States to enforce molester law on tribal land
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
A little-noticed provision in a 2006 federal sex-offender law is rankling American Indian tribes in six states — Alaska, California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon and Wisconsin — because it would give state law enforcers unprecedented authority to monitor child molesters living on tribal land.   Read More  

CA: State Supreme Court set to issue same-sex marriage opinion
By Crystal Carreon, The Sacramento Bee (registration)
The California Supreme Court on Thursday will issue its ruling on one of the most volatile civil rights cases to come before the bench in decades: whether gay couples should be allowed to marry.   Read More    

OH: Dann is done
By Alan Johnson and James Nash, The Columbus Dispatch
In the end, the "culture of corruption" in state government that Marc Dann battled so fiercely to become attorney general consumed him, too.   Read More  

GA: New gun law frustrates police
By Staff Reporters, Savannah Morning News
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Wednesday signed legislation allowing guns in restaurants, on public transportation and in state parks, and the act drew immediate criticism from law enforcement officials.   Read More  

WA: Taxes catch up to online sales
By Andrea James, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
How to find a bargain and avoid sales tax in this state: Visit shops, talk with sales clerks, decide on a desired model. Then, drive home, log onto the Internet, find the product from an out-of-state vendor and add to cart.   Read More  

AK: Alaska gas average price 1st to pass $4
By The Daily News Staff, Anchorage Daily News (registration)
The average price for regular unleaded gasoline in Alaska rose above $4 a gallon Wednesday, making it the first state in the nation to pass that mark.   Read More    

WV: West Virginia's top judge loses his re-election bid
By Ian Urbina, The New York Times
The chief justice of West Virginia's Supreme Court, Elliott E. Maynard, lost his re-election bid on Tuesday after being dogged for months by a conflict-of-interest scandal stemming from photographs showing him on vacation and dining with the chief executive of a coal company with cases pending before the court.   Read More  

OK: Oklahoma City swaps highway for park
By Dennis Cauchon, USA Today
OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma has a radical solution for repairing the state's busiest highway. Tear it down. Build a park.   Read More  

CT: Blumenthal appeals No Child Left Behind suit dismissal
By Arielle Levin Becker, The Hartford Courant (registration)
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday appealed a federal judge's dismissal of the state's lawsuit challenging the No Child Left Behind Act, pledging to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.   Read More    

AK: Alaska officials condemn federal polar bear listing
By Dan Joling, The Associated Press, The Juneau Empire (registration)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she's disappointed by a federal decision to list polar bears as a threatened species but relieved by the conclusion that the cause was not petroleum development, the mainstay of Alaska's economy.   Read More  

TX: Change your ways or lose your children, Texas to tell mothers in polygamist sect
By Robert T. Garret, The Dallas Morning News (registration)
Texas, calling a polygamist sect an abusive environment, is poised to tell its mothers they will lose their children unless they distance themselves from portions of their religion.   Read More  

Calif. gay marriage ruling sparks new debate
By Christine Vestal, Stateline.org Staff Writer
The California Supreme Court reignited a political wildfire with its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in the most populous state in the union, but the issue already has burned out in more than half the states.   Read More  

WORTH NOTING: South Carolina's shampoo specialists
By John Gramlich, Stateline.org Staff Writer
The Palmetto State cleans up a law requiring hairstylists to get more training than cops. Frog legs are frowned upon by Florida health officials. And an aide to Utah's lieutenant governor gets way ahead of his boss. In case you missed those stories this week, "Worth Noting" fills you in.   Read More