems and young children.

Pennsylvania

York: Police officers are alleging in some DUI cases that people who’ve recently smoked marijuana have green tongues. Law enforcement is even told to look for a “possible green coating” in one specialized training program taught all over the world. Police can point to no scientific studies to back up the idea. Yet, for decades, they’ve used the observation as one of several signs to justify probable cause and make arrests in criminal cases. An analysis of more than 1,300 DUI cases that reached the York County Court of Common Pleas in 2018 found at least 28 that mentioned phrases such as “green coating,” “green film” and “green tint.” Scott Harper, a defense attorney in West York, describe it as “kind of junk science.” He recently argued in a DUI case in York County that there’s “no evidence that a ‘green tongue’ is indicative of any specific degree of marijuana impairment (assuming it actually is evidence of anything at all).” The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws was more blunt. “The science behind marijuana consumption turning your tongue green is about as sound as the science behind the earth being flat or that lying makes your nose grow,” Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML, said in an email.

Rhode Island

South Kingstown: Researchers say the state’s rich, moist soil could make it a leader in the production of saffron, an expensive spice. The Providence Journal reports University of Rhode Island researchers found a test plot could yield 12 pounds of saffron per acre each year – more than double the harvest in Iran, which produces 90% of the world’s saffron. Researchers say the domestic demand for saffron is on the rise, with 35 tons imported in 2016 and 50 tons predicted by 2021. Saffron is popular in Middle Eastern, Indian and other cuisines but has other uses. Wholesale prices run about $5,000 per pound. Consumers can pay $20 for a few threads of saffron and $95 for a quarter-ounce. University researchers say saffron is expensive because it’s difficult to harvest.

South Carolina

Reevesville: The ballot for the mayoral race in this small town was blank Tuesday, leaving voters to write in whomever they wanted. The Post and Courier reports Paul Wimberly didn’t know he’d been reelected as Reevesville’s mayor until he spoke with a reporter the next morning. Wimberly has been mayor for 34 years but missed the election registration deadline this year when Dorchester County was put in charge of the race. The hopeful contenders on the Town Council also missed the deadline, meaning the race had no official candidates. Wimberly said he wasn’t too worried, as the 1.6-square-mile town of about 196 people knows his face and name. So he’s now back in the $300-per-year leadership role for the town, which relies mostly on volunteer positions.

South Dakota

Pierre: Gov. Kristi Noem says the state is now more than 99% compliant with federal Real ID requirements ahead of next year’s deadline. Noem said Thursday that early work by the state’s driver licensing program to meet the deadline means that all eligible South Dakotans, with only a few exceptions, already have been issued a Real ID-compliant license or card. She says the October 2020 deadline will have no effect on those with a Real ID license or card issued in South Dakota. The federal Real ID Act sets minimum security standards for licenses. A Real ID-compliant driver’s license will be needed to board domestic flights starting Oct. 1, 2020. South Dakota began issuing Real ID-compliant licenses and identification cards Dec. 31, 2009.

Tennessee

Knoxville: Applications are now open for a new scholarship at the University of Tennessee that guarantees certain students free tuition. A university news release says the UT Promise scholarship is offered to qualifying state residents attending UT’s campuses in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Martin and Memphis. It requires that students complete eight volunteer service hours a semester and participate in a mentoring program. To be eligible, current, full-time UT students must have a family household income under $50,000 annually and qualify for the Tennessee HOPE Scholarship. Scholarship students will be paired with a mentor in fall 2020. To apply for the scholarship, current students must complete the scholarship application and the 2020-21 Free Application for Federal Student Aid by Feb. 1. They also must complete eight hours of community service by July 1.

Texas

Huntsville: An inmate who was a member of a white supremacist gang was executed Wednesday night for strangling a woman nearly 20 years ago over fears she would alert police about his drug operation. Justen Hall, 38, received a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the October 2002 slaying of Melanie Billhartz. Prosecutors said Hall killed Billhartz, 29, with an extension cord from his drug house in El Paso and then buried her body in the desert. His attorneys had asked to stop the execution, alleging he was not competent to be executed and had a history of mental illness. But a judge in El Paso last month denied the request. Hall was the 19th inmate put to death this year in the U.S. and the eighth in Texas. Three more executions are scheduled in Texas this year.

