Retiring 102-year-old, Mississippi’s bad dam, snowplow strike: News from around our 50 states

Corrections & clarifications: A prior version of the Virginia item misstated the vote on updating the school dress code. The amendment failed 4-4.

Alabama

Montgomery: Gov. Kay Ivey is remaining uncommitted on whether the state will accept the resettlement of new refugees under a new Trump administration order that requires state consent, a spokeswoman says. Alabama is one of a handful of states that has not announced a decision after President Donald Trump said agencies must get written permission from state and local officials in jurisdictions where they want to resettle refugees beyond June 2020. “At this point, our office is still working through the executive order and consulting with the State Department and other entities involved in order to reach a decision,” Ivey Press Secretary Gina Maiola wrote in an email. Alabama has historically taken in few refugees. The state took in 46 refugees in fiscal year 2017, according to a report from the Pew Research Center.

Alaska

Anchorage: Negotiations between the Anchorage School District and the federal government over earthquake damage relief could result in the district turning down tens of millions in funds, an official says. The negotiations over money to repair damage caused by the state’s November 2018 earthquake could take months or years, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The Federal Emergency Management Agency would require the district to carry earthquake insurance if it accepts federal reimbursement for specific repairs, District Chief Operating Officer Tom Roth says. Categories of disaster reimbursement have different sets of federal requirements, Roth says. Federal money is available for repairs and damage and debris cleanup in the immediate aftermath. For long-term repair work, FEMA requires the insurance coverage.

Arizona

Tucson: Teaching vacancies throughout the state have increased by more than 150 positions compared to last year, a report says. The Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association released the report last week saying a quarter of teaching positions in the state are vacant, according to the Arizona Daily Star. The report identified 1,846 vacancies out of the 209 school districts and charter schools that participated in the statewide survey. The survey found about 1,000 teachers statewide either abandoned or resigned from their teaching positions during the first half of the school year. The report found Pima County’s nine largest school districts, including Tucson Unified School District, began the school year with 19% fewer vacancies than last year, which district officials say is better but still not good. The report also found about half the teaching positions are filled by teachers who do not meet state certification requirements.

Arkansas

Little Rock: An attorney is suing local officials for denying him access to a courthouse while carrying a handgun, testing a state law meant to allow lawyers to possess firearms on court premises, according to the law’s authors. Chris Corbitt, a patent attorney from Conway, filed the complaint last Thursday against Pulaski County officials after a security guard refused to let him enter the county’s district courthouse Jan. 3 while he carried his concealed gun. Corbitt, a concealed-carry licensee with an enhanced permit, said he usually leaves his weapon in his car, but he forgot to do so before he walked into the courthouse this month. State law bans firearms from courthouses, except for bailiffs and other “officers of the court.” Corbitt argues that definition includes attorneys.

California

Oakland: Four homeless women who were ordered by a judge last week to leave a vacant house were evicted before dawn Tuesday by a group of heavily armed sheriff’s deputies in a case that highlighted the state’s severe housing shortage and growing numbers of homeless people. Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies escorted the women out of the home and bound their hands with plastic ties as dozens of community activists on the sidewalk chanted, “Let the moms go! Let the moms go!” and recorded the chaotic scene with their cellphones. “They came in like an Army for mothers and babies,” Dominique Walker, one of the mothers, told reporters. “We have the right to housing. This is just the beginning.” The women and their children moved into the three-bedroom house in November, partly to protest the methods of speculators who they say snap up distressed homes and leave them empty despite the housing crisis.

Colorado

Denver: A park across from the Capitol where homeless people have been camping was being shut down Wednesday because officials say it has become infested with rats. More than 30 tents lined the edge of the park in the morning. Footage from KDVR-TV showed police officers going from tent to tent to let people know they need to leave and campers talking to other city officials looking to find out if they want to take advantage of social services. Hundreds of rats are currently living in Liberty Park and could spread diseases through their feces and human contact, among other ways, Tammy Vigil, a spokeswoman for the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment, told The Denver Post. “The reason the rats are so big is because of all the food that’s left there – all the food waste that’s not thrown away,” Vigil said.

