Horseshoe Bend, Sassafras Mountain, trouble in Waikiki: News from around our 50 states

From staff and wire reports

Stolen dog found in Colorado makes way home to Florida two years later, astronaut from Maine gearing up for first space stint, and more

Montgomery
Ida B. Wells’ legacy as a civil rights activist and journalist has been celebrated at Alabama State University through speaking events for nearly two decades. But this year, instead of hosting speakers, student performers remembered her message through song at the 2019 Ida B. Wells Storyteller’s Series: The Sounds and Stories of Social Justice. Last week nine students sang or performed expressive pieces about injustice and being true to yourself. Traditionally, the communications department hosts visiting speakers to talk about Wells. The past two years, under communications chair Dr. Simone Byrd, the setup has been different. Since February, students in professors Emery Kidd and Michael Bean’s classes collaborated to put together the event, with Kidd’s students in charge of writing songs and choosing artists and Bean’s overseeing audio and recording.

Kodiak
Officials say the Baranov Museum in Kodiak will have a new name once an extensive renovation of its permanent exhibit space is complete. The Kodiak Daily Mirror reports the Kodiak Historical Society’s board of directors voted to change the name to Kodiak History Museum to better convey the broad Kodiak history encapsulated at the museum. The Historical Society says the Baranov Museum name misrepresents the museum’s mission and place in the community because it doesn’t focus on Russian history alone. The museum’s $750,000 permanent exhibit renovation began in September. As part of the reopening May 4, the Historical Society will unveil a new bronze outdoor sculpture by Alutiiq artist Perry Eaton and feature a performance by the Alutiiq Dancers.

Page
For the first time in its relatively short history as an international tourism destination, Horseshoe Bend now has an entry fee. Visitors must pay $10 per vehicle to park in the newly improved and expanded lot. Motorcyclists will pay $5, and fees for buses range from $35 to $140, based on the number of passengers. Though Horseshoe Bend is part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, National Park Service passes will not be accepted. The fees are part of a long-range improvement plan. For years, Horseshoe Bend – where the Colorado River makes a sharp turn, making for an unusual and stunning view – was popular mainly with nearby residents. Social media played a prominent role in its ascent to tourism fame, making it one of the country’s most Instagrammed destinations. Nearly 2 million people visited last year.

Little Rock
A federal lawsuit filed by death row inmates has renewed a court fight over whether the sedative the state uses for lethal injections causes torturous executions, two years after Arkansas raced to put eight convicted killers to death in 11 days before a previous batch of the drug expired. The state recently expanded the secrecy surrounding its lethal injection drug sources, and the case heading to trial Tuesday could affect its efforts to restart executions that have been on hold due to a lack of the drugs. It’ll also be the latest in a series of legal battles over midazolam, a sedative that other states have moved away from using amid claims it doesn’t render inmates fully unconscious during lethal injections. The state currently doesn’t have any execution drugs available, but officials believe they’ll be able to get more once the secrecy law takes effect this summer.

San Francisco
This city with too little housing and too many homeless people sleeping in the streets is teeming with anxiety and vitriol these days. A large new homeless shelter is on track to go up along a scenic waterfront area dotted with high-rise luxury condos, prompting outrage from some residents, who say they were blindsided and even shouted down Mayor London Breed at a recent meeting. Supporters, including tech leaders Marc Benioff and Jack Dorsey, say the city is in crisis, and everyone should do their part to help the homeless. There are other signs of angst related to housing: San Francisco companies Pinterest and Lyft went public, and Uber and Slack are coming, prompting fears of new millionaires snapping up every home in sight.

Boulder
State agencies overseeing a road construction project west of Boulder that includes blasting are taking care not to disturb golden eagles that nest in the area. The Daily Camera reports that rock blasting is set to begin Tuesday in the lower Boulder Canyon along Colorado 119. Multiple agencies have pooled their knowledge and worked together to minimize any impacts the blasting might have on the raptors. Blasting is expected to occur twice weekly through August. Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay says state wildlife biologists determined there is a low chance of affecting the eagle nests through currently proposed construction plans and timing. But Clay says monitoring will be done throughout the project to see how it is affecting the birds.

