Trash for pigs, Unabomber cabin, weighty avocado: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Decatur: A new, $21 million aerospace facility has opened. The Huntsville-based Dynetics will use the center in Decatur to assist with the design, construction and testing of large structures in one place. The company marked the opening last week. The Decatur Daily reports Dynetics will perform structural and acoustic testing for the Vulcan Centaur rocket developed by United Launch Alliance. It will also build a section of NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket that’s being constructed to send humans to deep space. The facility is located in what was once a cotton field. Completed projects can be transported by ground, rail or water because of the location near the Tennessee River. Dynetics spokeswoman Kristina Hendrix says the company has nearly 2,000 workers in north Alabama.

Alaska

Anchorage: A young Alaska Native woman left an impression on the now-state’s territorial Senate in 1945, delivering a speech that led to the passage of the nation’s first anti-discrimination law. Now, the late Elizabeth Peratrovich is leaving her impression on a $1 coin, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The U.S. Mint unveiled the design of the coin Oct. 5 at the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood convention in Anchorage. The 2020 Native American coin, which will go on sale early next year, will feature a portrait of the late civil rights leader – composed and graceful, her hair in tight rolls – above words that highlight her legacy: “Anti-discrimination Law of 1945.” An image of a raven, depicting her Tlingit lineage, soars near her.

Arizona

Phoenix: Two decades after it was approved by the state’s voters, a law mandating an English-only education for non-native speakers may get repealed in 2020. The Arizona Capitol Times reports Democratic Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman intends to make a repeal a priority, an idea getting support from some Republicans as well. Known as Proposition 203, the 2000 ballot measure forced English-language learners to speak only English and spend a year in immersion classes. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say recent data indicates the English-only approach is not easing students’ struggles. According to the state Department of Education, the 2017 graduation rate of students with limited English proficiency was about 40%. Critics say non-native speakers end up lagging in their other classes while struggling with learning English.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The state House voted Friday to expel a member who pleaded no contest to not paying his state income taxes, making him the first person kicked out of that chamber since the 1800s. Lawmakers voted 88-4 to oust Republican state Rep. Mickey Gates, easily eclipsing the two-thirds vote threshold in the majority-GOP House to expel someone. Gates, who was arrested last year and charged with not filing returns from 2012 through 2017, pleaded no contest in July to one count of not filing or paying income taxes and was sentenced to six months of probation. Republican Speaker Matthew Shepherd sought Gates’ removal after he refused to resign. Gates invoked Jesus, the Titanic and the integration of Central High School during a 25-minute speech before the chamber, telling colleagues they were being asked to make a decision before a final ruling in his case.

California

Sacramento: The state will become the first in the nation to require public universities to offer abortion medication at campus health centers starting in 2023 under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Democratic lawmakers described the law as California’s latest step to defend abortion access as Republican-led states roll back access to the services. Newsom’s predecessor, fellow Democrat Jerry Brown, vetoed similar legislation last year, arguing it wasn’t necessary because abortion services were readily available off campus. The law relies on private donations, not state dollars, to pay for the setup and services. The state hopes to raise more than $10 million. The process requires taking two pills and is an option for women who are less than 10 weeks pregnant.

Colorado

Denver: Lawmakers have advanced a proposal to place fewer convicted juveniles on the state sex offender registry and partially seal the list from the public. The Denver Post reports that research shows harshly penalizing juvenile sex offenders has done nothing to improve public safety or rehabilitate the offenders. Officials say the draft was endorsed Thursday by an interim committee of lawmakers tasked with considering changes to how the state justice system treats people with mental illness. Officials say the proposal would also partially seal the registry, meaning the public would still be allowed to request information about people, but the complete list would no longer be publicly available except for some public entities like schools. Officials say the draft was voted to be introduced next year.

