Alaska volcano, ‘Field of Dreams,’ seal pup visits beach: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Fultondale: Marcel Walker was sworn in Tuesday as police chief of the Fultondale Police Department after serving as interim chief since early March. He replaced D.P. Smith, who retired in November after 35 years in law enforcement, six as chief. Walker began his law enforcement career in 1997 as a patrol officer with the Birmingham Police Department. He also worked as a narcotics and homicide investigator in the department’s North Precinct. In 2011, he was promoted to sergeant and supervised at the city’s South Precinct.

Alaska

Anchorage: Hundreds of small earthquakes have been reported near a volcano in southeast Alaska believed to have been dormant for at least 800 years. The cause of the quakes under Mount Edgecumbe, a volcano near Sitka that resembles Mount Fuji in Japan, are not known. However, they might not be an indication of volcanic activity, said Dave Schneider, a research geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey at the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage. Mount Edgecumbe is a 3,200-foot stratovolcano located on Kruzof Island, about 15 miles west of Sitka. The volcano is part of a larger underwater volcanic field of lava domes and craters. The quakes are somewhat unusual because temblors in the area are usually tectonic, not volcanic, he said, adding there is no need for a huge amount of concern at this time. The last Mount Edgecumbe eruption preserved in the geologic record was about 4,500 years ago.

Arizona

Phoenix: Embry Health said it was forced to close 60 coronavirus tests sites in Arizona because of a lack of funding. The Health Resources and Services Administration provided funding for uninsured people to get free tests. On March 22, the HRSA ran out of money. Embry continued to fund testing for the uninsured until April 5. As 60 testing Embry sites in Arizona have closed, 37 other test sites in other states also have been closed because of the lack of funding. Embry started circulating a petition to keep providing free tests to people. It had more than 31,000 signatures as of Wednesday night. There are 79 Embry test sites still operating across Arizona.

Arkansas

Fayetteville: Attorneys for an Arkansas jail and doctor being sued by inmates who said they were unknowingly given ivermectin to treat COVID-19 said the lawsuit should be dismissed because the men are no longer being held in the county facility. In a motion filed Tuesday, attorneys for the Washington County jail and Dr. Robert Karas noted the four inmates who filed the lawsuit are now being held in state prisons. Sheriff Tim Helder in August revealed that Karas had prescribed ivermectin to treat some inmates with COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. The FDA has not approved its use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans. The inmates said they were never told ivermectin was among the medications they had been given to treat COVID-19, and instead were told they were being given vitamins, antibiotics or steroids.

California

Santee: A stolen pickup truck with police SWAT gear and weapons inside was recovered and a suspect was arrested after a pursuit near San Diego, authorities said. The silver Ford F-150 was reported stolen – or possibly carjacked – about 9 p.m. Wednesday near a 7-Eleven store in Santee, said San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Scott Roller. Among the items believed to be inside a lockbox in the truck were a bulletproof vest and “possible firearms,” Roller told the San Diego Union-Tribune. The property was believed to be the property of the El Cajon Police Department or an officer from that agency, he said. The truck was spotted in eastern San Diego County about three hours later and the driver led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit before crashing into a fire hydrant, the Union-Tribune reported. The driver was arrested after a short foot chase.

Colorado

Las Animas: Two wind-whipped grassland fires in rural southeastern Colorado destroyed two homes, briefly closed a state highway and forced temporary evacuations in the unincorporated community of Fort Lyon, fire officials said. The fires erupted Tuesday west and east of the town of Las Animas and had blackened nearly 8 square miles by Wednesday, according to the Bent County Office of Emergency Management. Crews had contained 25% of a fire that threatened Bent’s Old Fort National Historical Site in Otero County. The blaze fed on brush surrounding structures on the property – site of a 17th-century trading post along the Santa Fe trail – until La Junta firefighters beat it back, KKTV reported. A second fire east of Las Animas briefly forced evacuations near Fort Lyon. Crews from across the state were working the blazes. The cause of the fires is unknown.

Connecticut

Hartford: Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said. Tong, 48, is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in isolation for five days, according to a news release from his office Wednesday. The announcement of Tong’s positive test came the same day that Gov. Ned Lamont left quarantine after testing positive for the virus last week. The Democratic attorney general is fully vaccinated and boosted, his office said.

Delaware

Dewey Beach: A grey seal pup has found its way to the sand in Dewey Beach on Thursday morning. Dewey Beach police have been watching the seal as respondents from the Marine Education, Research & Rehabilitation Institute in Lewes work to monitor the pup and educate the public. Although MERR is waiting on more information to determine the health and status of the seal, Executive Director Suzanne Thurman said it’s common for pups to rest on Delaware beaches, especially after being weaned from their mothers. She said it’s possible that this pup could be a member of the seasonal seal colony off the coast of Lewes – a local colony that has been growing over the last decade – but it’s also common for pups to find respite in Delaware as they head south from northern destinations in New England. Seal pups often spend more time outside the water while they’re molting, a process similar to a snake shedding its skin or birds losing feather where the seal’s “baby fur” falls away as they mature.

District of Columbia

Washington: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said a bus full of undocumented migrants arrived in D.C. on Wednesday, WUSA-TV reported. Abbott first announced April 6 the state would send people who are undocumented and crossing the U.S. border from Mexico to the steps of the US Capitol. Abbott’s announcement came as he voiced opposition to President Joe Biden lifting Title 42, the public health policy the Trump administration started during the COVID-19 pandemic. It allows the government to quickly expel migrants and asylum seekers who come to the U.S. from countries where an infectious disease -- such as COVID-19 -- is present. Abbott said the bus that arrived in D.C. on Wednesday was filled with migrants from Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. More migrants were seen arriving at Union Station on Thursday morning. The governor did not specify how many migrants total are being bused to D.C.. It was not specified what, if any, resources the migrants would be provided.

Florida

Orlando: Emergency preparedness officials warned Floridians not to get complacent during the upcoming hurricane season, particularly in coastal areas that haven’t experienced strong storms recently. Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Ken Graham, director of the National Hurricane Center, said they worried that many Floridians living in coastal communities have become complacent about making hurricane preparations because theey haven’t lived through major storms in recent years. Some of these coastal communities act like a cat “with nine lives” in that hurricanes seem to be heading their way but then change course at the last minute, lulling residents into believing their neighborhoods will never be hit, Criswell said at the National Hurricane Conference in Orlando. Forecasters at Colorado State University are predicting the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season will have 19 named storms and nine hurricanes, slightly higher than the yearly average for the past three decades. The season starts in June and ends in November.

Georgia

Atlanta: Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said his fundraising has set a record as Georgia’s Senate campaign shapes up to be one of this year’s most expensive races. Warnock reported Thursday he raised $13.6 million in the first three months of 2022, outpacing what was a hefty $9.8 million raised in the last three months of 2021. The senator’s campaign said it was the most money raised by a U.S. Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year, giving Warnock $25.6 million in cash on-hand. Warnock is a heavy favorite to defeat Tamara Johnson-Shealey in the Democratic primary. Republican Herschel Walker is the front-runner among six GOP candidates in the May 24 primary. Libertarian Chase Oliver will also be on the general election ballot in November.

Hawaii

Honolulu: Mayor Rick Blangiardi, 75, tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, his office said. “He is currently isolating and resting at home and is in good spirits despite experiencing mild symptoms related to the infection,” his office said in a release. Blangiardi is fully vaccinated and boosted, his office said. He was scheduled to get his second booster shot later this week, said spokesperson Ian Scheuring. This is Blangiardi’s first time contracting COVID-19, Scheuring said. The office is notifying those who had close contact with the mayor in recent days. The mayor is working remotely as needed and is expected to remain out of the office until sometime next week, his office said.

Idaho

Boise: The Idaho Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by the Roman Catholic Church in Idaho to intervene in a lawsuit over a new Idaho law banning nearly all abortions. The court did not explain why the church was excluded after the Diocese of Boise on Monday asked to be allowed to join the lawsuit in support of the ban. Idaho last month became the first state to enact legislation modeled after a Texas statute banning abortions after about six weeks. The Idaho law would allow the potential fathers, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles the aborted baby to sue abortion providers for at least $20,000 in damages within four years after the abortions. Rapists can’t file a lawsuit under the law, but rapists’ relatives have permission to do so. The Diocese of Boise on Wednesday didn’t immediately respond to a phone message seeking comment about the high court’s decision.

Illinois

Peoria: The Murray Baker Bridge will be lit in white, sparkling lights overnight on Friday for Good Friday and on Sunday for Easter. The bridge will be lit in “white sparkle dynamic” — a slow, random blinking, creating a sparkling effect, said city spokesperson Stacy Peterson. “Community members have really enjoyed the variety of color schemes that we’ve used in the past, but this weekend people will enjoy the slow sparkle of white lights across this landmark cantilever bridge,” she said. It will be the second annual special bridge lighting for both days. New multi-hued LED lights were added to the bridge when its deck was reconstructed in 2020.

Indiana

Peru: Homeowners in a lake-filled housing development in northern Indiana will no longer be on the hook for major repairs to six aging dams under a new state law. An amended law that takes effect July 1 removes the state Department of Natural Resources’ jurisdiction over the dams at the Hidden Hills housing addition near the city of Peru, the Kokomo Tribune reported. Larry West, who owns property on one of the dams, said the cost to make repairs under DNR regulations would have been up to $4 million. But now, the dams’ maintenance costs will be about $100,000. Dams previously fell under DNR jurisdiction if they met one of three criteria. But the amended statute now requires dams to meet two of those criteria to fall under DNR’s jurisdiction.

Iowa

Dyersville: The new owners of the “Field of Dreams” movie site plan to use $80 million in private investment to make the popular tourist attraction a destination for youth baseball and softball tournaments. The Des Moines Register reported that Go the Distance said in a news release the money will be used to build baseball and softball fields, team dormitories and a hotel, among other improvements. Go the Distance’s CEO is longtime Chicago White Sox star and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas. The site in rural Dyersville, Iowa, has long been a popular destination since the 1989 Kevin Costner movie. Thomas’ group purchased controlling interest in the site last year for an undisclosed amount. The company said it expects the overhaul to be completed in phases by the end of 2023.

Kansas

Topeka: A judge dismissed a legal challenge by voting rights advocates to two provisions of a state election law enacted last year. Four voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of Kansas, argued in a lawsuit filed in June that the law will make it more difficult for several groups, including the disabled, senior citizens and minorities, to vote. Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson dismissed the groups’ challenges to a provision that restricts people from delivering ballots for other voters, and another provision that requires election officials to match the signature on an advanced ballot to the one on record. In her ruling, Watson said any restrictions on voting access were outweighed by the state’s interest in preventing voter fraud, The Topeka Capitol-Journal reported. The voting rights groups are currently appealing an earlier decision by Watson that allowed the state to enforce the law.

Kentucky

Louisville: Abortion-rights groups went to court Thursday seeking to restore abortion services in Kentucky, a day after the two remaining abortion clinics signaled they couldn’t immediately comply with new restrictions imposed by the Legislature. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Louisville asked a judge to intervene to block the law from taking effect while the case is litigated. The GOP-dominated Legislature overturned Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the sweeping abortion measure Wednesday. As lawmakers voted, abortion-rights activists standing vigil near the chambers chanted “bans off our bodies,” which echoed through the statehouse. The new law includes 72 pages of revisions to Kentucky’s abortion laws, with many new requirements that clinics must meet. Kentucky’s Republican attorney general, Daniel Cameron, said he is ready to defend the new law.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The state Legislature could end public health emergency declarations by future governors under legislation approved Wednesday by a House committee in Baton Rouge. A 6-5 vote by the House and Governmental Affairs Committee sent the bill by Republican state Rep. Lawrence Frieman of Abita Springs to the full House. The bill comes after two years of periodic conflicts between some lawmakers and Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards over now-expired emergencies declared during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frieman’s bill, as amended by the committee, would enable the Legislature to end an emergency declaration – or remove some provisions of one – by a petition signed by a majority of the House and of the Senate. It tweaks state law allowing either chamber by itself to end an emergency declaration, which was challenged and blocked in state court. The bill applies to declared states of disaster or emergency. In the case of public health emergencies, it requires lawmakers to consult with a public health specialist before petitioning to end or alter the emergency declaration.

Maine

Portland: The federal government has approved a proposal to increase at-sea monitoring of some commercial fishing trips to 100%. At-sea monitors are workers who collect data on board commercial fishing boats to help inform regulations and management of species. The government approved the new, higher percentage of trip cover Tuesday, said Michael Pentony, a regional administrator with the National Marine Fisheries Service. The rules apply to valuable species that are harvested in the Northeast such as cod, haddock and flounder. Pentony said the new rules will replace the process of calculating a target for the level of monitoring coverage every year. The coverage target will instead be 100% for four years as long as federal funding can support agency and industry costs, he wrote in a letter to fishery managers. At-sea monitoring is a controversial subject in commercial fisheries because many fishermen see it as an added cost that complicates fishing trips. The practice is depicted in the 2021 movie “Coda.”

Maryland

Pomfret: State officials confirmed that a man found dead in his home earlier this year with more than 100 snakes died of a snake bite. A medical examiner’s office told local news outlets Wednesday the victim died of “snake envenomation” and the death was accidental. The 49-year-old man was found dead at his home in Charles County in January. Authorities said at the time that 124 snakes were inside, including venomous rattlesnakes, cobras and black mambas, according to WTOP, which reported it took hours to get them all out of the house.

Massachusetts

Boston: Tuition across all University of Massachusetts campuses will increase this fall for the first time in three years, ending a pandemic-era freeze as the higher education system’s leaders grapple with dark financial clouds on the horizon. UMass overseers voted 12-2 on Wednesday to approve a package of tuition and fee hikes first proposed at a committee meeting last week. Two student trustees, Derek Houle of UMass Lowell and Narcisse Kunda of UMass Dartmouth, cast the only dissenting votes. Tens of thousands of in-state undergraduate UMass students face a 2.5% jump in tuition for the 2022-2023 academic year, representing between $346 and $395 more a year, as well as increases in room-and-board costs ranging from 1.9% to 3.9%. Out-of-state undergraduates face roughly similar tuition increases next year, as do all graduate students at the Amherst, Boston and Lowell campuses

Michigan

Howell: Drivers on a portion of East Grand River Avenue can expect detours and possibly delays throughout the summer as work takes place to replace water mains, officials said in a news release. On Monday, construction company Hubbell, Roth & Clark will begin replacing water mains and leads along East Grand River, from Barnard Street to Lucy Road. According to the release, traffic will continue during construction, but temporary lane closures and detours will occur. Mail service and trash collection will continue throughout the construction process. The project is expected to be completed by fall.

Minnesota

Taopi: Residents of a small farming community in southeastern Minnesota are working to recover from a tornado that destroyed half of the town’s homes, toppled tall trees and left piles of debris in its wake. An EF2 tornado with peak wind speeds of 130 mph struck Taopi near the Iowa border late Tuesday, tearing the roofs off houses, overturning vehicles and bringing down power lines. There were no reports of serious injuries. Volunteers from the area arrived Wednesday to help residents clean up the debris in the community of about 80 people. Family members sifted through rubble looking for keepsakes.

Mississippi

Jackson: Gov. Tate Reeves is defending his decision to again name April as Confederate Heritage Month, nearly two years after he signed a law retiring the last state flag in the U.S. that featured a Confederate battle emblem. The Republican governor signed a proclamation without fanfare Friday. It does not mention slavery – the defense of which was Mississippi’s stated reason for trying to secede from the U.S. In response to a question at a news conference Wednesday, Reeves said he issued a Confederate Heritage Month proclamation “in the same manner and fashion that the five governors that came before me, Republicans and Democrats alike, for over 30 years have done.” Four governors before Reeves – not five – issued Confederate Heritage Month proclamations. By state law, Mississippi also has a Confederate Heritage Day in April, which is a holiday for state employees.

Missouri

Columbia: The GOP-led state House voted to allow local elections over whether to ban transgender girls from competing on K-12 girls’ sports teams. House members voted 89-40 in favor of adding Republican Rep. Chuck Bayse’s proposal as an amendment to an elections bill in a late-session attempt to pass the legislation before lawmakers’ mid-May deadline. Under the amendment, Bayse said public school boards and administrators could call elections over whether to allow transgender girls to compete on all-girls sports teams. Bayse said the goal of the measure is “to protect women’s sports.” He said transgender girls have an unfair advantage against other girls and parents should have a chance to weigh in on the policy. Missouri’s current public high school sports rules prohibit transgender girls from competing on girls teams unless they’re undergoing hormone therapy.

Montana

Great Falls: Malmstrom Air Force Base announced an “all clear” and is resuming normal activity on base after earlier reports of a “suspicious package.” According to the update, the package was determined to be a “nonthreat.” The package was reportedly found at Building 400, which was evacuated along with Buildings 45202, 1710, 1712, 1205, 44200, 1531 and 407, according to a post from the base.

Nebraska

Lincoln: State and federal agriculture officials have confirmed an outbreak of bird flu in a flock of 1.7 million laying hens in northeast Nebraska. The Nebraska and U.S. departments of agriculture said the outbreak in Dixon County is the largest of the highly contagious virus in the state, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. State Veterinarian Roger Dudley said the farm has been quarantined and the birds will be euthanized. Post Holdings said in a news release the farm is owned by its Michael Foods subsidiary, which has several egg farms in the area. The company said the 1.7 million birds represent about 4% of its total egg-laying supply. During a bird flu outbreak in 2015, nearly 5 million birds had to be destroyed in Dixon County.

Nevada

Las Vegas: The metro Las Vegas school district will provide electronic panic-button devices to teachers as it moves to boost security in the wake of incidents that include a violent after-school attack that left a teacher injured and unconscious in her classroom. In addition to providing teachers with panic devices equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, the Clark County School District will upgrade security cameras and ask police agencies to increase their presence at schools, officials said Tuesday. The panic devices will be issued first at El Dorado High School, the site of last week’s attack. A 16-year-old student faces sex assault and attempted murder charges in the incident.

New Hampshire

Concord: Police are searching for a driver who led them on a pursuit on Interstate 93 in Concord before fleeing from a crash, and they found some suspected fentanyl left behind, authorities said Thursday. A trooper attempted to stop the northbound car in Bow at about 12:20 a.m., which reached a speed of 115 mph, police said in a news release. The driver lost control of the car while attempting to avoid stop sticks and one tire deflated, police said. The car went off the road into a median, and the driver fled. Police said they found 100 grams of suspected fentanyl at the scene. They said they have a person of interest in connection to what happened, but did not identify the person.

New Jersey

West Long Branch: A new Monmouth University poll showed nearly two-thirds of residents oppose bringing back mask mandates and social distancing requirements as New Jersey sees an uptick in COVID-19 cases because of a new variant. It's a reversal from last fall, when 6-in-10 voters backed masking requirements. In this poll, released Thursday, just 1-in-3 supported masking and 64% opposed it. Support for bringing back COVID restrictions has declined among every partisan group, the poll showed, but the largest drop was among Democrats — from 89% who supported the measures in September to 50% who back them now. The poll also said concern about COVID illness is at a record low. The poll came amid a rise in cases from the BA.2 variant, a highly infectious strain of the coronavirus. Cases are expected to rise with the upcoming spring holidays, too, Gov. Phil Murphy said.

New Mexico

Ruidoso: The remains of a New Mexico couple were found near their burned home as a wind-driven wildfire charred more than 200 residences on the edge of a mountain community in the southern part of the state. Fire crews on Thursday pointed to a break in what has been a steady stream of relentless gusts as their chance to make headway against the wildfire, which is believed to have killed the two people, Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden said. Police investigators and firefighters found the older couple’s remains Wednesday afternoon after family members notified Ruidoso police that the two had tried to evacuate but were unaccounted for. The remains were found near the home but not in it, and no additional information was immediately available, Gladden said. Authorities were working to confirm the identities of the two people. Authorities have told as many as 4,500 people to evacuate. Overnight, crews kept the flames from pushing further into the village, said Laura Rabon, a spokesperson for Lincoln National Forest. Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning northwest of Ruidoso, along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.

New York

Buffalo: A decommissioned World War II-era destroyer docked near downtown Buffalo was taking on water and listing perilously on Thursday. Crews were working to keep the USS The Sullivans from sinking at its berth at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park, where it had been open for tours. Park President Paul Marzello said they believe there was a breach on the right side of the hull Wednesday night. He said crews trying to stabilize the 79-year-old vessel are pumping out up to 13,000 gallons a minute. “I think we’ve seen the worst, but I don’t know,” he said. The USS The Sullivans, a National Historic Landmark, was named in honor of the five Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa. The brothers were killed in action when the USS Juneau was sunk by the Japanese in the South Pacific during World War II. More than $1 million was raised last year to repair the ship’s breached hull. Crews paused work over the winter and were to resume repairs Monday, Marzello said.

North Carolina

Asheville: City officials have settled a federal discrimination lawsuit with a former female firefighter who said she endured a hostile work environment in which the fire chief and others inflicted emotional distress. John Hunter, the attorney representing former Asheville firefighter Joy Ponder, confirmed his client will get $155,000 in compensatory damages. She also voluntarily dismissed her claim in U.S. District Court, Hunter said. A trial had been scheduled for May 9. Ponder, who resigned from her post as Asheville Fire Department division chief in September 2020, said she faced years of harassment and gender discrimination from Fire Chief Scott Burnette after she led outside research on the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among city firefighters.

North Dakota

Devils Lake: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed multiple cases of the bird flue in North Dakota in wild birds, backyard poultry and commercial poultry flocks. There have been 31 confirmed cases in wild birds located in Burleigh, Stutsman, LaMoure, Renville and Foster counties. Avian influenza surveillance and testing in wild birds is being done by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the North Dakota Department of Game and Fish. People are asked to report wild sick and dead birds at gf.nd.gov/wildlife/diseases/mortality-report. Wild bird avian influenza questions can be directed at (701) 204-2161.

Ohio

Columbus: Gov. Mike DeWine might skip a rally with former President Donald Trump on April 23 to honor another ex-president: Ulysses S. Grant. DeWine said Thursday he made a commitment to attend the kickoff of Grant's 200th birthday, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 23 in New Richmond. Trump's event begins at 7 p.m. that day at the Delaware County Fairgrounds – about a 2¹/₂-hour drive away. "So we'll have to kind of see if that works out," DeWine said. The campaign did not immediately respond to a question about whether Lt. Gov. Jon Husted would attend.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: More than 200 of the 422 convicts who got early release on Nov. 4, 2019, have been arrested again, according to a list kept by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Gov. Kevin Stitt is now under fire over the mass commutation he described at the time as giving nonviolent, low-level offenders a second chance. This election year, dark money groups are spending millions of dollars on attack ads that accuse the Republican of being soft on crime. The accusations against the 208 who have been re-arrested ranged from trespassing to murder. Dozens were taken into custody multiple times, bringing the total of arrests to more than 460. One was arrested 15 times. Several were armed. Overall, Stitt signed commutations for more than 520 inmates in November 2019 after their drug and property convictions were no longer considered felonies in state law. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended the commutations.

Oregon

Salem: Climatologists said rare April snow along with rain sweeping across the Pacific Northwest this week could increase water supplies, slow snow melt and lengthen the irrigation season. Impacts, however, will vary by region, and experts predicted drought will persist, the Capital Press reported. Larry O’Neill, state climatologist and professor at Oregon State University, said the statewide average snow-water equivalent April 11 was at 69% of normal compared to 57% of normal last week. But farmers across Oregon face strikingly different outlooks. “If you’re reliant on irrigation or surface water in the southeastern two-thirds of Oregon, you should have a contingency plan in place and be prepared for water shortages,” said Scott Oviatt, snow survey supervisor for Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Students at Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities won’t see tuition increase next year under a unanimous vote Thursday by the the system’s board. The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors passed what will be the fourth year of flat tuition, as the struggling system hopes the Legislature will approve hundreds of millions in additional funding in the 2022-23 state budget. The board six months ago sought $550 million in state funding for next year, an increase of about 15%, along with $201 million in student aid and about $75 million in federal funds to help pay for system changes. The board could still increase tuition ahead of the coming school year if the state budget subsidy is not sufficient. Tuition is about $7,700 for in-state undergraduates. The typical graduate leaves with $39,000 in student debt.

Rhode Island

Bristol: Roger Williams University has changed the name of its School of Architecture after hundreds of students and alumni objected to adding “real estate” to its name, saying it would damage the department’s reputation. Last week, the university announced having received a gift of $20 million, the largest in its history, from the Cummings Foundation, whose founders are major real estate entrepreneurs in Massachusetts. In recognition, RWU also announced it was changing the school’s name from the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation to the Cummings School of Architecture and Real Estate. The new name for the school will be Cummings School of Architecture, and housed within the school will be the Cummings Institute for Real Estate, honoring Bill and Joyce Cummings and the Cummings Foundation.

South Carolina

Columbia: A judge ruled a lawsuit brought by four death row inmates challenging South Carolina’s execution methods can move forward as the state attempts to carry out its first execution in more than a decade. Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman agreed to a request by the prisoners’ attorneys to closely examine officials’ claims that they can’t secure lethal injection drugs, leaving the electric chair and the firing squad as the only options for capital punishment. Attorneys for the inmates, who have largely exhausted their appeals, argued that dying by gunshot or electrocution would be a brutal process which violates a state ban on cruel, corporal and unusual punishments, and that prison officials have shown little proof they can’t get the drugs needed to carry out lethal injections instead. The decision came a week after the state Supreme Court scheduled the April 29 execution of Richard Bernard Moore, 57, who has spent more than two decades on death row after being convicted of the 1999 killing of convenience store clerk James Mahoney in Spartanburg.

South Dakota

Pierre: The leader of the state Senate on Wednesday named Pennington County prosecutor Mark Vargo as the lead prosecutor for the impeachment trial of state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and scheduled it for June 21-22. The announcement from Republican Sen. Lee Schoenbeck came a day after House lawmakers voted to impeach Ravnsborg for a car crash that killed a pedestrian. Ravnsborg, a Republican, is the first official to be impeached in South Dakota history and must take a leave until the Senate decides whether to remove him from office.

Tennessee

Nashville: State lawmakers are close to sending Republican Gov. Bill Lee a proposal that would threaten felony penalties against homeless people who camp on local public property – including in parks – and misdemeanors for camping around highways. The Senate voted 20-10 on Wednesday to advance the bill, with four Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. The House passed a version of the legislation last year. Both Republican-dominated chambers need to hash out differences in what they approved.

Texas

Austin: Gov. Greg Abbott has agreed to ease state inspection requirements for commercial vehicles at one Texas-Mexico border crossing, partially backtracking on his directive after nearly a week of intense backlash and substantial delays at the border. Abbott said Wednesday state troopers will no longer inspect every commercial vehicle entering the country through the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge after coming to an agreement with Nuevo León Gov. Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda. The states share about 9 miles of border and one port of entry, which processed about 40,000 commercial vehicles during the first two months of the year. In exchange, García said Nuevo León would agree to enhance security enforcement measures at the border. But this agreement still leaves every other Texas-Mexico bridge subject to the inspection mandate, offering little relief to businesses and consumers on both sides of the border. So far, the additional inspections have been limited to bridges in El Paso and Laredo. Abbott said he wants to work with governors of the three other Mexican states bordering Texas – Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Chihuahua – to come to similar agreements, noting that those conversations are slated to start Thursday.

Utah

St. George: Irrigation ditches created by homesteaders in the late 1800s are being dug up by nonprofit service provider American Conservation Experience Mountain West in the campgrounds of Zion National Park. Of the six historic ditches, four are National Historic Places, and most are underground, covered with years of dirt and debris. For the homesteaders, pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the ditches were a vital artery helping them survive in the arid desert and were something they learned from the Southern Paiute Tribe, who had ditches in the area, Rebecca Finnigan, environmental compliance archivist for the park with the Great Basin Institute, said. Unearthed ditches can be seen in the Watchman and South campgrounds, which are consistently full of visitors throughout the busy season. Last year, Zion saw a record 5 million visitors.

Vermont

Burlington: Green Mountain Power’s Sun Match Pilot Program will offer up to 500 eligible customers the opportunity to sign up for a new solar rate that should save an average of about $150 on their electricity bills over the course of a year. To qualify, customers must meet the eligibility requirements for seasonal fuel assistance and have a gross household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. The 2022 federal poverty level for a family of four is $27,750, according to HealthCare.gov. The pilot program encourages customers to use energy at times when solar is plentiful – basically daytime hours – to receive power at a discounted rate that will show up as a bill credit. Customers can opt out any time. The program is free to join. Customers can sign up here.

Virginia

Wallops Island: Navy divers recovered an aircraft that crashed last month in the water off the Eastern Shore near the Virginia-Maryland line, killing one sailor. The E-2D Hawkeye was conducting routine flight operations in the vicinity of Wallops Island when it went down about 7:30 p.m. on March 30, a Navy spokesperson said. One of the three sailors on the plane died in the crash, and the other two were rescued by Maryland State Police, who found them injured and on top of the partly submerged wreck. The plane, an advanced tactical airborne early warning aircraft, is based out of Naval Station Norfolk and assigned to an East Coast Airborne Command and Control Squadron. The crash remains under investigation.

Washington

Seattle: Officials with Washington State Ferries said the system is short on staff and in need of dozens of new recruits. A March report from the ferry system said staff shortages are unprecedented in the system’s 70-year history, KING-TV reported. Delays and cancellations have been typical during the pandemic. Washington State Ferry spokesman Ian Sterling said a staffing shortage had been expected even before the pandemic began. The Washington State Ferry system is competing with for-profit companies, particularly for engine room crews, but the system has hired “well over a hundred people in the last six months,” he said.

West Virginia

Huntington: Marshall University ceramics students are conducting an annual fundraiser next week to help feed needy families. The 19th annual Empty Bowls event will take place April 22 at Pullman Square in Huntington, the university said in a news release. Marshall students and volunteers are making ceramic bowls to be purchased at the 6-hour event. The bowls are $20 each. Bowls also will be sold online after the event by the Pottery Place. The fundraiser will benefit the Facing Hunger Foodbank. Each bowl sold will provide 180 meals for those in need. The Facing Hunger Foodbank serves 17 counties in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio. The fundraiser is part of a community impact course in Marshall’s School of Art and Design.

Wisconsin

Milwaukee: The Wisconsin Department of Transportation docked the Merrimac ferry on Thursday because of high winds. The ferry, which connects Highway 113 between Okee in Columbia County and Merrimac in Sauk County, closed at about 9 a.m. as winds began picking up across southern Wisconsin. The ferry began running 24/7 at the end of March after it was idled for the winter. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory until 7 p.m. Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee recorded a wind gust of 55 mph.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: State Rep. Sue Wilson, R-Cheyenne, who has represented District 7 since 2012, has announced her plan to retire, Wyoming.com reported. Since she was elected, Wilson has served as chair of the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee for the past three years, in addition to four previous years as a committee member. Wilson also served on the Revenue and Appropriations committees.