Hartford
Advocates hoping to finally reinstate the state’s full motorcycle helmet law after 43 years still hope they can pass legislation this year, despite a recent setback. Language instituting a universal helmet law was stripped from a larger bill. There’s still a second bill that increases the age required for operating or riding a motorcycle with a helmet from 18 years to 21 years old. Advocates are hoping to amend that bill with the universal language. It’s currently awaiting House action. They enlisted a wider group of allies last year, including motorcycle riders, after decades of being thwarted by well-organized opponents. The Connecticut Motorcycle Riders Association has already claimed victory. But the group is urging its members to express opposition to any further attempts to mandate helmet use by adults.

New Castle
Delaware’s official government revenue estimates continue to climb as the time nears for lawmakers to begin marking up a proposed $4.4 billion operating budget for next year. The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council on Monday increased its revenue estimate for the current fiscal year by $37.9 million compared to its March estimate. The panel also increased its forecast for the fiscal year starting July 1 by $12.9 million, to $4.58 billion. A major factor in the upward revisions was corporate income tax estimates, which increased by $35.3 million for this year since last month. Officials said that amount included an unexpected $10 million in estimated payments for this year from a handful of companies that have had no reported tax liability in recent years.

Washington
Taking part in one of the oldest White House traditions, President Donald Trump blew a whistle and sent spoon-wielding kids into a frenzy Monday as they used the wooden utensils to coax hard-boiled eggs to the finish line during the annual Easter Egg Roll. “This is 141 years that we’ve been doing this,” Trump said, addressing the crowd from the Truman Balcony, where he was joined by first lady Melania Trump. Trump later joined children seated at a picnic table, where they colored cards for U.S. troops. He appeared to answer a question from a child about the wall the president wants to build along the U.S.-Mexico border. “Oh, it’s happening. It’s being built now,” Trump said at the table. “There’s a young guy just said, ‘Keep building that wall.’ Do you believe this? He’s going to be a conservative someday.”

Southwest Ranches
A dog found abandoned in Colorado has been returned to its Florida family, nearly two years after it was stolen as a puppy. Animal charity organization Wings of Rescue says the German shepherd named Cedar was covered with snow in a rural ditch, apparently malnourished with an injured leg, when a deputy marshal found it. The pet was identified thanks to its microchip. Cedar was stolen from the Petersons’ backyard in Southwest Ranches, north of Miami. At the time, other signs for missing pets were going up around the community. Back then, Tamara Peterson told reporters she thought someone had hopped the fence to take the 4-month-old puppy. It was not clear how the dog wound up nearly 2,000 miles away. “I immediately cried” upon getting the call, Peterson told The Miami Herald. “I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. It’s almost two years to the day.”

Atlanta
Morehouse College’s 135th annual commencement exercises will feature a keynote address by investor and philanthropist Robert F. Smith, along with honors for other figures in business, academia and the arts. A release from the university says Academy Award-nominated actor Angela Bassett (above) will be among the honorary degree recipients at the May 19 event. Bassett will receive an honorary doctor of arts degree. Honorary doctor of humane letters degrees will go to Smith and Edmund W. Gordon, a leading psychologist and a professor emeritus at Yale and Columbia universities. Morehouse, a historically black university founded in 1867 in Atlanta, enrolls approximately 2,200 students.

Honolulu
The iconic Waikiki Beach could soon be underwater as rising sea levels caused by global warming overtake its white sand beaches and bustling city streets. That’s alarming for a state where beach tourism is the primary economic driver. So state lawmakers are trying to pass legislation that would defend against routine coastal flooding that may become the norm in as little as 15 years. A version of one proposed bill that would create a shoreline protection plan for urban Honolulu has passed both chambers of the Legislature. House and Senate leaders will convene in the coming weeks to discuss final changes before sending the bill to Gov. David Ige. Research suggests Hawaii will see a 3-foot rise in ocean levels by the end of this century.

