South Carolina State

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Florida State

Akeena

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau reveals a significant trend: Florida is experiencing a substantial outflow of residents. According to the latest figures, over 275,000 individuals left Florida for other states in 2022.

Florida Sees Surge in Departures as Hundreds of Thousands Move Out

Texas State

A Texas woman, Janet Yamanaka Mello, 57, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for embezzling nearly $109 million from a youth development program for military families. Mello, a financial manager at Fort Sam Houston, used the stolen funds to purchase multiple mansions, luxury cars, and designer accessories. Fraudulent...

Texas woman sentenced for $109 million theft from US Army program

Colorado State

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David Heitz

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

Springfield, IL

An Illinois oral surgeon who is accused of siphoning fentanyl from vials, mixing in saline, and giving the combination to patients, leaving some in pain so he could use it for himself, has pleaded guilty, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Phillip Jensen, who owned and operated his...

Oral surgeon cops to pilfering drugs meant for surgery patients

Huntsville, TX

Latin Times

SEATTLE - Despite several appeals for a stay on his execution, Texas inmate Arthur Lee Burton died today, Aug. 7, at approximately 6:47 p.m. CT by lethal injection at a state prison in Huntsville, about 70 miles north of Houston. He was convicted in the July 29, 1997, rape and murder of Nancy Adleman, a 48-year-old Houston mother of three who had been out exercising.

Arthur Lee Burton is executed in Texas after U.S. Supreme Court denied his application for a stay

Denver, CO

In addition to collecting more than 8,000 used needles in the past year from Denver drug users, the Harm Reduction Action Center passed out 10,000 meth pipes and “snort kits,” according to a newsletter sent to its supporters Thursday. They also connected about 1,700 people to medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Denver group hands out 10K meth pipes, ‘snort kits,’ connects 1,700 to treatment annually

Louisiana State

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered officials at the Louisiana State Penitentiary to increase shade and take other steps to protect prisoners doing agricultural labor from dangerous heat. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson’s order reinforced a similar one he issued in July. This one cites...

Federal judge reinforces order for heat protection for Louisiana inmates at prison farm

West Virginia State

The Hill

West Virginia will take its fight over whether its Medicaid program must cover gender-affirming surgeries to the Supreme Court, the state’s Republican attorney general announced Thursday. “Once again, the state of West Virginia is going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said at a news conference...

West Virginia asks Supreme Court to allow Medicaid to deny coverage for gender-affirming surgery

Ohio State

The Lantern

On Tuesday, licensed Ohio dispensaries began legally selling non-medical marijuana to consumers; however, the drug’s possession, growth and/or usage are still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus. Credit: Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS [Original caption: Four citizen-led petitions with proposals to update Dallas’ charter hit the 20,000 valid signature threshold to make it on the Nov. 5 election ballot, including one that would ban police officers from arresting or citing people carrying less than four ounces of marijuana.] As of Tuesday, students 21 and older can now legally purchase marijuana in Ohio.

Dispensary sales of recreational marijuana began Tuesday; possession and usage still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus

Uncovering Florida

With hurricane season posing a consistent threat six months out of the year, who would not like a little help getting their home ready for the harsh weather to come? Senate Bill 7028: My Safe Florida Home Program, approved by Governor DeSantis on April 24, 2024, and effective as of July 1, appropriates a one-time total of $200 million from 2024 to 2025 for the purpose of funding hurricane mitigation grants and inspections, as well as outreach and administration costs, to support homeowners in Florida.

DeSantis Signs New Bill Giving $200 Million To Homeowners

Missouri State

Christopher Dunn’s case is the second time Attorney General Andrew Bailey has intervened and fought against the release of someone wrongly convicted. Christopher Dunn spent over 30 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Then a judge overturned his murder conviction and ordered for his release on Wednesday. But just when Dunn’s freedom seemed imminent, Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed an appeal, and the Missouri Supreme Court granted his request, blocking Dunn’s release from prison.

A Missouri Man's Murder Conviction Was Overturned After Over 30 Years. Now, The State Supreme Court Has Halted His Release

Most people are guilty of doing it at least once in their lives, many people do it by accident, some do it because they find it fun, and others do it for reasons like honoring loved ones. Regardless of the situation, just about everyone has released a balloon. The difference is that intentionally releasing balloons is now illegal by House Bill 321’s standards.

Law Signed By DeSantis Makes It Illegal To Release Balloons In Florida

Black people represent 10.8% of Denver’s and 4.1% of Colorado’s populations, according to Census statistics. But they are almost four times more likely than other races to become homeless, according to the Point in Time count. They represent 4.11% of Colorado's population but 16.7% of people experiencing homelesssness. So why is that?

Denver's homeless crisis: Disparities for Black community

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

A historic marker could be erected to honor the victims of the racist mass shooting at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville’s New Town neighborhood nearly a year ago. If approved by the Jacksonville City Council, a marker would be installed at Kings Road and Canal Street on Aug. 25, a day before the first anniversary of the shooting, when a white gunman took the lives of three Black people.

Memorial considered to honor Dollar General victims

Orange County, CA

Corcoran, CA

NewSantaAna

CORCORAN – California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials are investigating the July 28, 2024, death of an incarcerated person at California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility as a homicide.

Pimp arrested in Orange County killed by an inmate at a state prison

On the night in January 2023 when volunteers counted people experiencing homelessness in Denver, no shelter beds were available for individuals or families, according to data provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. More than 2,500 individuals and 181 families slept outside, the data showed.

State of homelessness in Denver: Full shelters, surge in older adults

Thomson, GA

Daily Coffee Press

A Georgia city mayor has been arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation following an investigation and a grand jury indictment. According to GBI officials, the Thomson Police Department requested the agency to investigate an allegation that Thomson City Mayor, 52-year-old Benjamin Cary Cranford, provided alcohol to an inmate on work detail within the city limits on June 4, 2024.

Georgia City Mayor Arrested for Allegedly Giving Alcohol to an Inmate on Work Det

Illinois State

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois must move most of the inmates at its 100-year-old prison within less than two months because of decrepit conditions, a federal judge ruled.  The Illinois Department of Corrections said that U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood’s order, issued Friday, to depopulate Stateville Correctional Center is in line with its plan to replace the facility. The department plans to rebuild it on the same campus in Crest Hill, which is 41 miles (66 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.  That plan includes replacing the deteriorating Logan prison for women in the central Illinois city of Lincoln. The state might rebuild Logan on the Stateville campus too.  Wood’s decree states that the prison, which houses over 400 people, would need to close by Sept. 30 due in part to falling concrete from deteriorating walls and ceilings. The judge said costly repairs would be necessary to make the prison habitable. Inmates must be moved to other prisons around the state. 

Federal judge orders 100-year-old Illinois prison depopulated because of decrepit condition

Georgia State

Appling County, GA

A 40-year-old man from Appling County, Christopher Eric Stone, with a significant criminal history, was recently sentenced to over five years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, according to officials from the Department of Justice.

Georgia Man Sentenced to Over 5 Years for in Federal Prison for Meth Distribution

Montana State

Wyoming State

WyoFile

To increase the genetic diversity of an island population of grizzly bears , Wyoming and Montana wildlife managers recently worked together to import fresh bloodlines into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Two Montana grizzly bears trucked to Wyoming to bolster genetic diversity, help states’ delisting case

NewsBreak

Senate Appropriates Cash for Dialysis and Hospital Bills

Sen. Franklin Johnson said the Legislature was not responsible for Pafford Medical Services’ withdrawal from the territory, with the government owing it over $8 million, but...

Senate Appropriates Cash for Dialysis and Hospital Bills

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