Connecticut

Hartford: Two University of Connecticut students arrested for shouting a racial slur outside a campus apartment complex sued the school Tuesday, citing free speech rights as they fight officials’ attempts to remove them from school housing. Jarred Karal, of Plainville, and Ryan Mucaj, of Granby, both 21, filed the lawsuit in federal court, seeing undisclosed damages and a halt to disciplinary proceedings against them. The two students say the school is violating their First Amendment rights by bringing disciplinary hearings that have included a recommendation to remove them from student housing for violating a “disruptive behavior” policy. Karal told police the group was playing a game in which they would yell an offensive word, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The first person who refuses to say the word loses, he said. They decided to change the game to shouting the racial epithet, he said.

Delaware

Dover: Hours before the General Assembly convened for its 2020 legislative session – and much to the surprise of lawmakers – State House staff announced plans to unionize. The organization, which calls itself the Delaware General Assembly Union, announced its intent to unionize in a tweet Tuesday morning, saying it “will be the first partisan-inclusive state legislative union in the country.” There are about 170 part-time and full-time staffers at Legislative Hall. According to the progressive nonprofit publication Prospect.org, which published an article on the news that was shared by the union’s Twitter account, the union group would include 44 of those staffers. A press release announcing the union called the effort a “historic step forward for public service workers across the country.”

District of Columbia

Washington: A photo of multiple D.C. Fire and EMS recruits apparently holding “white power” symbols is circulating across social media platforms, WUSA-TV reports. The gesture is similar to the “OK” hand sign but typically inverted. The three fingers extended are meant to represent a “W,” and the circle coming off the arm is a “P” – “WP” for “white power.” The photograph surfaced on Facebook and includes Recruit Class 387 and their instructors, D.C. Fire and EMS said. The agency said officials were made away of the picture Wednesday. The department said it believes the picture was taken in March 2019, and the recruit class graduated in April 2019. The department is now investigating the picture and is considering interviewing everyone pictured.

Florida

Panama City Beach: Officials in this Panhandle beach town are hoping tourists want to do more than frolic in the surf and lay in the sun. They’re hoping tourists will help rebuild a neighboring beach town devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2018. Officials in Panama City Beach on Tuesday introduced a program that allows tourists during their visit to help build homes and plant sea oats in the sand dunes of neighboring Mexico Beach, which was demolished by the category 5 storm. The tourism promotion agency is offering a “Stay it Forward” package for tourists interested in helping out. Dan Rowe, CEO of Visit Panama City Beach, said tourists have been asking during their visits how they can help area residents. Compared to surrounding areas, Panama City Beach was comparatively unscathed by Hurricane Michael. “Mexico Beach has come a long way, but there is still work to do,” Rowe said.

Georgia

Atlanta: Two state lawmakers say they won’t support a bill this year that would create a new coastal city. State Sen. Ben Watson and state Rep. Jesse Petrea, both Savannah Republicans, made the announcement Tuesday regarding the proposed city of Chatham Islands. Residents of Wilmington, Whitmarsh, Talahi and Oatland islands have expressed opposition to incorporation, the lawmakers said. The movement to form what would be Chatham County’s second-largest city, with an estimated population of 26,000, began after another lawmaker sought to consolidate the Savannah city and Chatham County governments. That move sparked opposition among residents of the islands. However, city-county consolidation has stalled because of a lack of local support. A study by the University of Georgia found the islands could finance their own city government if a local option sales tax were imposed.

Hawaii

Honolulu: State House and Senate leaders, with the support of Gov. David Ige, on Tuesday unveiled a long list of measures to boost housing, early childhood education and incomes, with a particular focus on alleviating the struggles of Hawaii’s working families and poor. It’s the first joint bill package from the two legislative chambers since 2004. “The House and Senate members have been working really hard over the interim to address an issue that is important to all of us – that is the cost of living in Hawaii,” House Speaker Scott Saiki said at a news conference. The proposals still need to be drafted into bills, pass committees and the full House and Senate, and then earn the governor’s signature before they can become law. The new legislative session began Wednesday. The measures include increasing the hourly minimum wage from the current $10.10 to $13 by 2024.