Fruitland
Two female plaintiffs have filed legal documents against a western Idaho school district contending that a high school principal sexually harassed them at the school while they were students and that district officials failed to act. One is a former student, and the other, who was under 18, says the harassment took place last fall. They filed tort claims against the Fruitland School District earlier this month. A tort claim is a precursor to a lawsuit against a public agency. Mike Fitch resigned last week as principal of Fruitland High School after being charged in February with two counts of sexual battery and one charge of patronizing a prostitute. He has pleaded not guilty. A school employee filed a separate tort claim involving those charges, contending district officials failed to investigate when the employee reported Fitch behaved inappropriately toward her.

Chicago
More colleges are offering classes in growing and handling marijuana to match demand from growers and dispensaries. The Chicago Tribune reports colleges and universities in the state are noticing the benefits of preparing students for the industry, but there are restrictions on how fast the schools can offer new programming. Karen Midden, interim dean of the agriculture sciences college at Southern Illinois University, says she receives near-daily inquiries about the school’s cannabis program, and cultivators often call on the hunt for students with expertise. Midden says said SIU’s Carbondale campus plans to bundle classes it already offers with a few cannabis-focused courses and turn that into a 30-credit-hour cannabis certificate program.

Portage
Two young people are being credited with helping rescue more than three dozen rabbits that were apparently dumped in the woods. Johnny Frazier of Portage tells The (Northwest Indiana) Times he and his friends spotted “a bunch of eyes” peering at them last week as they pulled off a road near the east arm of the Little Calumet River, where they planned to go fishing. The 18-year-old says the rabbits didn’t appear to be wild, were in poor condition and didn’t flee. Frazier says he called police and animal rescue officials, but they couldn’t help, so he and his friends rounded up 37 rabbits. Frazier’s girlfriend, Kenna Hubbard, helped clean the animals. Others pitched in, and social media was used to help find homes for the rabbits.

Des Moines
The state has been sued again in federal court by animal rights groups for passing a law last month designed to prosecute people who get hired at farms in order to work undercover to report on animal living conditions. The measure was approved by lawmakers March 12 and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds two days later. It creates a trespass charge for anyone using deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm. The lawsuit filed Monday in Des Moines by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and four other groups claims the new law violates constitutional free speech and due process rights. Lawmakers passed it two months after a federal judge struck down a similar law they passed in 2012, saying it violated free-speech rights.

Topeka
Officials say a zookeeper who was attacked by a Sumatran tiger is out of intensive care. City spokeswoman Mally Hadfield says the woman is stable and was moved Sunday to a different unit of the hospital. The woman’s name hasn’t been released, and Hadfield says her family is requesting privacy. The 7-year-old male tiger, named Sanjiv (above), attacked the woman Saturday morning in his outdoor habitat as several visitors watched. The tiger was lured away so the injured zookeeper could receive emergency aid. Zoo director Brendan Wiley has said the zoo is investigating and will determine what changes might be needed after talking to the injured worker, who has worked at the zoo since 2002. The zoo has no plans to euthanize Sanjiv, who is back on display.

Bowling Green
The 21st annual Southern Kentucky Book Fest is this week, and the author of young adult novel “The Hate U Give” is expected along with other authors. The debut novel by Angie Thomas (above) was a New York Times best-seller and was adapted into a movie released last fall. Berea resident and “Southernmost” author Silas House is also attending, along with Rita Mae Brown, Ron L. Smith, Sharon Draper and Gwenda Bond. The festival runs Friday and Saturday at the Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green. Full schedules for each day, author lineup and workshop registration are available online.

Baton Rouge
Louisiana State University’s first medical marijuana-related research dollars are paying for work aimed at treating epilepsy. GB Sciences, the contractor hired by the LSU AgCenter to grow therapeutic cannabis, provides $500,000 annually for marijuana-related studies, on top of its other payments to the university agricultural facility. The first research dollars from the contract will help finance ongoing studies done by AgCenter researcher Chris Green. He’s using zebrafish to help develop treatments for people who have epileptic seizures. The AgCenter says Green will expand that work to study the possibility of using parts of the cannabis plant to treat epilepsy. He’ll use compounds extracted from the plant flowers and buds that don’t produce the marijuana “high” caused by THC.