Utah

Salt Lake City: A lawmaker who was aiming to be the first Latina mayor of Salt Lake City has conceded the race to a city councilwoman who rose to prominence fighting pollution. Democratic Sen. Luz Escamilla said in a statement Wednesday that she conceded in a phone call to fellow Democrat Erin Mendenhall and wished her the “best of luck.” Mendenhall took a commanding early lead with nearly 59% of the vote Tuesday, but Escamilla vowed to stay in the race until the count was complete. Escamilla says that changed after she got new details on the number of uncounted mail-in ballots. She says the figures were lower than expected, making it impossible for her to overtake Mendenhall. Mendenhall will replace one-term Mayor Jackie Biskupski, who decided not to run again.

Vermont

Burlington: Famed Vermont ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s is accused of misleading its customers about the type of milk and cream used in its products. Environmental advocate and former gubernatorial candidate James Ehlers says parent company Unilever is profiting from false advertising, according to a recent lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington. The federal complaint filed Oct. 29 alleges that Unilever violated its customers’ trust by saying Ben & Jerry’s products were made with milk and cream sourced from “happy cows” on Vermont dairy farms that participate in its humane “Caring Dairy” program. Only a minority of the cream and milk used in the ice cream comes from these types of farms, the complaint alleges. “The remaining milk and cream originates from factory-style, mass-production dairy operations, exactly what consumers who choose Ben & Jerry’s products would like to avoid,” the complaint says.

Virginia

Abingdon: Voters have defeated a proposal that would have relocated their historic courthouse’s functions to a vacant Kmart building in a strip mall. The Bristol Herald Courier reports every precinct in Washington County voted against the proposal in a referendum this week. The move was proposed because county officials and judges had expressed concern over security issues and a lack of space and parking. But the idea had drawn derision at previous public hearings. County Administrator Jason Berry says the result is a “clear message from the people.” He says a committee studying the issue will now revisit at 2016 engineering study and potentially consider new options.

Washington

Olympia: State auditors say an investigation revealed elevators and escalators are not annually inspected as required by state law. KING-TV reports the Department of Labor and Industries did not inspect more than half of the state’s 18,000 conveyances in 2018. Investigators say thousands of conveyances did not have inspections for two or three years, and three were not inspected in over 10 years. Department officials say the backlog was caused by a building boom that generated more elevators and escalators needing inspections. Officials say the state also struggled to retain inspectors, but additional funding has allowed the department to pay higher salaries and add additional inspectors. Officials say private insurance policies require conveyance inspections multiple times a year. The state department only serves as a check and balance.

West Virginia

Daniels: An American Heritage Girls troop has helped to raise funds for its mentor’s cancer treatment. The Register-Herald reports troop members Kate Hontz, Rebekah Stephens and Callie Bethel held a fundraiser last Saturday to help pay for Rachel Quesenberry’s chemotherapy treatments. Callie told the newspaper that the trio “just wanted to do anything we could” to help with Quesenberry’s medical expenses. The 33-year-old Quesenberry was diagnosed with breast cancer in January and has since undergone chemical and surgical treatments that require her to commute between Huntington and Daniels. The newspaper says Quesenberry has had IV transfusions that require her to take additional chemotherapy medication for five years. The newspaper says all proceeds from the event will go directly to Quesenberry, as will any vendor fees.

Wisconsin

Madison: New data from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows students at the state’s flagship campus are getting out faster than ever, in light of mounting national concerns and conversations about the rising cost of college. Students who graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in the 2018-19 school year did so in an average of just under four calendar years – 3.96 years, to be exact – according to data from the university’s Office of Academic Planning and Institutional Research. It’s the first time since the university started tracking average time to degree four decades ago that the number has been so low. The average, calculated in full calendar years (not academic years), means students are still spending a little more than the eight-semester standard to most bachelor’s degree programs.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: An interim legislative panel has rejected a proposal that would increase the state tax on alcohol to fund substance abuse treatment programs. The proposed bill offered by Republican state Sen. Charlie Scott, of Casper, was voted down 7-6 on Wednesday by the Joint Committee on Labor, Health and Social Services. Proponents of the bill noted that Wyoming’s high suicide rate indicates the continuing substance problems facing the state and that substance abuse programs in the state had seen large funding cuts in recent years. However, opponents contended that the tax increase was unfair and unnecessary because current revenues were sufficient to address the substance abuse programs.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rockefeller Center tree, green tongue pot myth: News from around our 50 states