Idaho

Boise: New legislation introduced Tuesday would require voters who want to participate in a closed presidential primary to affiliate with that party 90 days before the primary. The House State Affairs Committee voted Tuesday to hold a hearing on the legislation. Republicans close their primaries in Idaho, while Democrats do not. Republicans are concerned some voters might affiliate with their party to throw a primary vote to a less popular candidate more likely to lose in the general election. Non-presidential, closed primaries in Idaho already have a 60-day party affiliation deadline. The deadlines are based on the last day candidates can file to run for political office. Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney said the attorney general’s office in a Dec. 5 letter said it had determined closed presidential primaries in Idaho have no such deadline.

Illinois

Chicago: State regulators say they are investigating apparent violations of a rule intended to prevent marijuana shops from stockpiling weed from a single cultivator while also reminding retailers that they are required by law to keep enough product on hand for medical patients. Just over a week after the state’s recreational pot sales kicked off Jan. 1, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation sent a letter to dispensaries Friday saying they were aware of violations and probing whether stores were illegally sourcing more than 40% of their product from one grower. The law is aimed at preventing pot growers from entering into exclusive agreements with specific shops and making sure all stores have a diversity of products from various sources.

Indiana

Indianapolis: A 102-year-old man who is Indiana’s oldest state employee is retiring after nearly six decades on the job, saying that “your body tells you when it’s time to go.” Bob Vollmer plans to report to work for the last time Feb. 6 as a surveyor for the Department of Natural Resources. The southern Indiana man, whose mother lived to be 108, joined the state agency in 1962. The World War II veteran still travels Indiana collecting technical field data and confirming boundary lines for DNR-managed properties, but he said his body finally is telling him it’s time to retire. Vollmer said he plans to spend his retirement devoting himself to reading and farming. He also plans to take trips to some of the South Pacific islands he was on during his wartime service with the U.S. Navy.

Iowa

Ames: A man sentenced last month to 16 years in prison after he burned a gay pride banner argued before his trial that the lawyer appointed to represent him had a conflict of interest because she is a lesbian, newly released court records show. Adolfo Martinez was arrested in June after he stole a pride banner hanging at Ames United Church of Christ and burned it outside a nearby club. Martinez admitted his actions were driven by his dislike of gay people. He unsuccessfully argued for dismissal of a charge against him of third-degree arson in violation of individual rights – hate crime, contending that his prosecution would violate his First Amendment right to free speech. In addition to the arson hate crime, he was found guilty in November of harassment and reckless use of fire or explosives.

Kansas

Topeka: The state began issuing new personalized license plates Wednesday that emphasize the state’s growing use of renewable energy. The “Powering the Future” plates feature wind turbines profiled against a sunrise. Wind-generated power in Kansas grew sixfold from 2009 to 2018, and a report last year said the state was the nation’s top producer of wind energy, with more than 36% of total electricity coming from wind power. “I am pleased that this license plate design comes on the heels of Kansas being ranked first in the nation for percentage of electricity produced by wind,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “At the same time, it is a display of an expanding industry that contributes so much to the economic fabric of our state.” Residents can order the plates through their county treasurer’s office for $45.50, plus normal registration fees and taxes.

Kentucky

Mammoth Cave: Mammoth Cave National Park is offering free tours Monday in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The park can accommodate 70 people on each Mammoth Passage tour. The free tours Jan. 20 will depart from the visitor center at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. CST. The ³/₄-mile, 1 ¹/₄-hour tour requires a walk down and up a steep path to the Historic Entrance and includes 160 steps. The tour explores a canyon passageway and discusses a 19th-century saltpeter mining operation and the cave’s geologic origins. Tour participants must pick up their free tickets in the visitor center before the tour.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing fees for using eight national wildlife refuges in southeast Louisiana and is also considering lottery alligator hunts on six of its refuges. The two together could raise about $120,000 for the Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex, about two-thirds of the money from user permits, project leader Neil Lalonde said Monday. The user fees would be $20 for an annual permit or $5 for a one-day permit, a news release said. People age 60 and over could get a $5 annual pass, and those under age 18 would not need a permit. Two permits would be needed to get into all eight refuges administered by Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges Complex staff.