Caribou
A Mainer who’s headed to the International Space Station says she’s always dreamed of being in space and “seeing this giant blue ball below me.” NASA astronaut Jessica Meir (above right) is scheduled to launch in September with a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates. She’ll return in 2020. The Bangor Daily News reports she told students at Caribou High School in 2016 that she didn’t give up after NASA rejected her first application to become an astronaut. She was among three women and four men selected from 6,100 applicants for the next class in 2013. Meir was valedictorian at Caribou High School. Other Mainers who’ve spent time in space are Bar Harbor native Charles Hobaugh and York High School graduate Chris Cassidy.

Salisbury
Two Lower Shore school systems are among five in the state being recognized for their music education programs. The National Association of Music Merchants recently announced that Wicomico County Public Schools and Worcester County Public Schools were being named Best Communities for Music Education. The Best Communities for Music Education, now in its 20th year, is a program honoring schools and school districts for the outstanding efforts of teachers, administrators, parents, students and community leaders who have made music education part of the core curriculum, according to the organization. The program evaluates schools and districts based on funding, staffing of highly qualified teachers, commitment to standards and access to music instruction, according to the National Association of Music Merchants.

Boston
Stop & Shop supermarket workers and company officials reached a tentative contract agreement Sunday that includes wage increases for all associates and maintains health coverage, according to news releases from both parties. The company said the agreement ends employee strikes that started April 11 at 240 Stop & Shop stores in the region. The tentative three-year agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers union is subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, the company said. The union said that “today is a powerful victory for the 31,000 hardworking men and women of Stop & Shop who courageously stood up to fight for what all New Englanders want.” It said they were on strike to protest the company’s proposed cuts to health care, take-home pay and other benefits.

Germfask
An animal rarely seen in the state has been released in the wild in the Upper Peninsula. A Canada lynx was captured weeks ago in Sanilac County in the Lower Peninsula. After spending time at the Howell Nature Center and the Detroit Zoo, the female was released last week in a wooded area in Schoolcraft County. John DePue, a biologist at the Department of Natural Resources, says the release “went perfectly.” The lynx is listed as a threatened species under federal law. The cat is believed to be less than a year old. It was 18 pounds when found but added a pound while eating rabbits and quail at the zoo. The DNR says the last verified sighting of a lynx was in 2010 on Sugar Island near Sault Ste. Marie.

Rochester
Officials are hoping new, energy-efficient buildings taking shape downtown will become the standard for construction as the city continues to grow under its taxpayer-subsidized economic development plan. Minnesota Public Radio News reports officials are looking to buildings such as One Discovery Square to lead the way in incorporating environmental sustainability into design. The building’s green features are part of the Destination Medical Center economic development plan, which aims to grow the city while reducing its overall energy use. Kevin Bright, DMC’s energy and sustainability director, recently launched a tool to help businesses track how their buildings use water and energy. Bright says the tool also aims to show builders how they compare to their peers and historical trends to encourage them to adopt sustainable approaches.

Greenwood
A mobile app is being developed to explain places and events connected to a killing that galvanized the civil rights movement. Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old from Chicago, was killed in 1955 while visiting relatives in Mississippi. Photos from his open-casket funeral showed his mutilated body, stirring anger that motivated people to push for change. Developers tell the Greenwood Commonwealth they hope the app will be ready by Aug. 28, the anniversary of Till’s death. University of Kansas professor Dave Tell and Patrick Weems, director of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in Sumner, Mississippi, have worked five years on the Emmett Till Memory Project. The app will guide users to 10 destinations in the Mississippi Delta and two in Chicago.