Connecticut

Hartford: The state is suing federal immigration enforcement over the refusal to honor Connecticut’s pardon system when it comes to immigration. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Attorney General William Tong argued officials have abandoned decades of practice and singled out the state for “deeply unequal” treatment by refusing to recognize state pardons. Federal immigration officials contend a pardon needs to come from the governor or the president under a waiver program. In Connecticut, pardon board members are appointed by the governor. In July, Tong argued that federal immigration authorities have started the process to deport some state residents with past criminal records even though their crimes were pardoned by the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Delaware

Wilmington: In a small state with about 25 independent breweries already, some think the First State’s craft boom must slow down soon. But beer makers apparently haven’t received the memo. Since the spring, a handful of new breweries and brewpubs have already opened, including Autumn Arch Beer Project near Glasgow and Brick Works Brewing and Eats in Long Neck, a spin-off of its Smyrna location. In the next couple of months, three new major breweries are expected to open in New Castle and Sussex counties, with several other groups working to get their nascent brewhouses up and running in the months after that. Delaware limits any single licensee to no more than three brewpubs in the state, curbing expansions by existing breweries.

District of Columbia

Washington: More than 35,000 people gathered near the Pentagon on Sunday to take part in the Army Ten-Miler, one of the biggest races in the world, an Army spokesperson said. This year marked the 35th year of the race, which highlights the important work over 1 million soldiers around the world do every day, WUSA-TV reports. The Ten-Miler started off with fanfare, and the Golden Knights – Army parachuters – descended from the sky, landing right outside the Pentagon. The Ten-Miler has grown in its 35th year. More than 420,000 runners from across the world have participated since its inception in 1985, according to the event’s website. The race was led by wounded warriors. The winner finished the race in under an hour.

Florida

Orlando: A new camera that uses special wavelengths of light could help the state in its fight against the invasive Burmese python. Researchers at the University of Central Florida and the nonprofit company Imec developed the camera to help expose the snake. The python is typically very difficult to detect because of its camouflage markings. Thermal imaging doesn’t work because pythons are cold-blooded and adopt the temperature of their surroundings. The Palm Beach Post reports that researchers plan to attach a drone that will allow the camera to identify a python and alert the hunter. Wildlife officials recently tripled their python budget to nearly $1 million. Officials say pythons are destroying the Everglades’ ecosystem.

Georgia

Atlanta: A black fighter pilot who fought for the French Foreign Legion during World War I is being honored with a statue at Robins Air Force Base. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the bronze statue of Eugene Bullard was unveiled Wednesday. Bullard was from Georgia but went to Europe in the early 20th century after his father was nearly lynched. He joined France’s air service after fighting the Germans during World War I. The U.S. military was segregated at the time and would not accept him as a pilot because of his race. But Bullard in 1994 was posthumously commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

Hawaii

Wailuku: A family has won a place with the Guinness World Records for the world’s heaviest avocado. The Pokini family from the island of Maui received the Guinness certificate last week for the avocado weighing 5.6 pounds, The Maui News reports. The average avocado weighs about 6 ounces, according to Guinness officials. The Pokini family’s avocado tree is more than 10 years old and 20 feet tall. Mark Pokini planted it when his son was born, using a seed from his brother-in-law’s tree on Oahu island, he said. Mark and Juliane Pokini and their son, Loihi, applied in December for the Guinness recognition involving a tough verification process by the company known as the chronicler of the world’s record achievements.

Idaho

Post Falls: A 1,000-pound steer named Carlos who charmed area residents in northern Idaho has avoided a trip to the slaughterhouse after neighbors raised money to buy him. The Coeur d’Alene Press reports that neighbors of Bill Guy’s farm in west Post Falls raised $1,100 to purchase the well-known steer. “Save Carlos” campaign organizer Alisha Kreissig says 4-year-old Carlos comes when called, enjoys being petted, and loves apples, lettuce and most of all the grass clippings from lawns. Carlos is one of three steers raised by Guy, with the others already sold for slaughter. Carlos will remain living at Guy’s farm as part of the deal, with additional money from the “Save Carlos” fund paying for hay for Carlos.