Maine

Augusta: Proposed changes to a decades-old settlement between the state and American Indian tribal groups could give the tribes more authority in long-debated subjects such as gambling and fishing rights. A task force handed its recommendations to the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, which began considering them Tuesday. The recommendations include a call to affirm the tribes’ rights to regulate hunting, fishing and land use, the Portland Press Herald reports. Another recommendation is to enable tribes to operate casinos under a compact negotiated among tribal leaders, the federal government and the state. The task force spent more than six months putting together the recommendations, which would affect four federally recognized tribes in Maine. Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said the changes have “potential for tremendous impacts on some highly disadvantaged people and some very proud governments.”

Maryland

Annapolis: Gov. Larry Hogan has announced the awarding of nearly $9 million in tax credits for state residents with student loan debt. The administration says 9,600 applicants were eligible for the Student Loan Debt Relief Tax Credit. That includes 6,331 who attended in-state institutions who will each get $1,000 in tax credits. There were 3,269 eligible applicants who attended out-of-state institutions who will receive $813 each in tax credits. “It is critical that we look for ways to help those in our state crippled by student loan debt,” Hogan said in a statement announcing the tax credits. “This program helps Maryland taxpayers pay off student debt, while remaining in the workforce and having a positive impact on the state economy.”

Massachusetts

Boston: A police officer was so infuriated after a confrontation with another driver on an area highway that he sent the man a fake $790 citation and a curt note that read, “Try fighting this… I dare you!” prosecutors say. Officer Christopher Curtis was released on personal recognizance after pleading not guilty Tuesday to forgery, witness intimidation and misleading an investigation. Neither he nor his attorney commented outside court. Curtis is on unpaid administrative leave, a Boston Police Department spokesman said. The other driver told investigators he was driving south on Interstate 93 north of the city March 1 when he saw a white pickup truck coming close to the back of his car. The driver, who was not identified in court records, said the pickup driver honked at him, sped toward his car, merged into the lane on his right and then veered back into the left lane, nearly forcing him into the median barrier, according to court records.

Michigan

Detroit: Six weeks into the recreational marijuana business in the state, sales have exceeded $10million. The high-water mark of $10,090,446 in sales also means that $1,675,014 in revenues from a 10% excise tax and 6% sales tax flowed into state coffers. Michigan marijuana enthusiasts were able to start buying legal weed Dec. 1, roughly 13 months after voters approved a ballot proposal that legalized marijuana use and possession for anyone who is at least 21. The proposal, which passed 56-44%, also allows for people to grow up to 12 plants in their home for personal use. Right now, the sales are happening at 16 marijuana retail shops that have gotten state licenses and have been able to open. There are 35 shops that have been licensed by the state, but many are waiting to open until they have enough marijuana products to meet the demand.

Minnesota

Duluth: Union snowplow drivers went on strike in northeastern Minnesota, where a winter weather advisory was posted as snow moved into the region. Teamsters Local 320 official Brian Aldes said the strike in St. Louis County began Wednesday. Union members voted overwhelmingly Saturday to reject the county’s final contract offer, citing issues related to health care and accrued sick leave. “These hardworking employees make a daily commitment to drive into blizzard conditions when most folks avoid inclement weather,” Erik Skoog, the union’s chief negotiator, said in a Facebook post. “These employees spend nights, holidays, and weekends clearing roads in dangerous conditions and will not continue to be second class employees.” County officials have a contingency plan to keep roads plowed. Public works supervisors and staff in other departments are qualified and licensed to operate the snowplows, county spokeswoman Dana Kazel says.

Mississippi

Starkville: A rain-swollen lake in rural north Mississippi rose at least a foot overnight amid forecasts of additional downpours, keeping heavy pressure on a dam Wednesday that officials said was in danger of failing. An inspection of the earthen dam at Oktibbeha County on Tuesday led to warnings that it was in danger of failing and recommendations that area residents evacuate. With as much as 5 inches of rain forecast by the weekend, workers were monitoring a soggy landslide that stoked the fears. Oktibbeha County’s emergency director, Kristen Campanella, said the lake level’s rise endangered about 130 properties and nine highways downstream. Mississippi has one of the highest numbers of dams that pose dangers and are in poor or unsatisfactory condition, according to a two-year investigation by the Associated Press.