Cape Girardeau
The Missouri Department of Conservation says some landowners are seeing less damage from feral hogs as the state focuses on trapping rather than hunting the invasive animals. State conservation officials have been working with federal agencies and landowners to eliminate feral hogs in several southeastern counties. Trappers have successfully removed hundreds of feral hogs from the region, but the population keeps returning because of the animals’ rapid reproduction rate. Conservation official Matthew Peter tells the Southeast Missourian that one trapper has reported significant declines in damage since he began trapping in Wayne and Bollinger counties. The state banned killing feral hogs after learning that shooting at them makes it more difficult to catch the entire group. State biologist Alan Leary says the invasive population increased significantly when hunting was allowed.

Helena
The Montana Department of Justice’s Motor Vehicle Division has been notified by the Department of Homeland Security that the Treasure State is now in full compliance with the Real ID Act and regulations, state officials said Monday. The letter ends two years of extensions for the state to comply with Real ID law, officials said. The Real ID Act, according to the federal government, establishes minimum security standards for issuing licenses and prohibits federal agencies from accepting driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the act’s minimum standards. It was passed in 2005 at recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Montana was one of 15 states that initially defied the law. Its resistance posed a problem at Malmstrom Air Force Base as January 2017, when it no longer accepted Montana driver’s licenses as identification.

Offutt Air Force Base
A retired colonel and an army of airmen have saved irreplaceable artifacts from floodwater that covered much of an Air Force base south of Omaha. Mike Hoskins told the Omaha World-Herald that the historical treasures of the 55th Wing were locked inside the wing historian’s office and other offices at Offutt Air Force Base as the Missouri River water rose March 16. Base firefighters joined the effort by breaking down the necessary doors. First among the rescued items were two on loan from the Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio: a giant aerial reconnaissance camera from the 1940s and a propeller from a World War II-vintage P-51 Mustang fighter. Other items included copies of letters written during World War I by Lt. Jarvis Offutt, the base’s Omaha-born namesake.

Las Vegas
A judge said Monday that she’ll hear arguments next month on a bid by dozens of companies to freeze a second wave of licenses for the state’s lucrative marijuana sales market. Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez told more than a dozen lawyers she can’t officially consolidate seven lawsuits filed in Clark County District Court, and she has no jurisdiction over two lawsuits filed in Washoe and Lyon counties. But she oversees two cases and said she hoped having all or most take part in one hearing May 24 would avoid duplicating efforts by different judges. Companies are accusing state tax officials of failing to disclose how they chose winners and losers last December from 462 applicants for 61 new cannabis dispensary and production licenses.

Concord
Turkey hunters across the state are preparing for what biologists expect to be a good harvest during the spring season. The regular spring turkey season encompasses the month of May. The 2019 youth turkey hunt will take place April 27-28. Last year during youth turkey hunting weekend, young hunters took 339 turkeys, or 8.1% of the total spring season’s harvest. To participate in the youth weekend, hunters must be age 15 or younger and be accompanied by a properly licensed adult age 18 or older. The adult may not carry a firearm or bow. Youth hunters do not need a hunting license, but they must have a valid turkey permit, which costs $16 for residents and $31 for nonresidents.

Trenton
Environmental groups in the state say Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy needs to do more to make good on promises to help the environment. Nine groups on Monday accused Murphy and the Democrat-led Legislature of not moving quickly enough on such issues as setting up a dedicated fund for New Jersey Transit and issuing a promised energy master plan. They also call for more funds for the Department of Environmental Protection and halting construction on fossil fuel infrastructure. Many of the groups, including Clean Water Action, Environment New Jersey and the Sierra Club, backed Murphy’s election in 2017. His office hasn’t responded. This month Murphy touted his environmental policy in a speech, saying his administration is seeking offshore wind bids and expanding solar projects to lower-income residents.