Illinois

Chicago: City officials are considering an increase in ride-hailing fees for solo riders traveling downtown, in a move aimed at reducing traffic congestion. Mayor Lori Lightfoot told a local radio station Thursday in a prerecorded broadcast that she will recommend the “short-term” plan to give breaks to passengers who pool their rides. The mayor says a substantial number of single-occupancy riders on Uber, Lyft and Via come to the Central Business District from the North Side. Lightfoot notes cars are subsequently “idling around” there while drivers wait for another call, while the South and West Sides remain “a bit of a transportation desert.”

Indiana

Indianapolis: The Indianapolis Zoo is using a $4 million startup grant to open an international center devoted to saving threatened species. Zoo officials call the center a natural extension of their biennial Indianapolis Prize, which honors animal conservation leaders. The center is a partnership between the zoo and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission. The two signed a deal last week to establish the center. The zoo received the funding to support the fledgling center from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. The Global Center for Species Survival is expected to open in 2020. The center will employ a team of nine experts in Indianapolis who will work with more than 9,000 wildlife experts around the world.

Iowa

Waterloo: A high school science teacher has resigned after an investigation into a social media post that appeared to threaten Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Waterloo Community Schools spokeswoman Tara Thomas said Friday that teacher Matt Baish resigned effective Thursday. The resignation came after the conclusion on a school district investigation of a Facebook comment Baish made in response to a post about the 16-year-old Thunberg joining an Oct. 4 student-led climate strike in Iowa City. In his comment, the Waterloo West High School teacher wrote, “Dont have my sniper rifle.” Thomas wouldn’t say if Baish was asked to resign. Strikers in Iowa City demanded the University of Iowa and the city agree to a “Town-Gown Climate Accord,” which calls for both entities to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030 and asks the university to cease burning coal at its power plant.

Kansas

Topeka: A national outbreak of a vaping-related lung illness is increasing pressure in the state to consider new regulations for vaping and tobacco products. Federal health officials recently reported 1,080 confirmed and probable cases of a vaping-related lung illness. Eighteen people have died. More than two dozen Kansas cities and counties have already passed ordinances raising the age to buy nicotine products from 18 to 21. The Kansas City Star reports lawmakers and advocates say a statewide law could pass next year. Leading Kansas lawmakers on health issues say they are open to several possible regulations, including increasing the purchase age and taxes on tobacco products, as well as limiting flavors that are attractive to younger vapers.

Kentucky

Louisville: Part of a weekend triathlon was canceled over toxic algae blooms in the Ohio River. A statement by The Ironman Group says officials determined after water testing that it was necessary to cancel the swim portion of Sunday’s 2019 Ironman Louisville for athlete safety. Participants had been set to jump into waters near Towhead Island in Louisville before entering the Ohio River’s main channel. The Kentucky Division of Water issued an advisory recently advising people to stay out of the river due to algal toxins. Contact with the blooms could cause stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, difficulty breathing, and other issues such as skin irritation and limb tingling.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Republican leaders working to oust the Deep South’s only Democratic governor are trying to put their intraparty backbiting behind them ahead of next month’s runoff. The GOP hierarchy, both nationally and locally, is seeking to unify support behind businessman Eddie Rispone against Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards in the Nov. 16 election. They’re hoping supporters of third-place finisher Ralph Abraham will shift their backing to Rispone and move past the Rispone-led attack ads that hobbled Abraham’s campaign. President Donald Trump already tweeted his support for Rispone in the head-to-head matchup, signaling other Republicans should do the same. Edwards was forced into the runoff election in his ruby red state when he didn’t receive more than 50% of the vote in Saturday’s primary, amid a six-candidate field.

Maine

Portland: The state has decided eating like a pig could be a good thing, especially for schools looking to cut down on food waste. A law saying schools can give food scraps away to pig farmers is now on the books. The practice of feeding human food waste to pigs goes back millennia, but some school districts in Maine have expressed confusion in recent years about the rules around the practice, so the Legislature passed a clarifying bill. The new standards will help school districts find a use for spoiled food that might otherwise end up in landfills, supporters say. Donations to hog farmers will also help districts reduce the cost of waste disposal, said Ryan Parker, a Newport resident and farmer who advocated for the bill. Parker has raised pigs of his own and said his hogs were happy to indulge on old milk.