Missouri

St. Louis: Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has filed what she calls an unprecedented federal civil rights lawsuit, accusing the city, the local police union and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her out of office. Gardner, the city’s elected prosecutor, also accused “entrenched interests” of intentionally impeding her efforts to reform racist practices that have led to a loss of trust in the criminal justice system. The lawsuit alleges civil rights violations as well as violations of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Gardner is black. The named defendants are white. The lawsuit names the city of St. Louis;the St. Louis Police Officers Association; its business manager, Jeff Roorda; and Gerard Carmody, a special prosecutor who indicted an investigator hired by Gardner. It also names Carmody’s son and daughter, who helped in his investigation, and a former police officer who sued over Gardner’s use of private attorneys related to Carmody’s investigation.

Montana

Helena: State lawmakers and members of the public weighed in Tuesday on whether the Legislature should switch to annual 45-day sessions rather than meeting every other year for 90 days, as they do now. The 2019 Legislature passed a bill to study the idea of holding one session to address policy and another to set a two-year budget. Montana is one of four states without an annual legislative session. Some lawmakers suggested shorter sessions might allow young people to serve in the Legislature, saying that leaving a job for 45 days every year might be easier than missing 90 days of work every other year. State Sen. John Esp, R-Big Timber, said meeting more often might help build working relationships among the lawmakers, allowing them to better serve the people of Montana. Sen. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, said she supports annual sessions but suggested limiting the number of bills that could be introduced each session.

Nebraska

Omaha: The state suffered more than $3.4 billion in losses from disastrous weather last year, according to a federal report. The bomb cyclone in March caused most of the damage, said the National Centers for Environmental Information, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The rain and snowmelt runoff led to record flooding in eastern Nebraska and in Iowa, and the storm system included a blizzard that struck most of western Nebraska. The bomb cyclone “was an unprecedented event, in scope and size and impact on the state of Nebraska,” Bryan Tuma, assistant director of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, told the Omaha World-Herald. “I don’t think we’ve ever quite experienced anything like this before.”

Nevada

Las Vegas: MGM Resorts International is selling the real estate assets of the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip to a joint venture for about $2.5 billion. The joint venture includes private-equity and real estate company Blackstone Group and MGM Growth Properties LLC. MGM Resorts anticipates cash proceeds of approximately $2.4 billion. The joint venture will be owned 50.1% by MGM Growth Properties and 49.9% by Blackstone. It will also acquire the real estate assets of Mandalay Bay from MGM Growth Properties and lease both properties to MGM Resorts for an initial rent of $292 million. The total value of the two transactions is $4.6 billion. The Mandalay Bay was the site of a 2017 shooting that left 58 people dead. It is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

New Hampshire

Portsmouth: An organization that welcomes troops passing through Portsmouth International Airport has announced plans to change its operations because of elevated threats at airports. The president of the Pease Greeters, Frank Lasorsa, wrote to members that because of “elevated threat levels,” greeters’ activities will change to address potential threats. Greeters will still greet troops but will no longer provide food, beverages and giveaways, and the only flight information made available to greeters will be through public websites. “Once a Greeter determines there is troop flight scheduled for arrival, Greeters may still arrive at the airport to support our brave men and women,” Lasorsa wrote. “Sharing any determined flight information on social media is strongly discouraged.” The Pease Greeters Care Package program will go on, but greeters will no longer bring any items to provide to individual service members.

New Jersey

Jersey City: Three police officers who have been credited with preventing further bloodshed during last month’s fatal attack on a kosher market are being promoted. Mayor Steven Fulop appointed officers Kendric Jackson, Mariela Fernandez and Raymond Sanchez to the rank of detective at a ceremony at City Hall on Wednesday. Sanchez and Fernandez were among the first to respond after David Anderson and Francine Graham stormed the market and killed three people in an anti-Semitic attack. Both officers suffered injuries and were treated and released from a hospital after the attacks. Anderson and Graham died after a lengthy shootout with police. Before attacking the market, they shot and killed Jersey City Police Detective Joseph Seals in what authorities have said was a chance encounter in a cemetery about a mile from the store.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: The state’s largest water utility has started operating its first aquifer storage well, and officials say more direct injection wells are planned within the utility’s service area through Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Testing of the new system began this week. The well will allow excess surface water to be stored underground for later use, keeping it safe from any losses due to evaporation. Officials say the $1 million well is part of a larger water management strategy that also includes conservation and reuse. The well injects water more than 1,200 feet below the surface at a rate of 1,750 gallons per minute. The amount of water injected yearly will depend on the amount of excess surface water available from the San Juan-Chama Drinking Water Project.