Las Cruces
City officials say Las Cruces has accepted almost 1,600 asylum-seekers since April 12. They say the U.S. Border Patrol dropped off 105 asylum-seekers Saturday to Las Cruces High School. Officials say 56 immigrants were received Sunday morning, and many from the group were transported to Albuquerque to be sheltered there. Las Cruces is spending $75,000 on humanitarian aid to cope with an influx of international asylum-seekers. The city council authorized spending on food, water, transportation and personal hygiene items. Las Cruces has converted its recreation center into sleeping quarters for immigrants as local shelters for the homeless reach capacity. New Mexico’s Homeland Security Department says asylum-seekers are likely to continue arriving at Las Cruces for several more weeks.

New York
Outbreaks in the state continue to drive up the number of U.S. measles cases, which are approaching levels not seen in 25 years. Health officials say 71 more cases were reported last week, with 68 of them from New York. That brings this year’s total to 626. That is already the most since 2014, when 667 were reported for the whole year. The most before that was 963 cases in 1994. Twenty-two states have reported cases, but the vast majority have been in New York – mainly in New York City and in nearby Rockland County. Most of the New York cases have been unvaccinated people in Orthodox Jewish communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the latest numbers Monday.

Wilmington
When the Wilmington Police Department founded a crime lab more than 10 years ago, it had hoped to use it to convince the state to build a satellite facility there. Instead, the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office could assume control of the lab with a troubled history. The StarNews of Wilmington reports the two agencies are proposing the sheriff’s office oversee the lab, which would remain at police headquarters. The sheriff’s office would provide 60% of funding, with the police department paying the rest. The crime lab’s fate has hung in the balance since January, when a forensic chemist was fired for lying about calibrating machines used to determine whether a substance is an illegal narcotic. Police now send suspected drugs to the state crime lab to be tested.

Mandan
The owners of a local bar say they’re prepared to take legal action to fight the city’s demands that they paint over their Western-themed mural. The Bismarck Tribune reports that the Mandan City Commission ordered the Lonesome Dove last month to remove its mural of a rearing horseman against brown hills at sunset. City officials argue that the business doesn’t have a permit for the outdoor artwork. The bar first received a citation for the mural in October. Co-owner Brian Berube (above) says the owners didn’t apply for a permit because they weren’t aware of the requirement. The bar’s owners are working with a libertarian legal group, the Institute for Justice, to defend the mural. Berube says he hopes to avoid a lawsuit, but he refuses to paint over the art.

Columbus
Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed two-year budget seeks to require tattoo artists and body piercers to register with the state and pay a $250 fee. Cleveland.com reports the proposal also links licensing to training standards the state would develop. Some of those standards currently exist but are enforced by local health departments. Ohio Department of Health spokesman J.C. Benton says the proposed law would update state regulations from 1999 on tattooing and body piercing. Those procedures have become increasingly popular since then. Benton says the department would allow tattoo artists to register with the state online, creating a database that customers could check. He says it’s possible that licensing violations could also be accessed online by the public.

Oklahoma City
Legislation that increases speed limits on turnpikes and some state highways has been signed into law by Gov. Kevin Stitt. The bill signed by Stitt last week increases turnpike speed limits from 75 to 80 mph and from 70 to 75 mph on certain state highways. Rep. Daniel Pae of Lawton authored the bill and says he worked with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He says the new speed limits will be implemented gradually and safely. Pae says lawmakers worked to ensure the safety of Oklahoma drivers while increasing highway speed limits. He says officials will use traffic and engineering studies on issues like traffic density and infrastructure quality to determine where speed limits can safely be increased.

Salem
Three months in, Oregonians have embraced a new law that lets them claim for food deer and elk killed along the state’s highways. More than 200 permits were issued by March 31, and primarily where expected: rural areas with an abundant supply of both wildlife and motorists. The law allows people to take deer and elk killed by vehicles, whether their own or someone else’s. Other animal species are not included. Highways near small and medium-size towns are roadkill hotspots. Residents near La Grande in eastern Oregon and Klamath Falls in southern Oregon applied for the most roadkill permits, state data show. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife administers the roadkill permit system – officially known as road salvage permits.