Maryland

Annapolis: A judge in the case of a man charged with killing five people at a newspaper directed attorneys Friday to avoid referring to his mental health or his plea of not criminally responsible in the first phase of his trial. Prosecutors asked Judge Laura Ripken to preclude any discussion about the mental health of Jarrod Ramos in the first part of his trial, when jurors will be asked to determine whether he committed the crimes in the June 2018 shooting at the Capital Gazette. Ramos has pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible, which is Maryland’s version of an insanity defense. If he is found guilty in the first phase of the trial, a second phase will be held for jurors to decide whether he is not criminally responsible due to his mental health.

Massachusetts

Worcester: New England’s second-largest city isn’t hosting a Columbus Day parade this year for the first time in more than a century. The Telegram & Gazette reports the committee that organized the Worcester parade was dissolved in December. The committee chairwoman, Judy Verdini, told the newspaper that the same people had been running the parade for the past 25 years, and no one else stepped up. She did not give a specific reason for the committee disbanding. A new committee has been formed and plans a bigger and better parade in 2020. The number of parade participants and onlookers had dwindled in recent years. The city’s first Columbus Day parade was held in 1910 as a Catholic celebration and was organized by the Knights of Columbus.

Michigan

Detroit: Officials in southern Michigan are warning that pesticides targeting a deadly mosquito-borne virus could kill other insects, including rare and beneficial species. The spraying to quell the alarming rise of Eastern equine encephalitis disease threatens essential pollinators such as bumblebees and the endangered Mitchell’s satyr butterfly. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources calls the butterfly “one of the world’s rarest.” Authorities have sprayed pyrethrin on more than 541,000 acres in recent weeks. The disease can cause inflammation of the brain and has killed at least four people in the state. Department spokesman John Pepin says at-risk insects living in the sprayed areas include the Mitchell’s satyr, the Silphium borer moth and Persius duskywing butterfly. Several bee species are already suffering population declines in Michigan.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: At its low point in the 1950s, the state’s gray wolf population was estimated at just 400 animals. As of 2018, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources estimates more than 2,600 gray wolves are in the state. That recovery is a success story for the Endangered Species Act. But people living in areas where wolf populations have recovered aren’t necessarily celebrating that success. As wolf populations increase, so does wolf predation, a concern when the animals target livestock or pets. Those concerns have prompted Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson and Republican Rep. Pete Stauber, whose districts cover most of the wolf range in northern Minnesota, to introduce the Gray Wolf State Management Act of 2019. The bill would remove federal protection from gray wolves in the Great Lakes region, allowing states to set their own wolf policies, including allowing for hunts.

Mississippi

Jackson: The state capital and the Jackson Zoological Society are close to settling the city’s $6 million lawsuit against the nonprofit organization that ran the zoo for nearly 35 years. A deal was reached Friday. It requires approval of the Jackson City Council, which meets Tuesday. The city of Jackson would get the zoo animals and would drop its demand for $6 million in unpaid water bills. The city also will drop a demand for repayment of $350,000, which it repaid to the state after the former zoo director misspent the money. The zoological society’s president, Alexander Chess, says current zoo workers will still take care of the animals. About 20 former employees are working as consultants for the city.

Missouri

St. Louis: Mayor Lyda Krewson is weighing a proposal to use surveillance airplanes to monitor St. Louis streets and fight crime. Krewson met Thursday with the head of Persistent Surveillance Systems as privacy advocates protested outside. The company uses small airplanes fitted with a bank of cameras to fly above cities and capture footage. Krewson says she’s open to hearing about ways to address crime. But she says privacy concerns must be addressed. Persistent Surveillance planes flew over Baltimore in 2016 collecting video for police. But police grounded the craft following public outcry. The company’s pitch to St. Louis comes as local and state officials grapple with how to fight violent crime in a city that’s on pace to top last year’s total of 186 murders.

Montana

Helena: A local society has said it is interested in the cabin where the Unabomber lived after a Washington, D.C., museum announced plans to return it in 2020 to the FBI, its current owner. The Independent Record reports Theodore Kaczynski’s cabin has been on display in the Newseum since 2008, but the museum is expected to close at the end of the year amid financial issues. The FBI says it has plans to display the cabin at a museum called FBI Experience, but the Montana Historical Society has said it hopes to somehow bring the cabin back to the state. Authorities say Kaczynski built and moved into the cabin in 1971 and lived there for 25 years while orchestrating 16 attributed bombings killing three and injuring another 23 people nationwide.

Nebraska

Grand Island: Nebraska State Fair officials are blaming heavy rains for a drop in attendance and revenue at this summer’s fair. The Grand Island Independent reports that fair executive director Lori Cox delivered the news Friday at a meeting of the State Fair Board. Attendance for the Aug. 23-Sept. 2 event was 283,468, down 10% from the 314,805 who attended last year. Officials say that led to a 12% decline in gate revenue from the previous year. Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 26, Grand Island received nearly 5 inches of rain. The rain not only dampened crowds in the first week of the fair but also inundated the fair’s grass parking lots, forcing officials to absorb the unexpected cost of shuttling people from remote parking to the fair.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The governor expressed outrage Friday and vowed to tighten control of the state’s lucrative legal marijuana marketplace in response to reports that a foreign national contributed to two top state political candidates last year in a bid to skirt rules to open a legal cannabis store. Gov. Steve Sisolak declared in a statement that there has been “lack of oversight and inaction” of the recreational and medical pot industry by the state Marijuana Enforcement Division. He also said he is commissioning a multiagency task force to “root out potential corruption or criminal influences in Nevada’s marijuana marketplace.” The Democratic governor pointed to a federal indictment made public Thursday alleging that a man identified as having “Russian roots” funneled $10,000 each to the Republican campaigns of Adam Laxalt and Wesley Duncan.

New Hampshire

Sandwich: Get your fried dough and Ferris wheel rides in while you can – the state’s fair season is ending. A dozen agriculture fairs are held every summer and fall across New Hampshire, traditionally starting with the Stratham Fair in July and ending with the Sandwich Fair, which started Friday night and ends Monday. The first Sandwich Fair in 1886 was a market day for farmers to trade and sell their cattle. The following year, a band and baby beauty contest were added, and the event attracted more than 3,000 people. This year’s schedule includes animal exhibits and shows, food and amusement park rides, music and a parade. There’s also a women’s “skillet toss” and a “gentlemen’s keg toss.”

New Jersey

Ship Bottom: High tides and strong winds caused flooding in some parts of the Jersey shore Friday. No major problems were reported. But Sea Bright’s fire department conducted numerous rescues of people who had become stranded in floodwaters overnight Thursday into Friday morning in the particularly flood-prone community, which is wedged between the ocean and the Shrewsbury River. Ocean City and Ventnor opened schools two hours late Friday to let floodwaters subside before parents and school buses tried to navigate the roadways. And Wildwood closed a bridge into the city during the morning high tide. Parts of Long Beach Boulevard, the main road through Long Beach Island, also were impassible Friday morning because of flooding. Some low-lying neighborhoods in Atlantic City also were experiencing flooding.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: The state is making it easier to monitor progress on local government construction projects through a new public webpage. Launched Friday by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration, the capital outlay online dashboard aims to encourage efficiency and financial accountability as the state goes on a major spending spree on everything from sewers to cemeteries, museums and baseball fields. Lawmakers this year approved a $933 million infrastructure spending bill amid a surge in state government income. Most expenditures come directly from the state general fund. The new website uses color-coded charts and data spreadsheets to indicate progress on local construction as spending deadlines approach. Capital Outlay Bureau Chief Wesley Billingsley hopes greater public scrutiny will ensure state dollars are put to use quickly.