New York

Albany: The comptroller says the state once again is paying much more in federal taxes than it receives in federal spending. A report released Tuesday says New York paid $26.6 billion more in federal taxes in the fiscal year ending in 2018 than in got back in federal funds. New York has seen a gap dating back to 2013, when it totaled $19.9 billion. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the balance jumped in 2018, when New Yorkers paid $4 billion more in taxes as federal spending increased by $1.5 billion. DiNapoli says the ongoing trend makes it critical that the upcoming 2020 census is accurate and maximizes the state’s population count. The comptroller’s report says New York is one of just seven states that sends more to the federal government than it receives.

North Carolina

Asheville: A local advocacy group has started a petition to try to get Amazon to stop selling an animal trap that can injure bears. The group Help Asheville Bears is appealing directly to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and has gathered 32,000 signatures. The petition asks the company to stop selling steel-jaw, leg-hold traps. Certain foothold traps are legal in North Carolina. But they’re illegal to use on black bears. The traps are legal for animals such as foxes and coyotes. The group says the devices also catch small bears. Jody Williams, a spokesman for Help Asheville Bears, says Amazon has replied to the group about the petition. She says the company said it would forward the information to the appropriate people.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Bismarck Public Schools is believed to be the first district in the state to own an airplane. The school board has given administrators the go-ahead to buy a Cessna 150, single-engine plane for the student aviation program at the district’s Career Academy. District business manager Darin Scherr says the plane will cost between $15,000 and $30,000 depending on its condition, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Owning a plane rather than renting one will save money for the district, as well as for the families of students in the program. Using a rental plane costs families $10,850 a year and the district $6,650. Ownership will drop that by nearly half, to $5,350 a year for families and $2,963 for the district, according to Scherr. That includes yearly costs, such as insurance and hangar rental, as well as costs for engine and propeller overhauls, which occur every four years.

Ohio

Cleveland: A union representing the white Cleveland police officer who shot and killed Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black child playing with a pellet gun outside a recreation center, will ask an appeals court to overturn the officer’s firing. A Cuyahoga County judge last month upheld an arbitrator’s decision that Timothy Loehmann should be fired for failing to disclose on his Cleveland job application that he had been previously dismissed from a suburban police department. Loehmann and his training officer were cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the death of Tamir in November 2014. The child was shot by Loehmann within seconds of a cruiser driven by Patrolman Frank Garmback skidding to a stop near him. “We think our appeal has merit and look forward to having a review by the Court of Appeals,” union attorney Henry Hilow told cleveland.com.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The governor wants the state’s school superintendent to be appointed rather than elected, which would give the governor more power over public education. Gov. Kevin Stitt did not specify if he wanted to appoint the position or wanted the state Board of Education to make the decision. Stitt already appoints six of the seven board members. Stitt said he’s frustrated by his limited ability to affect education policy. “When the governor’s elected by all 4 million Oklahomans, the people think that he or she’s supposed to be able to go in and make some different moves on education to get outcomes,” Stitt said. “That’s just common sense. That’s what I thought when I was sitting in Tulsa in the business world. That’s what people in Oklahoma think.” Of nearly 4 million Oklahomans, 644,579 voted for Stitt to become governor.

Oregon

Salem: Widespread snowstorms have boosted the Pacific Northwest’s previously anemic snowpack to almost normal levels statewide in just two weeks. The biggest improvements in what is called “snow-water equivalent” – the amount of water contained in the snowpack – are in the Hood, Sandy and Lower Deschutes basins. Those areas were at 26% of normal Dec. 30 and are now at 90% of normal, the Capital Press reports. Last year saw something similar unfold in Oregon, when a series of storms hit in February that boosted what had been a lagging level of snow-water equivalent. This year statewide, the snow-water equivalent increased from 45% of normal to 79% of normal between Dec. 30 and Jan. 14, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, which tracks the measurements. Snowpack is a crucial source of water for farms, especially in Eastern Oregon.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: The state House voted Tuesday to force public agencies to post agendas on their websites at least a day before the meetings at which related votes are held. State representatives unanimously approved the proposed amendments to the state Sunshine Act. The prime sponsor, Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Lawrence, said the bill will help ensure governments do not operate in the shadows. “When our citizens know what will be discussed at a meeting ahead of time, they can better participate in a government in a meaningful way,” Bernstine said. Officials would not be allowed to vote on anything that was not on the posted agenda, except when an emergency has arisen that threatens life or property or when the issue at hand is considered extremely minor and does not involve spending money. Items could also be added to agendas during meetings by a majority vote.