Harrisburg
The state’s unemployment rate dropped in March to the lowest rate on record, as payrolls hit a new record. The state Department of Labor and Industry said Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped by one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.9%. Pennsylvania’s rate had twice previously hit 4% since 1976, which is as far back as the state says its records go. The national rate was 3.8% in March. Among states, Pennsylvania is tied for 31st. A survey of households found Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force grew by 5,000, as employment rose by 10,000 to a record high above 6.2 million. Unemployment shrank to its lowest level since 2000. A separate survey of employers showed seasonally adjusted non-farm payrolls rose 4,000, to a record high above 6 million.

Providence
The developers of a new offshore wind farm said Monday that they’re investing $4.5 million to advance the industry in the state. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo said it was fitting that the funding from Danish-based Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource was announced during a statehouse event on Earth Day, to cement Rhode Island’s position as a leader in offshore wind. The University of Rhode Island will receive $3 million for offshore wind education and research. The Rhode Island Commerce Corp. and the state’s labor department will use $1.5 million to train people for jobs in the field and support related businesses. Raimondo said she wants to ensure that Rhode Island residents have the skills to get jobs that are being created in the high-growth industry.

Sassafras Mountain
The state’s highest point now has a $1 million observation tower. The state Department of Natural Resources opened an observation tower Monday that has been nearly a decade in the making on top of Sassafras Mountain in Pickens County. The tower is the final part of a project to improve access and the view on the mountain, which officials say was on a bad road with limited parking and poor visibility because of trees. The tower runs along the South Carolina-North Carolina state line. On a clear day, visitors can see up to 50 miles into Georgia. Sassafras Mountain peaks at 3,553 feet above sea level. The $1 million to build the tower came from corporate and private donations, Pickens County and conservation trust funds.

Rapid City
The state wants to purchase part of an abandoned mine site at the Black Hills National Forest where the Environmental Protection Agency has been conducting a cleanup for nearly two decades. The Rapid City Journal reports the state commissioner of school and public lands, Ryan Brunner, recently met with the national forest’s advisory board about the former Gilt Edge Mine near Lead. Brunner says the state already owns most of the land within the cleanup boundaries of the mine site, but there are still some parcels that are part of the national forest or privately owned. He says South Dakota is interested in consolidating its ownership of the land because federal law says the site will be the state’s responsibility after the EPA cleanup is complete. Brunner says the land sale would require congressional legislation.

Knoxville
A land conservation organization has acquired 100,000 acres on the state’s northern border. News outlets report The Nature Conservancy announced Monday that the purchased area covers 156 square miles across areas of northern Tennessee and southern Kentucky and will link the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, Cumberland Gap National Historic Park and Kentucky Ridge State Forest. The Nature Conservancy Tennessee state director Terry Cook says it is the largest acquisition in the state chapter’s history and calls it a “happy coincidence” that the announcement came on Earth Day. He says the organization will be able to protect wildlife habitat, secure clean water for the area and keep it open to the public.

Austin
A review finds that while a record-setting number of Hispanics are seated in the state’s Legislature, the racial breakdown there does not accurately reflect the diversity of the state’s general population. An Austin American-Statesman analysis of the Legislature’s demographics shows that in 1991, Latinos made up 14% of lawmakers and slightly more than a quarter of the state’s population. The newspaper reports that by 2017, Latinos represented about a quarter of the Texas Legislature but nearly 40% of the state’s population. The newest representative, Democrat Ray Lopez of San Antonio, won a special election last month and was sworn in as the 38th Hispanic lawmaker in the Texas House. Experts say reasons for the inadequate representation include gerrymandering and cynicism with the political process.

Salt Lake City
An iconic temple central to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faith will close for four years to complete a major renovation. Officials say they are keeping a careful eye on construction plans after a devastating fire last week at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Church President Russell M. Nelson said Friday that the 126-year-old Salt Lake Temple will close Dec. 29 to update the building, help it withstand earthquakes and create a more welcoming visitor environment. The stately granite temple is open only to church members for marriages and other ceremonies, but the building and surrounding square are among the state’s top tourist destinations. When the temple reopens in 2024, a brief open house will give outsiders their first glimpse of the interior in more than a century.