New York

New York: Organizers of a hip-hop festival taking place in Queens over the weekend say they dropped five rappers from the lineup at the request of police. The New York Times reports that the performers were removed from the Rolling Loud festival after a New York Police Department official sent the organizers a letter citing safety concerns if the rappers took the stage. The traveling Rolling Loud festival took place at Citi Field in Queens on Saturday and Sunday and included major acts like Wu-Tang Clan and Meek Mill. The performers who were dropped are 22Gz, Casanova, Pop Smoke, Sheff G and Don Q. The police letter said they “have been affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide.” In a statement on Instagram, Don Q blamed “misinformation.”

North Carolina

Kill Devil Hills: The National Park Service says a copper bust of aviation pioneer Orville Wright has been stolen from the Wright Brothers National Memorial in the Outer Banks. The Park Service and local law enforcement officials are investigating the case and asking the public for any information. The agency said in a statement that the monument was damaged either Saturday evening or Sunday morning. The granite base to which the bust was mounted was toppled and damaged. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities in Dare County or the Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch at 888-653-0009. The Park Service says a portion of the park may be temporarily closed to visitors Sunday while the investigation continues. The memorial honors Wilbur and Orville Wright.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The state’s Transportation Department reopened hundreds of miles of highways Saturday after a huge snowstorm but warned that travel remained hazardous due to severe winter conditions. Interstate 29 from Fargo to the Canadian border was reopened Saturday morning, while U.S. Highway 2 and Interstate 94 were reopened late Saturday afternoon. Authorities say secondary highways and roads in north-central North Dakota were impassable and blocked after more than 2 feet of snow fell in some areas. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning Friday for northern North Dakota and winter storm warnings and watches elsewhere in the state and into parts of South Dakota and Minnesota through Saturday afternoon. Forecasters say conditions are expected to gradually improve.

Ohio

Cincinnati: The plan for a statue of a local civil rights leader is in progress. The Woman’s City Club is behind the effort unveiled Friday to honor civil rights leader Marian Spencer with a statue of her in Cincinnati. Spencer died in July at the age of 99. She was the first African American woman to be elected to City Council and first woman to head the city’s chapter of the NAACP. Committee Chair Alice Schneider says this statue will stand as “a model for adults but especially for children.” Organizers are trying to raise $125,000 for the sculpture and are aiming for an unveiling on what would have been Spencer’s 100th birthday in June 2020.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Prison officials say visitation is being reinstated at some state prisons locked down after one inmate was killed and three dozen were hurt during coordinated violence resulting from race-based gang tension. The Department of Corrections said visitation was resuming over the weekend at the medium-security units of Joseph Harp Correctional Center, James Crabtree Correctional Center, Lexington Correctional Center and Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Authorities say five other state prisons and three privately operated prisons in the state will remain locked down. Visitation was suspended and all state prisons locked down after fights erupted in six prisons last month. Afterward, Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order to crack down on contraband cellphones he said were used to facilitate the violence.

Oregon

Beaverton: Nike says it is closing its Oregon Project track and field program following Alberto Salazar’s four-year ban. Nike says that “uninformed innuendo and unsubstantiated assertions has become an unfair burden for current OP athletes. That is exactly counter to the purpose of the team. We have therefore made the decision to wind down the Oregon Project to allow the athletes to focus on their training and competition needs.” Salazar was banned this month for possessing and trafficking testosterone while coaching top runners at the Nike Oregon Project, an elite training program bankrolled by the company that was launched in 2001. Salazar is appealing against the decision. Nike says that “we will help all of our athletes in this transition as they choose the coaching set up that is right for them. We will continue to support Alberto in his appeal.”

Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh: A young Henry Heinz got his business start in Sharpsburg, hawking horseradish to local grocers before the Civil War, the Tribune Review reports. By the time the United States entered World War I, he was leading a Pittsburgh-based, multimillion-dollar international company. The empire Henry John Heinz built marks its 150th anniversary this year, with events and special commemorations in Pittsburgh and around the world. The anniversary of the iconic company’s founding is being celebrated at the Heinz History Center, home to the largest collection of Heinz artifacts and archival material in the world. This month at the museum is dubbed “Heinztoberfest,” which started last week with a 21+ Night and will continue Saturday with a specially themed Hometown-Homegrown food festival, now in its eighth year.

Rhode Island

Providence: The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles wants people to pay $15 just to walk in the door. The agency plans to pitch a $15 “in-person” customer-service fee to Gov. Gina Raimondo in its annual budget request, estimating the fee would generate more than $1 million in revenue per year. The Providence Journal reports the fee is aimed at reducing the number of walk-ins and boosting online transactions. That would cut down customer wait times, which in 2018 averaged more than an hour. The fee would apply to standard license and registration renewals that can be completed online. It would not apply to transactions that need to be done in person. The agency also proposed a $15 late fee, projected to generate $1.5 million annually.

South Carolina

Irmo: Dutch Fork Elementary School’s Academy of Environmental Sciences has earned recognition from the U.S. Department of Education through its Green Ribbon Schools program, becoming the first in the state to achieve the title. There are honeybees in the library, trout in the classrooms and vegetables in the yard at the magnet school, The State reports. The school’s focus on environment, sustainable practices and conservation education earned it the Green Ribbon honor, which recognizes educational institutions that prioritize eco-conscious behaviors and curriculum. One of the school’s goals is for all students to interact with nature because “nobody has a monopoly” on environmental science, Principal Julius Scott said. “You’ve been a scientist from the day you left your mother’s womb,” he said he tells students.

South Dakota

Huron: A school superintendent is apologizing to parents after learning a staff member denied a student breakfast for misbehaving. Huron Superintendent Terry Nebelsick says the individual at Huron Middle School violated district policy by denying a child breakfast last week. He says a complaint about the incident has been filed with the South Dakota Department of Education after the allegations about the incident were shared on social media. Nebelisck says the correct protocol is that if a student is experiencing behavior issues, they should be directed to eat their meals in a vice principal’s office or another designated area.

Tennessee

Memphis: The Antenna, a storied punk rock club that brought legendary acts to the city and helped propel its DIY scene, has been cemented as part of Memphis’ official history. Musician and historian Mike McCarthy, who was instrumental in coordinating with the Shelby County Historical Commission to honor the club, was on hand alongside the commission, the club’s former owner Steve McGehee, musicians and fans to unveil a marker outside the former club, now an events space called The Renaissance, the Daily Memphian reports. Shelby County Historian Jimmy Rout III announced at the marker dedication ceremony that the commission jumped at the opportunity to honor the former punk rock palace, which opened in 1981 and offered a hole-in-the-wall venue for national acts until 1995. Despite a contentious relationship between the club and law enforcement in the 1980s, police blocked through traffic on Madison Avenue to facilitate the dedication ceremony, guiding vehicles around the mass of partygoers who attended the event.

Texas

Dallas: A woman has been sentenced to six years in prison for exposing her son to unneeded medical tests and surgeries. Kaylene Bowen-Wright could have received up to 20 years in prison when she was sentenced Friday. She pleaded guilty in mid-August to recklessly causing injury to a child. Investigators say Bowen-Wright subjected her son to more than 320 hospital visits and 13 surgeries over the first eight years of his life. Child Protective Services removed the boy from her care in 2017 after it was alerted by a Dallas hospital that medical staff determined he didn’t have cancer or many of the symptoms Bowen reported. The child’s father is now the sole managing conservator of the now 10-year-old.

Utah

Ogden: A high school’s new child care program is helping young parents finish their education and spend more time with their children. The Standard-Examiner reports several young mothers are the first to access the revamped child care program at Two Rivers High School in Ogden, which opened at the beginning of the school year. The school had a similar child care program that shuttered in 2016 because there wasn’t enough interest to justify funding. About eight children ages 4 months to 2 years are enrolled in the program. Principal Nicole Meibos says district officials and community donors helped relaunch the program. Student Sydnee Daily says the program has helped her 5-month-old daughter, Mila, learn new skills and become more social.

Vermont

Burlington: The mayor, joined by a coalition of environmental and business leaders, is proposing a statewide revenue-neutral carbon pollution fee that they say would help cut emissions by 37% by 2040. Mayor Miro Weinberger’s proposal was shared Friday at the Renewable Energy Vermont Conference near Burlington. Under the proposal, virtually all the revenue collected would be rebated back out to Vermont households and businesses. The announcement came as two towns, Norwich and Hartford, said they hope to increase awareness of climate change and encourage more people to take action by declaring climate emergencies. The Valley News reports the Norwich Selectboard voted Wednesday to adopt a resolution labeling climate change a threat, while also committing town officials to seek out sustainable solutions. Hartford formed a committee to draft a climate declaration.

Virginia

Richmond: A new monument honoring the contributions of influential women is set to be officially unveiled on the state Capitol grounds. The Virginia Women’s Monument will be dedicated Monday morning at a ceremony featuring musical performances and remarks by state officials, including Gov. Ralph Northam. Hundreds are expected to attend. Organizers in the effort to build the monument say it’s the first in the nation on a state capitol’s grounds to showcase a wide range of achievements and contributions by women. It will eventually feature 12 life-size bronze statues of influential Virginians. Seven are being unveiled Monday, including Cockacoeske, a Pamunkey chieftain, and Anne Burras Laydon, a Jamestown colonist. The other statues will be added as they are funded and completed. More than $3.7 million has been raised so far.

Washington

Olympia: The state has released tsunami safety maps for Port Townsend, Ilwaco, Long Beach, Seaview and Westport. The Northwest News Network reports the maps indicate how much time people have to get to safety before a tsunami hits following a magnitude 9 earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone. Some of the maps indicate there is almost no chance of reaching safety in the necessary time. For example, in Westport people would have only 15 minutes to get out. All of the walking routes would take longer than that. And officials say that with roads and bridges out after a quake, walking may be the only option. Department of Natural Resources chief hazards geologist Corinna Forsen says the maps provide routes to safety but also hopefully instigate communities and the state to recognize that other solutions such as enclosed vertical evacuation towers should be considered.

West Virginia

Charleston: The Mountain State’s fall colors are starting to show, and the Tourism Office has started providing weekly updates and a live tracker map online. The agency said Friday that foliage in the state’s higher elevations was about a week away from peak, with maples showing the most color. Scattered color is appearing in the Eastern Panhandle, Allegheny Mountains and New River Gorge. Fall colors are expected to move throughout West Virginia during the next six weeks. Tourism officials say people spotting colorful scenery are posting photos on social media from around the state using the hashtag “AlmostHeaven,” and the photos are added to the Tourism Office’s map online. The agency’s weekly foliage reports are prepared in partnership with the state Division of Forestry.

Wisconsin

Madison: Democratic Gov. Tony Evers will kill a contentious plan to punish students who disrupt free speech on University of Wisconsin System campuses, his spokeswoman said Friday as system regents took another step toward implementing the policy. The regents in 2017 adopted a GOP-backed policy declaring that students who twice disrupt others’ speech would be suspended for at least a semester. Three-time offenders would be expelled. The policy mirrors a bill Republicans introduced that legislative session after protests disrupted conservative speakers on college campuses around the country, including conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s appearance at UW-Madison in November 2016. The measure died in the Senate, but the regents pushed ahead with the concept as a policy. Evers, serving as a regent in 2017, cast the lone dissenting vote against the policy, warning it would have a chilling effect on free speech.

Wyoming

Yellowstone National Park: Snowfall has closed a road in the park for the season. Snow, wind and ice prompted park officials to close the road over Dunraven Pass on Tuesday. The route from Tower Fall to Canyon Junction has remained closed ever since. Park officials hadn’t planned to close the road until this coming Tuesday but announced Friday that they will keep the road closed until next spring. Other roads in the park will remain open until Nov. 4, weather permitting. The route from the North Entrance to the Northeast Entrance remains open year-round. Yellowstone opens to snowmobiles each year in mid-December.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trash for pigs, Unabomber cabin: News from around our 50 states