Rhode Island

Providence: The governor has set an aggressive timeline to power the electric grid completely by renewable energy, but it’s an attainable goal, the state’s acting energy commissioner said Wednesday. Acting Commissioner Nicholas Ucci said his office will spend the rest of this year developing strategies and policies to meet the goal by 2030 and analyzing the economic, environmental and energy system impacts. In her State of the State address to lawmakers Tuesday, Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo announced she will sign an executive order that aims to make the state the first in the nation to be powered completely by renewable energy by the end of the decade. The remark drew a standing ovation. The state is already positioned to meet more than a third of its electricity demand with renewable energy sources by 2024, Ucci said.

South Carolina

Columbia: Supporters of a bill that would ban almost all abortions want some leaders in the state Senate to know they won’t let the proposal quietly die. Hundreds of them packed a Statehouse lobby Wednesday to call for a vote on the bill whose only likely obstacle to becoming law is passing a two-thirds procedural vote in the Senate. There are enough Democrats and Republicans from less conservative districts to keep blocking the bill. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey has said several times before the 2020 legislative session started this week that Republicans don’t have the votes and that he sees no need to halt debate on other issues like tax reform, education or selling state-owned utility Santee Cooper for several days for a filibuster that according to his vote-counting math can’t be beat. That’s what happened in 2018 to a similar abortion ban bill.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: The City Council has passed an ordinance denouncing acts of hate and racism after equal rights organizations and others called on the city to do more to respond to racist incidents. Mayor Paul TenHaken brought what he called an “anti-hate” resolution to the council in order to send a message that Sioux Falls is a welcoming place for all religions, races and sexual orientations. Councilors took their turns Tuesday night voicing support. Councilor Janet Brekke said the resolution is a positive step toward driving hate out of the community but noted that it is just a starting point. In September, South Dakota Voices for Peace organized a march in the city after a black teen was subjected to racial slurs in downtown Sioux Falls. Video of what happened was posted on social media and viewed widely.

Tennessee

Nashville: Amtrak is in discussions to bring passenger rail service back to the capital and expand routes in Memphis. Company representatives traveled to Nashville to discuss their ideas with state legislators Tuesday afternoon. Two of the proposed lines would connect Memphis to Chicago and Nashville to Atlanta with stops in Murfreesboro, Tullahoma and Chattanooga. The only Amtrak stops in Tennessee are in Memphis and Newbern-Dyersburg. Nashville service halted in 1979 when the Floridian line from Chicago to Florida was shut down to save money. But Music City’s fast-growing population has caught Amtrak’s eye again.

Texas

Bellaire: A minor has been charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old high school student, prosecutors said. The minor and another person were arrested about 3¹/₂ hours after the Tuesday afternoon shooting at a high school in Bellaire, a suburb southwest of Houston. A spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Wednesday that the minor could not be identified because of privacy laws and did not immediately answer other questions. Authorities also haven’t released basic non-identifying information about the alleged shooter, including the person’s age or sex. Police said they received a call about the shooting about 4 p.m., and the victim died later at a hospital. There have been conflicting media reports about whether the shooting happened inside or outside the school.

Utah

Salt Lake City: Personalized license plates that spark multiple complaints will get extra scrutiny amid questions about how a plate emblazoned with the phrase “DEPORTM” could be on the road despite strict state rules and previous objections. If more than one person reports a particular plate, it will now be flagged for extra attention and reviewed by the attorney general’s office, said Scott Smith, who oversees the motor-vehicles division as executive director of the Utah Tax Commission. “The safety net here is the general public,” Smith told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that came after a photo of the “deport” plate gained widespread attention online. Among other rules, Utah prohibits vanity plates that express contempt for any race, religion or political opinion. License plates don’t carry unlimited freedom of speech rights, he said.