Montpelier
The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is asking residents to remove any potential food sources from their property that would attract hungry bears this spring. Black bears have emerged from their winter dens and are looking for food. Vermont’s lead bear biologist, Forrest Hammond, says there may be a particularly high number of bear-human conflicts this spring because not many wild foods were available for bears last fall, so the animals went into their dens hungrier than usual. He says that “it is more urgent than ever that Vermonters take steps to avoid attracting them by eliminating potential food sources,” such as pet food, barbecue grills, garbage and compost. He suggests storing garbage containers in a garage, shed or basement and taking them out the morning of a scheduled pickup.

Charlottesville
The University of Virginia is reversing course on a planned increase in in-state tuition for undergraduates. The University’s Board of Visitors said Friday that it would roll back the previously approved 2.9% increase for 2019-20 and hold base tuition for all in-state undergraduate students at the 2018-19 level for another year. Officials say the decision was made possible by the General Assembly’s allocation of additional funds to support higher education in 2019-20. Lawmakers approved a budget item for next year to provide additional funding for public higher education institutions that maintain 2018-19 levels for undergraduate tuition and mandatory education and general fees. By agreeing to hold in-state tuition, UVA will receive an additional $5.52 million from the state.

Olympia
A state lawmaker has angered nurses and spawned a flurry of viral hashtags and memes on social media by saying that some nurses may spend a lot of time playing cards in small, rural hospitals. State Sen. Maureen Walsh, R-College Place, made the comments last week while debating a Senate bill that would require uninterrupted meal and rest breaks for nurses. The bill would also provide mandatory overtime protections for nurses. Walsh (above) wants an amendment that would exclude hospitals with fewer than 25 beds from the breaks, The Olympian reports. Small, rural hospitals “that literally serve a handful of individuals” will have trouble staying open, and nurses in those settings “probably play cards for a considerable amount of the day,” the paper quoted Walsh as saying. A Washington State Nurses Association blog about the “disrespectful” and “patronizing” comments drew so many readers Friday that the site crashed.

Charleston
Scaffolding is going up outside the state Capitol dome as part of a $13.5 million project. The Department of Administration says the self-supported scaffold system will completely enclose the dome, using guide wires allowing it to stand freely and not anchor into the facade. Work began on the project in January 2018 to repair water leaks in areas where the blue-and-gold dome meets the limestone in the nearly 87-year-old Capitol building. The project includes replacing drain pipes, installing a secondary lining system and updating the gutter system. The project is currently expected to be completed in early 2021. The result will include new interior finishes, new 5-karat gold-leaf gilding to repair damaged areas of the dome’s exterior, reconfigured portal windows and more.

Madison
City police want to reduce fights and criminal activity at campus-area bars by limiting the number of establishments that allow customers in after 1:30 a.m. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that city police last year restricted seven bars near the University of Wisconsin from letting people in after 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Madison officials are considering requiring nine other establishments to follow the same rule, starting July 1. Police Capt. Jason Freedman says the policy was implemented following an increase in police calls to downtown in recent years. Freedman says the area near campus has started seeing more non-college residents, some of whom are gang-affiliated or armed. Alderman Mike Verveer says the condition has been met with a grudging acceptance from the bars where it was imposed last year.

Jackson
Bear No. 399 became one of the most well-known grizzly bears in Grand Teton National Park after raising three cubs near Jackson Lake Lodge about a decade ago. The Jackson Hole News and Guide reports that the now 23-year-old sow bruin was spotted Wednesday for the first time this year. The bear descended with her youngsters from her Teton Wilderness den site. Word of her whereabouts spread quickly, and by midafternoon videos and photos flooded social media celebrating the return of a grizzly bear that has been reliably visible in the park for 12 straight years. Bear No. 399’s emergence coincided with what park spokeswoman Denise Germann describes as the onset of the ordinary busy season for grizzly viewing in Teton Park.