Disney surprise, foreign feral hogs, porous pavement: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Florence: A high school has decided to remove some of the doors from its bathroom stalls in an effort to stop students vaping in campus bathrooms. Wilson High School Principal Gary Horton told WAFF-TV the removal of some of the stall doors in the boys’ restroom comes two weeks after a student vaping in the bathroom passed out. He says students sneak off to vape every day in the bathroom. Parent Rachel Munsey says she doesn’t agree with the tactic, saying the school took away the “only private place … they can do their business.” Parent Brandon Campbell says the school should instead use hallway monitors. Horton says the door removals could be temporary while the school figures out another solution.

Alaska

Nome: Alaska Native women say the Nome Police Department has a history of failing to conduct full investigations on rape complaints. Nome police data show that from 2008 through 2017, just 8% of calls about sexual assaults against adults resulted in an arrest. Nome’s prosecutor says limited resources make it hard for police to respond to calls of all kinds. Survivors and advocates contend that Nome police pay less attention and investigate less when sexual assaults are reported by Alaska Natives. More than half of Nome’s population is Alaska Native, but all of its police department’s sworn officers are non-Native. This year the City Council approved the hiring of the police department’s first victims advocate and passed an ordinance to create a civilian oversight committee to monitor police conduct.

Arizona

Tucson: The cost of a gem and mineral museum under construction – set to be among the largest in the world – has grown by $3.25 million, and officials say they would, in a worst-case scenario, sell part of their collection to cover expenses. The University of Arizona’s Gem and Mineral Museum will be housed in part of the historic Pima County Courthouse. The university asked the Arizona Board of Regents to approve spending for the increased costs, which officials attributed to rising labor and material expenses. The regents voted to accept the changes Aug. 22. With the increase, the cost of the project has grown to $12.9 million, and so far the museum has raised $4 million, says Robert Downs, curator of the Gem and Mineral Museum, who anticipates the museum will receive enough in donations to cover the full cost and avoid the last resort of selling gems and minerals.

Arkansas

Camden: Lockheed Martin has broken ground on the first part of a $142 million expansion at its southern Arkansas facility that is expected to create more than 300 new jobs. Company executives and state officials broke ground Tuesday on the new Long Range Fires Production Facility at the site in Camden. Lockheed Martin and Gov. Asa Hutchinson in June announced the expansion of its facility, which will add 326 new jobs by 2024. Approximately 650 employees currently work at the Lockheed facility. Construction for the 70,000-square-foot Long Range Fires facility is slated to be completed in the beginning of 2021.

California

Sacramento: Athletes at colleges in the state could hire agents and sign endorsement deals under a bill the Legislature sent to the governor Wednesday, setting up a potential confrontation with the NCAA that could jeopardize the athletic futures of powerhouse programs like USC, UCLA and Stanford. Gov. Gavin Newsom has not said whether he will sign it. But the NCAA Board of Governors is already urging him not to, sending him a letter Wednesday saying the bill “would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics” and have drastic consequences for California’s colleges and universities. The bill would allow student-athletes to hire agents and be paid for the use of their names, images or likenesses. It would stop California universities and the NCAA from banning athletes that take the money.

Colorado

Trinidad: Gov. Jared Polis says Fisher’s Peak and the former ranch land surrounding it will become Colorado’s newest state park. Polis’ office said in a statement that the Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land plan to transfer the 30-square-mile property near Trinidad to public ownership, with the goal of opening access by 2021. Polis signed an executive order during a ceremony Thursday. Trinidad Mayor Phil Rico tells the Gazette that access to the 9,633-foot Fisher’s Peak has long been a dream among residents. The Trust for Public Land and the Nature Conservancy last year pledged the $25 million needed to buy the former Crazy French Ranch after the state put down an initial $14.5 million. It will be Colorado’s 42nd state park.

Connecticut

Hartford: State health officials are urging residents to minimize outdoor activities in the evening to avoid mosquitoes carrying eastern equine encephalitis. The Department of Public Health issued the guidance Wednesday. The virus has been identified in mosquitoes in 12 eastern Connecticut towns and in horses in two other towns. In one town, Groton, school outdoor activities have been restricted because of concern about the virus. Mosquitoes are most active from dusk to dawn. State health officials say the mosquitoes that carry the virus are active until the first heavy frost.

Delaware

Dover: The deadline is nigh for anyone hankering to be the state’s chief justice. Applications from candidates seeking to replace retiring Chief Justice Leo Strine Jr. are due by noon Friday. Delaware’s Judicial Nominating Commission will then interview the applicants, who will be considered simultaneously for a potential derivative vacancy on the Supreme Court if one of the sitting justices is nominated to be chief justice. Strine announced his planned resignation in July, less than halfway through his 12-year term. He plans to step down Oct. 30. The state Senate must confirm judicial appointees and has scheduled a special session for Nov. 7. Before becoming chief justice, Strine served as legal counsel to then-Gov. Tom Carper and spent more than 15 years as a judge on Delaware’s Chancery Court.

District of Columbia

Washington: The nation’s capital has hit or surpassed the 90-degree temperature mark a total of 54 days so far this year through Wednesday, WUSA-TV reports. On average, D.C. sees 36 days of 90-plus temperatures for the entire year. Last year, the city recorded 42. The record is 67 days above 90, hit in both 2010 and 1980. This past July was the ninth warmest on record in the district, tied with 1955. All the temperatures were taken by the National Weather Service at Reagan National Airport.

Florida

Jacksonville: A 7-year-old boy made national headlines when he emptied his savings to help feed Hurricane Dorian evacuees. Now Mickey is paying it forward. Jermaine Bell saved for a year to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but when he saw the terrifying storm, he decided to use his trip money to buy hundreds of hot dogs, chips and bottled water for evacuees. He had been visiting his grandmother in South Carolina at the time. He waved a sign by the road and passed out refreshments to drivers fleeing the city. On Sunday, he found Mickey Mouse and several characters on his Jacksonville doorstep, holding balloons. They gave him a “Lion King”-themed cake to celebrate his 7th birthday and a VIP getaway for later this month.

Georgia

Atlanta: Another former building of historic Morris Brown College has burned. Atlanta Fire Rescue says it responded Wednesday night to the fire west of downtown. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the fire engulfed Furber Cottage, a onetime Morris Brown dormitory built in 1899. The college sold Furber and much of its remaining property in 2014 while in bankruptcy. Firefighters say the structure was too unstable to enter. No injuries were reported, and the cause is unknown. Furber, along with three other buildings once part of Morris Brown, was listed in 2016 as among Georgia’s most endangered historic sites. Gaines Hall, another one of the four buildings listed, was damaged by fire in 2015. Morris Brown lost its accreditation in 2002. The school remains open and is trying to regain accreditation.

Hawaii

Honolulu: The state’s supply of doctors is the lowest since 2015 as older physicians retire and younger practitioners move elsewhere for higher pay. News organizations report workforce data shows there are now 2,819 active physicians in Hawaii, a decrease of 108 full-time doctors over the past year. A survey by the University of Hawaii Burns School of Medicine indicates the state needs at least 3,481 doctors to care for the aging population. The school’s Hawaii/Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center says a quarter of the state’s doctors are 65 and older. Center Executive Director Kelley Withy says physicians are finding opening their own offices too expensive. Withy says a new fixed payment transformation system that reduces the money earned per patient also makes the business “challenging” for doctors.

Idaho

Caldwell: Seven jail inmates have filed tort claims against Canyon County because they say deputies gave them used razors to shave. The Idaho Press reports that the inmates say a deputy pulled the used razors from a biohazard waste box before handing them out to inmates to use and that all seven of the inmates tested positive for hepatitis C following the incident. The virus attacks the liver, and it is easily spread through contact with contaminated blood. The inmates say they suffered damages in an amount likely to exceed $500,000. Canyon County has until the end of November to decide whether to respond to the tort claims. If the inmates are unhappy with the response at that point, they will be able to file lawsuits against the county.