Vermont

Montpelier: Advocates held a homelessness awareness day and memorial vigil Wednesday. Concerned citizens and homeless service providers planned to gather at the Statehouse to talk with lawmakers and “renew their commitment to end homelessness” in Vermont. According to a one-day count, 1,089 Vermonters were found to be homeless on a single night in January 2019, event organizers said. That was a 15% drop from a one-day count in 2018, but “homelessness is still a major challenge for Vermonters, especially because 23% of those counted were children,” organizers of the event said. A vigil was planned at noon on the Statehouse steps, where legislative leaders and Lt. Gov, David Zuckerman, who just announced that he’s running for governor, were expected to speak. Wednesday’s activities were sponsored by the Vermont Coalition to End Homelessness, Chittenden County Homeless Alliance and Vermont Affordable Housing Coalition.

Virginia

Rocky Mount: A county school board has decided not to update its dress code to ban displays of the Confederate flag. The Roanoke Times reports the decision followed months of debate in Franklin County, which is outside Roanoke in western Virginia. Many school board members said such a ban could violate students’ rights to free speech and spur legal challenges. An amendment adding the ban to the dress code failed 4-4, and the vote on passing the dress code without it was 7 to 1. Penny Blue, the board’s only black member, was the sole “no” vote. She had proposed the measure last fall when the board was considering changes to its dress code. She argued the flag was a symbol of white supremacy. Other members said they personally detested the flag but raised concerns about free speech. School officials cited a 2000 court case in Kentucky that could have legal precedent in Virginia. The Kentucky school’s attempt to ban the flag failed.

Washington

Seattle: One year after Microsoft announced it was committing $500 million toward affordable housing in the area, it’s upping that by half. The additional $250 million will provide a line of credit to help the Washington State Finance Commission finance about 3,000 additional units of affordable housing, Jane Broom, the company’s senior director of philanthropies, said in a blog post Wednesday. Microsoft’s own success has helped the region boom economically, with Amazon and other tech companies expanding. But as it has, the cost of housing has skyrocketed. Homelessness is a severe concern, and even people with good middle-income jobs, such as teachers and nurses, have been priced out of the cities where they work.

West Virginia

Charleston: The House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a bill that would penalize physicians who don’t provide medical care to a baby born after an abortion attempt. Lawmakers passed the bill 93-5 despite questions about what use it would serve, since existing laws protect newborns, and the state bans abortions after 20 weeks. “This bill does absolutely nothing,” said Del. John Doyle, a Democrat from Jefferson County. “It proposes to make something illegal that is already illegal.” Some Republicans in the GOP-controlled chamber conceded that the bill, which would subject medical professionals to discipline from their licensing board, is more about sending a political message than solving an ongoing problem.

Wisconsin

Wausau: City officials voted Tuesday night to change the language of the now-famed “snowball ordinance,” making it legal to throw snowballs on city property once again. It will likely take effect by the week’s end, City Council President Lisa Rasmussen said. A city ordinance that technically banned snowball fights was a small part of a larger ordinance banning people from throwing objects such as stones and arrows on city-owned property. It was originally believed to have been adopted in 1962. However, City Attorney Anne Jacobson did some more digging and said it’s been on the books since at least 1884 that you can’t throw snowballs on public property, even with slightly different language. The City Council decided to reconsider the law after some negative national headlines this past holiday season. Barstool Sports called Wausau “the worst town in America” for outlawing snowball fights.

Wyoming

Laramie: The University of Wyoming has requested $12 million from the state to fund more than half of a renovation and expansion project for its College of Law. The law school project did not make it into the university’s formal request vetted by the State Construction Department and Republican Gov. Mark Gordon’s office last year before going to the Legislature in December, Laramie Boomerang reports. “We were designing the facility and didn’t know the cost of the facility over the summer,” Dean Klint Alexander told the Joint Appropriations Committee on Friday. The project is designed to add about 19,000 square feet and upgrade about 23,000 square feet of existing space in order to fit multiple clinics into the building, officials said. The school’s current clinics provide $3.5 million of free legal services each year, and that could increase with better facilities, Alexander said.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports