News from around our 50 States

A bill proposed in the Arizona House attempts to protect the rights of the secondary-ticket market by restricting what limitations teams, bands and venues can place on a ticket and the purchaser’s right to transfer or sell it. Sponsored by state Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, the bill would only allow ticket sellers to issue non-transferable tickets if they also offer tickets that can be gifted or sold after the initial purchase. It also would bar ticket sellers from denying access to anyone who purchased a ticket on the secondary market, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. Officials with Stubhub, an online ticket resale marketplace, said people expect that when they purchase a ticket, it’s now their personal property.

Warming your car on frigid mornings can be an invitation to thieves, especially if you leave your car unattended. Dozens of cars left idling have been stolen in the past few weeks in Wilmington and parts of New Castle County, in what police are calling an epidemic. At least 33 idling cars were stolen in Wilmington over the past month, accounting for about 75 percent of all car thefts, Wilmington police spokesman David Karas says. The thieves don’t appear to be targeting any single neighborhood. “It’s a crime of opportunity,” says Police Capt. Wilfredo Campos. He says his officers have been knocking on doors in the morning when they find unattended idling cars, warning homeowners of the risks.

Work crews will begin installing more “No Right Turn on Red” signs Tuesday, WUSA-TV reports. The city is banning right turns at red lights for about 100 intersections in hopes of curbing fatal traffic accidents. In 2018, 36 people were killed in traffic accidents in the district – the highest number the city has seen in 10 years. However, some critics question the move by the District Department of Transportation. “In school zones, it is inherently wise to do that. In other places that you have a high traffic volume and high pedestrian volume, it may be a catastrophic situation,” says John Townsend, spokesperson with AAA Mid-Atlantic. He believes DDOT should complete a detailed study on each intersection before installing the signs.

A new $4.4 million facility is being built at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center to treat veterans’ addictions. Medical center director Rick Ament said at a groundbreaking last week that the inpatient center is “a badly needed service for veterans between Kansas City and Oklahoma City.” The Wichita Eagle reports that the hospital sends between 15 and 20 veterans every month to Leavenworth or Kansas City for residential treatment for substance abuse. VA spokesman Akeam Ashford says the new facility will have 12 beds to treat veterans. There are currently 183 veterans enrolled in the outpatient substance abuse program in Wichita. Construction is expected to be completed in October, with patient treatments starting in January.

Kentucky was one of only five states that slashed funding for higher education this fiscal year, putting more pressure on public universities to save money and raise revenue without overburdening students with skyrocketing tuition rates. The fallout from the 2008 recession hurt governments and public colleges across the country, but most states have finally stopped making cuts to the schools relying on their support, according to Grapevine, which annually compiles data on states’ higher education appropriations. In Kentucky, however, budget reductions have become the new normal for publicly funded schools like the University of Louisville (above) and Eastern Kentucky University. “Our institutions are down to the bone now,” says Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

An anonymous donor has given $5,000 for college scholarships from the Annapolis Police Department in honor of the five people killed at the Capital Gazette last year, allowing five additional students to receive $1,000 college scholarships. The five were killed when a gunman burst into the newspaper offices in June. Lt. Kevin Krause tells the Capital Gazette the donor has asked that the recipients learn about the person to whom their individual scholarship is dedicated: Wendi Winters, Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara or Rebecca Smith. The students may use the money to study any field they choose. To apply, go to www.annapolis.gov/police, or contact Krause at 410-268-9000. The deadline to apply is May 15.

Famed actor and notable Oakland University alumnus Curtis Armstrong is donating collectibles from his illustrious 30-year career in film and television to the school. The Oakland Press reports that 20 boxes filled with Armstrong’s annotated scripts, behind-the-scenes photos, contracts, actor interviews, press clippings and diary entries will be housed at his alma mater. Armstrong graduated from the school in 1975 and quickly made a name for himself in the movies “Risky Business,” “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Better Off Dead.” He’s appeared in dozens of TV shows, including “Moonlighting,” “New Girl” and “Supernatural.” The materials, which include an original copy of the first script for “Risky Business,” will be available for public viewing at the Kresge Library and be used in classes at the university.

The University of Missouri is starting a competitive chess team and has hired a Romanian grandmaster to coach it. The school says Cristian Chirila has started recruiting a team of highly ranked players from around the world. They’ll receive scholarships and live and practice together in dedicated space in a residence hall. The team will begin competing together next fall. Funding is coming through an almost $800,000 grant agreement with the Saint Louis Chess Club. Founded by Republican millionaire activist Rex Sinquefield, the club hosts several national competitions. The release says there are plans to develop chess summer camps, state and national high school chess tournaments, distance-learning courses on chess, and chess teacher certifications.

At an age when many of his friends are retiring, blacksmith Jeffrey Funk is opening a school. To pass decades of hard-earned skills and knowledge on to a new generation, Funk has created the New Agrarian School – an intensive program for aspiring metal workers based in his shop near Bigfork, the Daily Inter Lake reports. The six courses will run from one to two weeks, with each focusing on a different aspect of forged metal work. The faculty includes Funk and three more instructors. “It’s going to be a fusion of art, craft and self-reliance,” Funk said. “There’s a significant hunger for that, especially on the part of young people. While people today are immersed in electronic technologies, it may not be fully satisfying.”

In a sprawling greenhouse in the desert, tilapia and tomatoes are being farmed in a circle-of-life partnership. Dayton Valley Aquaponics uses a supermarket-sized building to grow tomatoes using fish waste nutrients while leaving cleansed water to recycle back to tilapia tanks. The company is the only one of its kind in Nevada blending aquaculture, or raising fish, with hydroponics, or growing plants in water. Trevor Birba, company founder and business manager, started experimenting with aquaponics about a decade ago while studying agricultural economics at the University of Nevada, Reno. Birba calls the environment ideal for Egyptian-breed tilapia and several varieties of cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, cucumbers and chilis.

Over 60 percent of New Jerseyans are in favor of legal weed, according to a Monmouth University poll released Monday. The poll found 62 percent of New Jerseyans are in favor of marijuana legalization, while 32 percent are against it. That represents a slight uptick in support from a Monmouth poll released last year, when 59 percent of New Jerseyans supported marijuana legalization. Five years ago, a Monmouth poll recorded a nearly even split, with 48 percent in support and 47 percent against. The poll released Monday shows a huge uptick in legal weed support among all age groups. Among those 18 to 34 years old, support stands at 81 percent. Even among those 55 and older, support is at 53 percent.

The Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation is seeking volunteers from southern New Mexico to assist with injured animals. The nonprofit provides guidance and financial assistance to volunteers who will take in injured animals and rehabilitate them until they are ready to re-enter the wild. LEWF also funds resources such as enclosures, transportation, medical treatment and food to ensure a healthy wildlife population. LEWF Chairman Daniel Archuleta says LEWF helps coordinate care for different kids of wildlife, “from birds, such as song birds and large raptors like golden and bald eagles and red-tail hawks, to bears.” For information about volunteering or making a donation, email info@landofenchantment.org or visit LEWF’s Facebook page. Requests for funding grants can be made at LEWF’s website.

It was a rural sanctuary for famed author Thomas Wolfe, the site of his first return to this city after writing “Look Homeward, Angel” and of his last before his death in 1938. Now city officials want to craft a path forward for the historic Thomas Wolfe Cabin in East Asheville. The city says it has begun a master plan visioning process to determine strategies for rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Wolfe’s former cabin property near Azalea Park, hoping to lead to a “full renovation” for the cabin as well as its surrounding property, which the city has owned since 2001. Much of the effort spent on the property in the past two decades has involved stabilizing the cabin in conjunction with Buncombe County leaders and local historic preservation authorities.

This small town is among six finalists for a small-business makeover program on the reality show “Small Business Revolution – Main Street.” Durant, in southern Oklahoma about 70 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, is competing for $500,000 marketing support and business advice from show host Amanda Brinkman and co-host Ty Pennington. Through Feb. 19, the public can visit SmallBusinessRevolution.org to see a brief video and vote. Votes can be cast from each email address a person has once each day voting is open. The other finalists are Searcy, Arkansas; Corsicana, Texas; Camas, Washington; Canon City, Colorado; and Washington, North Carolina.

Dallas, Oregon-based Illahe Vineyards is debuting a bottle of bubbles that pays tribute to the capital city. Capitol Fizz is a dry sparkling wine made from chardonnay, pinot gris and gruner veltliner, tinged pink with the addition of pinot noir. “We wanted to make an unselfconscious, affordable sparkling wine,” says Bethany Ford, Illahe’s national sales manager. She and winemaker husband Brad Ford live on his grandparents’ West Salem farm. It was important to them to capture a love for Salem in the bottle’s branding. They chose the silhouette of the Oregon Capitol and the Gold Man as a way to signify “the pioneering spirit (that) has always been strong throughout the state of Oregon.” Capitol Fizz is dry, with a strawberry note, and tree fruit aromas of pear and apple.

Several hundred people showed up at Richard M. Nixon County Park from Friday through Sunday to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. The park turns the national effort into a family event with interactive displays. According to Francis Velazquez, manager of education and outreach for the park, the local count “is a snapshot of what’s going on nationally.” He said the local count is used to understand trends on a national scale, to see how individual species “are up and down and how ranges change.” Velazquez said the local numbers are too small to draw general conclusions about how different birds are thriving locally, but bird populations that are up in the county over the past decade include wild turkeys, eagles, wood ducks and great egrets.

Some Tennessee school districts would be required to provide free feminine hygiene products for students under a new bill filed in the state Legislature. Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, said she drafted the bill after learning girls in her district were missing school during their periods because they didn’t have access to feminine care items. Rep. G. A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, has sponsored the House version of the legislation. Feminine hygiene products are not covered by federal assistance programs like SNAP or WIC. Many districts provide feminine care products in nurses’ offices. But nurses have reported restocking supplies themselves due to budgetary constraints or relying on nonprofits for help.

A telecommunications company has agreed to upgrade its network in the state following a number of equipment failures that resulted in multiple temporary disruptions in emergency 911 services. The state first opened an investigation into Consolidated Communications after service was disrupted in 2016 for a five-minute period, and an additional two outages occurred during the investigation period. Vermont Public Radio reports a settlement approved this month by regulators requires Consolidated to improve the resiliency and redundancy of its system. Michael Shultz, Consolidated Communications’ vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy, says the company is satisfied with the settlement.

A lot of people love the Milwaukee Art Museum – even far outside the city. Vida Andras, a 3D artist from Budapest, expressed his love by designing the museum out of Legos last summer for a Lego competition called Architectural Faves. After his design won first place, he decided he wanted to build it. But he wants others to be able to build their own art museum, too. That’s why he entered the design into Lego Ideas, where his design garnered enough supporters to be accepted as a possible product idea. Now he has to secure 10,000 supporters through the website by the beginning of January 2020. At that point, a Lego review board will decide if Andras’ design becomes a product people can buy to build their own miniature Milwaukee Art Museum.