Illinois

Chicago: The fate of one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in the nation has become clear. The sale of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church for $2.5 million to Universal Life Church was approved Tuesday by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. The congregation of Holy Trinity will now have 75 days to vacate the building. The Chicago church’s future hung in the balance after financial woes put it on the verge of closing for good. Church officials said a bank rejected a loan request after the church was unable to secure $1.6 million in needed pledges. Holy Trinity avoided foreclosure late last year after an anonymous donation. But an issue with the money arose, forcing the church to go up for sale again. Officials say Holy Trinity is the second-oldest Greek Orthodox church in the United States.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The History Channel has dropped out of a planned documentary on John Dillinger that would have included the proposed exhumation of the 1930s gangster’s Indianapolis gravesite. A&E Networks spokesman Dan Silberman says The History Channel is no longer involved in the Dillinger documentary. Silberman says network officials won’t comment on the reasons for the withdrawal. The planned exhumation of Dillinger’s grave has become the subject of a lawsuit. Crown Hill Cemetery officials objected to the exhumation, prompting Dillinger’s nephew, Michael C. Thompson, to sue the cemetery. Thompson is one of two Dillinger relatives who obtained a state permit to exhume the gravesite, saying they have evidence Dillinger’s body may not be buried there. An Oct. 1 hearing is scheduled in the exhumation lawsuit.

Iowa

Bondurant: A small school district won’t be getting nearly $900,000 it wanted to spend as part of this year’s budget because officials have learned the budget revenue was in part based on an erroneous tax valuation from the county assessor’s office. The Polk County assessor’s office had included in the tax base figures for the Bondurant-Farrar school district a fourth building at Facebook’s giant data center in Altoona. But the $52.4 million building was exempted from taxation for 20 years as part of a development agreement the social media giant signed with the city and the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Exemptions also were granted for the center’s first three buildings. Facebook spokeswoman Melanie Roe says the company learned about the error just a few days ago.

Kansas

Overland Park: The Kansas and Missouri affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union say they have reached a settlement with the Federal Bureau of Prisons that allows an inmate to receive a drug used to treat his opioid addiction. The ACLU said in a news release Wednesday that the settlement allows the federal prison in Leavenworth to give inmate Leaman Crews a drug used to keep life-threatening withdrawal symptoms at bay. A federal lawsuit filed on his behalf last week sought to compel prison officials to treat his addiction with buprenorphine. Kansas ACLU Executive Director Nadine Johnson says Crews was their primary concern, but the narrow agreement focusing only on him isn’t sufficient. She says they look forward to seeing a prison policy that respects what doctors are recommending in these cases.

Kentucky

Richmond: Fort Boonesborough State Park is hosting its annual 1778 Siege of Boonesborough weekend this month. Events at the Madison County park will include a battle reenactment on the afternoons of Sept. 28 and 29 and a night battle at dusk on Sept. 28. The event commemorates the 1778 attack on the fort by Native Americans and French Canadians during the Revolutionary War. The settlers in the fort refused to surrender, and the attackers gave up and left. There will be militia and settlers’ camps, a Native American village, merchants, traders, pioneer skills demonstrations and food. This event is free with regular fort admission of $8 for adults and $5 for children.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Officials have voted to require new commercial parking surfaces to use porous pavement in this city where flooded streets are a common sight. The Times Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reports the City Council last week unanimously ruled in favor of the pavement ordinance, which allows rainwater to flow into the soil below. Council members say the pavement won’t solve the city’s problem with flooded streets, but it will lighten the burden placed on the city’s drainage system during heavy rain. The pavement can clog if not washed regularly, so the city recently outfitted some work trucks with power-washing attachments. The ordinance comes more than a year after the city’s code was amended to require that some developments keep the first 1.25 inches of storm rainfall out of the city’s drainage system.

Maine

Bar Harbor: Acadia National Park officials say they have some leeway in regulating so-called e-bikes following an Interior Department directive to treat them the same as regular bicycles. Superintendent Kevin Schneider tells the Bangor Daily News the park has the authority to ban or restrict e-bikes to protect users and natural resources or to balance other objectives. Thus, it remains to be seen whether bikes with electric motors will be restricted on the park’s popular carriage roads. David MacDonald, president of Friends of Acadia, says the Rockefeller family that donated the roads specified that there be no motorized vehicles. But Matt Horton, a member of Acadia’s advisory commission, says the Rockefellers were opposed to combustion engines. He said those are much different from e-bikes. The park has 30 days to propose rules.

Maryland

Annapolis: An attorney representing Maryland’s four historically black colleges is urging the state to settle a long-running lawsuit over disparities in programs for $577 million “over a reasonable period of time.” Michael Jones wrote Tuesday to lawmakers, after mediation failed in July. Jones notes that Mississippi settled its HBCU case nearly 20 years ago for about $517 million. Jones says that is about $791 million in today’s dollars. Jones says if Mississippi could afford that, “surely Maryland can afford a lesser amount to remedy its constitutional violation.” The colleges say the state underfunded them while developing programs at traditionally white schools. A federal judge ruled in favor of the HBCUs in 2013, saying the state unnecessarily duplicated programs. The state proposed a settlement last year of $100 million over 10 years.

Massachusetts

Scituate: Experts say another minke whale has been found dead in state waters. The New England Aquarium says the 22-foot, sub-adult whale was found dead rolling in the surf off Scituate on Monday. The aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Team responded and determined the whale had likely died within the past couple of days, but because it had been significantly scavenged by sharks, a full necropsy could not be completed. The carcass showed had no evidence of marine gear interference or evidence of any other human interaction. Over Labor Day weekend, another dead minke whale washed up in Duxbury. In 2017 and 2018, a greater than normal number of minke whales died along the U.S. East Coast. In response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared an unusual mortality event for the species.

Michigan

Detroit: Mercedes-Benz USA is asking a judge to protect it from legal action over its use of images of outdoor murals in Motor City in social media posts. The company says four artists threatened to file a lawsuit after their works appeared last year in Instagram posts about the G 500 Series truck. Mercedes-Benz removed the posts, although it insists it didn’t infringe on copyrights and was entitled to fair use of the murals. The company accused the artists of engaging in an “aggressive shakedown.” James Lewis says Mercedes-Benz “defamed” his mural by posting it slightly out of focus. He says it’s a “sacred piece” honoring African women. Detroit federal Judge Avern Cohn on Wednesday rejected a request by the artists to dismiss three lawsuits by Mercedes-Benz.

Minnesota

Bemidji: A summer of heavy rains has caused a rise in cases of a rare fungal infection in northern Minnesota. So far this year, more than 45 people and 150 animals have been diagnosed with blastomycosis. Last year, only 31 human cases and fewer than 100 animal infections were reported by this time. An epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health, Malia Ireland, tells Minnesota Public Radio News the infections are caused by fungi living in the ground. Ireland says flooding has moved land around, exposing spores to the air. The fungus thrives in moist ground, especially in wooded areas near rivers and lakes. Most of the cases were reported in northern Minnesota. Most of the animal cases are dogs, which dig their noses in the dirt.

Mississippi

Tylertown: Some students say they won’t be returning to class while they protest the removal of their prayer group from school hours to after school. News outlets report students at Tylertown High School walked out of class Wednesday and won’t return until their faith-based program, First Priority, is reinstated to its normal time, during school hours. Student Tyasia Shackleford says First Priority has existed for 15 years and meets once a month to praise God. Student Kaitlynn Brown says students “want to celebrate God,” and the school took that away. It’s unclear why the program was removed from school hours. Walthall County School superintendent Wade Carney says all student-led organizations cannot meet during instruction time. He says they can meet before or after school.

Missouri

Kansas City: A Catholic priest says “fornication,” not pregnancy, was the problem in the case of a teacher who alleges she was fired from a Catholic school because she was pregnant and unmarried. The Kansas City Star reports the Rev. Joseph Cisetti testified Wednesday that he “praised” the decision of former St. Therese School teacher Michelle Bolen not to have an abortion but told her she violated her contract. Cisetti said that “sexual relations must take place exclusively in marriage.” He said he favored offering Bolen a contract, while the school’s then-principal didn’t. He said he was concerned about dismissing her because it might create an environment that would be conducive to abortion. Bolen said administrators concocted non-pregnancy-related reasons to justify not renewing her contract in July 2015.

Montana

Kalispell: Wildlife officials say feral hogs from Canada encroaching on the state’s northern border are a serious concern for farmers and others. Daily Inter Lake reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division says there have been multiple reports of feral hogs near the border. An official says eight mature pigs were discovered in Canada directly above Montana’s Lincoln County this summer. Wildlife Services, the Montana Invasive Species Council, the National Feral Swine Program, and the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks department say the pigs could do widespread damage. Officials say the pigs are “rototillers” that root for food and wallow in farms, fields and forests, leaving terrain unrecognizable. The pigs may also spread diseases affecting livestock and other animals.

Nebraska

Kearney: City leaders are backing a proposal to restore an open-air theater in Harmon Park. The City Council heard about the plan for the Sonotorium at Tuesday’s meeting. The Kearney Hub reports Councilman Randy Buschkoetter said it says a lot about the community that members wish to preserve the landmark built in 1938. A group led by Kearney High School band director Nathan LeFeber plans to raise $683,000 to construct a roof over the stage and upgrade the structure’s lighting and sound system and backstage rooms. The city has committed $5,000 to cover the costs of structural tests and conceptual plans.

Nevada

Wadsworth: Federal officials are making fish-friendly modifications to a northern Nevada dam that for more than a century has blocked off spawning grounds for a threatened trout species that once migrated 120 miles upstream to the alpine waters of Lake Tahoe. Officials for the Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service and Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe broke ground Tuesday for a $23.5 million fish-passage project to help Lahontan cutthroat trout navigate the Truckee River’s Derby Dam about 20 miles east of Reno. It’s expected to be completed next year. Fish screens in a bypass canal longer than a football field will allow the trout – once believed to have gone extinct – to get past the high-desert dam for the first time since it was built in 1905 to divert water to farmers and ranchers.

New Hampshire

Hanover: Dartmouth College has become the latest university to allow students to easily change their name or gender identity in directories, on identification cards and elsewhere across the Ivy League campus. Transgender and nonbinary students have been able to request IDs and directory listings that reflect their preferred names for more than a decade, but the new policy announced Wednesday allows them to log on to the college’s information system and make changes on their own. Chosen names also will be allowed to appear on transcripts and diplomas. Campus Pride, a nonprofit organization that promotes LGBTQ-friendly learning environments, tracks such policies. It says most of the other seven Ivy League schools also provide students with a simple process to change their names or gender identities on university documents.

New Jersey

Atlantic City: Gamblers wagered more than $293 million on sports in the state in August, helping Atlantic City’s casinos win 13% more than they did a year ago. Figures released Thursday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement show the nine casinos won nearly $339 million for the month, assisted by sports betting money. The Borgata won nearly $80 million and had the best month at slot machines since it opened in 2003. The two newest casinos also fared well in August. Hard Rock retained the No. 2 spot in the market with nearly $41 million, up nearly 31% from a year ago. And the Ocean casino had the best month in its short history, with more than $25 million, up more than 25% from a year ago.

New Mexico

Gallup: A western New Mexico high school is becoming a tiny house factory to build affordable housing in a city near the Navajo Nation. The Gallup Independent reports that Hiroshi Miyamura High School in Gallup will begin a program to teach students about building tiny homes and the business behind them. Principal Jack McFarland says the program will provide real results and hands-on learning for students. He says the goal is to build about two tiny houses a year. The houses will be sold at auction at the end of the year to help recoup the costs of the project and help plan for the following school year.

New York

Albany: A state law that went into effect Thursday lengthens the waiting period on certain gun purchases from three days to 30 days. Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved the measure in July and issued a statement Thursday saying the change will save lives. He also called on the federal government to pass universal background checks. The Democrat said New York has taken action “while the federal government turns a blind eye to the scourge of gun violence ripping our nation apart and continues to allow this bloodshed to take parents and children away from their families.” The law applies in cases where a federal background check returns an inconclusive response on a potential firearm purchaser. Extending the state waiting period will give federal authorities more time for the background checks.

North Carolina

Fayetteville: The mayor wants the public’s input on a proposed Civil War history center. The Fayetteville Observer reports Mayor Mitch Colvin is calling for a special City Council meeting to gauge support. He says the $7.5 million the city would have to invest in the project could be put to better use than the proposed North Carolina Civil War & Reconstruction History Center. Colvin, who is black, says he no longer backs the project, and he says a growing number of the city’s black residents are expressing concerns about it. Troy Williams, a criminal defense investigator and radio co-host, supports the center and accuses the mayor of stirring up opposition. Williams, who also is black, says the center will tell the truth about the war.

North Dakota

Bismarck: The Department of Agriculture has confirmed the presence of a Palmer amaranth plant in a seventh county in the state. The agency said Wednesday that it found the plant in Emmons County, in the south of the state, just weeks after finding it in nearby Grant County. The Bismarck Tribune reports Palmer amaranth can grow up to 7 feet and resist herbicides. Purdue University research shows the plant’s heavy infestation can cut soybean yields by as much as 79% and corn yields by up to 91%. Brian Jenks, a North Dakota State University weed scientist, says this summer’s weed discoveries were in fields with millet. Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says producers should monitor millet plantings for Palmer amaranth to avoid infestation.

Ohio

Toledo: The school district is apologizing for posting photos that showed students with fake blood stains during an active shooter drill. Officials with the Toledo Public Schools say the photos have been removed from a Facebook post that prompted complaints. The Blade newspaper reports the photos showed high school students looking lifeless and others with red marks resembling blood on their clothes and bodies. Some people commented that they found the photos disturbing. A school spokeswoman said the district takes safety very seriously and apologized if anyone found the post inappropriate.

Oklahoma

Lawton: Officials say a house explosion that left one man dead and was initially investigated as a homicide is now considered an accident. The state Fire Marshal’s Office says the Aug. 24 blast killed chiropractor Anthony Ferrara of Cache, who operated a chiropractic clinic in Lawton and owned the vacant home about 78 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Comanche County Sheriff Kenny Stradley told the Lawton Constitution that although there was no electricity, natural gas or propane connected to the house, a “combustion fluid” was inside the home and ignited. Stradley says there is no indication a fire was intentionally started, and investigators are waiting for the fire marshal to determine the cause of the explosion.

Oregon

Portland: Officials say a diminutive fish species native only to one spring in Eastern Oregon is set to be removed from the federal list of endangered species. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the Foskett speckled dace is one of several fish species that have seen comebacks in recent years. It was proposed for removal last year. The Foskett speckled dace was first listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1985 after biologists realized it only existed in one location at a remote spring and was extremely vulnerable to habitat loss. The Bureau of Land Management purchased over 150 acres surrounding the spring east of the town of Lakeview. Federal officials worked to protect the population at Foskett Spring and introduced the fish at a second location.

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia: The state Supreme Court was asked Wednesday to outlaw the death penalty because of what critics call the cruel and arbitrary way it’s applied to poor and black defendants. More than half of the 441 death sentences handed down since the death penalty was reinstated in the late 1970s have been deemed flawed and overturned, Assistant Federal Defender Timothy Kane told the court. Among the 155 from Philadelphia, the reversal rate is 72%. “The reliability of the system as a whole is cruel ... and the systemic problems affect every case,” Kane argued before an overflow crowd at Philadelphia City Hall. Statewide, just under half of the current death row inmates in Pennsylvania are black, compared to 11% of residents. The average appeal in Pennsylvania takes 17 years, straining the resources of the court system, critics say.

Rhode Island

Providence: A new study estimates the state’s greenhouse gas emissions are higher than previously calculated. Brown University’s Climate and Development Lab and the Stockholm Environment Institute calculated emissions in 2017 were about 45% higher than estimated in Rhode Island’s climate planning study. The study released Thursday was based on updated science on methane leakage from natural gas infrastructure and its short-term impacts. The researchers suggest shifting to electric cars and heating systems, insulating homes, getting rid of old appliances and expanding offshore wind development. Climate lab director Timmons Roberts says the study’s ideas can be applied to other states because the big picture is largely the same, due to natural gas leakage.

South Carolina

Charleston: Reality television star and ex-state treasurer Thomas Ravenel has been fined $500 after taking a plea deal to charges he assaulted a former nanny. Ravenel was initially charged with misdemeanor second-degree assault and battery after the nanny said the former “Southern Charm” star dropped his pants and fondled her at his Charleston home in January 2015. Ravenel pleaded guilty to third-degree assault and battery. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, suspended if he pays a $500 fine. WCSC-TV reports Ravenel said in court Wednesday that he tried to kiss her and grabbed her arm, and he was wrong. Prosecutors say the woman agreed to the deal. Bravo took Ravenel off “Southern Charm” after his arrest. Ravenel pleaded guilty to cocaine charges in 2007 and resigned as state treasurer.

South Dakota

Aberdeen: A South Dakotan has created a new online site where livestock producers can contract to sell their cattle. Kim Ulmer, who owns a livestock and machinery marketing company in Huron, says he created the American Mercantile Exchange in response to volatile market conditions. The first contract sales on the American Mercantile Exchange were made Sept. 3. Ulmer tells the Aberdeen News four loads of cattle were up for sale, and all four sold. Ulmer says sales will be limited to cattle that are close to sale weight until the mercantile has a larger database of buyers and sellers. He says selling cattle through his exchange is different from an auction barn because it eliminates the need for farmers to take the cattle to auction and sell on a particular day.

Tennessee

Nashville: A federal judge has blocked the state’s new restrictions for registering voters from taking effect Oct. 1, saying Thursday that any benefit of the law won’t likely outweigh its potential harm. The ruling, for now, sets aside a law that goes beyond other states by fining groups that pay workers when too many incomplete registration forms are submitted. The law would also criminalize intentional infractions of a new set of rules, exposing voting advocates to misdemeanor charges. Voter registration groups who sued said the law has already curtailed their ability to enroll voters in communities of color and other historically disenfranchised groups. U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger picked apart the law in an order earlier this week, saying efforts to restrict voter registration drives to try to preserve election commission resources are akin to “poisoning the soil in order to have an easier harvest.”

Texas

Houston: Eleven protesters have been arrested after they rappelled from a busy highway bridge over the Houston Ship Channel, closing the vital artery for hours. The Coast Guard said the closure came after the protesters were spotted Thursday afternoon dangling from the Fred Hartman Bridge near Baytown. The demonstrators were Greenpeace USA activists protesting the use of fossil fuels. They suspended themselves from a bridge ahead of Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Houston. Firefighters rappelled to the protesters Thursday evening and lowered them to boats below. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez says 12 activists serving as spotters on the bridge also were arrested. The Port of Houston, located along the ship channel, is home to the largest petrochemical complex in the U.S.

Utah

Salt Lake City: The state Supreme Court has ruled that partisan state school board elections are constitutional, overturning a 2017 district court decision. High court officials say the Wednesday ruling reinstates a 2016 law meaning people who want to run for the state Board of Education can file as partisan candidates beginning in 2020. The state Board of Education is composed of 15 members who are elected to four-year terms, with elections occurring every two years. Proponents of partisan elections say political party mechanisms were needed to adequately vet school board candidates, a move lawmakers had intended under the now-reinstated law. Current and former members of the state school board and some educational organizations say the ruling could lead to an educational system driven by a single political ideology influencing curriculum and policy.

Vermont

Lyndon: Vermont State Colleges officials are holding meetings at campuses to get input as the system charts its future amid declining enrollment, low state support and other challenges. An overflow crowd of students, faculty, alumni and community members shared their worries, suggestions and criticisms at a passion-filled meeting at Northern University in Lyndonville on Thursday. They expressed concerns about the school’s growing online classes and whether the programs and school they cherish will continue. They pointed out that the college – originally Lyndon State College – only recently went through a transformation in joining with Johnson State College to become Northern Vermont University. State Colleges Chancellor Jeb Spaulding told the crowd there is no proposal to close a campus or become all Northern Vermont University Online.

Virginia

Richmond: Virginia has launched a live “elk cam.” The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says the elk cam will run annually from mid-August through November. Elk rut peaks between late September and early October. During the fall rut period, elk are highly social and stay in large harem groups out in open areas. Three viewing stations are now open on Buchanan County Industrial Development Authority property, located near Poplar Gap Community Park. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Kentucky Wildlife Resources Foundation restored 75 elk from Kentucky to Buchanan County between 2012 and 2014. The population has grown to an estimated 250.

Washington

Seattle: As the area tries to tackle its homelessness crisis, an official wants to expand a strategy of buying long-distance bus tickets for people living on the streets. The concept of sending homeless people out of town to where they say they’re from or may have support has been in place for decades in parts of the U.S. The city of Seattle and community organizations already offer free bus tickets as part of their broader approach to helping homeless people. King County council member Reagan Dunn wants to go a step further by spending $1 million to create a stand-alone bus ticket program that will emphasize “family reunification.” Critics say Dunn’s idea won’t realistically address chronic homelessness.

West Virginia

Rainelle: Police say three protesters who chained themselves to equipment at the Mountain Valley Pipeline have been arrested. WOAY-TV reports someone called 911 Tuesday morning and said about 15 protesters were blocking the road by the pipeline near Rainelle. Officers say three other people were chained to three excavators with their arms encased in steel pipes up to their elbows. Police say the three protesters had the ability to unchain themselves from the equipment but refused. Members of the Rainelle and Clintonville fire departments were called to remove them. Officers arrested a fourth person they say refused to get out of the road. All four were charged, arraigned in Greenbrier County Magistrate Court and released on bond.

Wisconsin

Madison: An appeals court has reduced compensation for a man who got into a legal battle over bedbugs. According to court documents, Steven Stack rented a bedbug-infested room in La Crosse from Donald Lecheler, who planned to solve the problem by moving the kitchen oven around the house, hoping to increase the temperature and kill the bedbugs. Stack said that would create a fire hazard and moved out. Stack filed a lawsuit in 2018 alleging Lecheler didn’t return his security deposit, he had to replace his mattress and clothes, and he suffered emotional distress. A judge awarded him $2,000. The 4th District Court of Appeals reduced Stack’s award Thursday to $1,000, saying Stack failed to show he suffered extreme emotional distress.

Wyoming

Gillette: Campbell County school district trustees have decided to move forward with developing a policy that will allow armed school staff for security. The Gillette News Record reports the decision Tuesday to move forward with a policy for concealed carry staff, along with other safety procedures, followed a long and divisive comment period in which educators, parents, law enforcement and veterans spoke out. Not everyone agreed about arming school staff in the city limits, but they did agree safety was an issue and advocated for adding more school resource officers. They also agreed on the need for continued discussion. Officials say it will take at least two months to come up with a policy that will then be presented to the school board for a final decision.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

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