State news of national interest

EAST

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Poland Spring is looking at 150 acres of town-owned land in Shapleigh as a source of groundwater to supply its expanded bottling plant in Hollis. The company needs voter approval to test the aquifer. Poland Spring expansion plans have run into opposition in some towns because of concerns about groundwater sustainability and increased truck traffic on rural roads.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A local animation studio is teaming with students from the Rhode Island School of Design to create a computer-animated horror movie. The studio, The Story Hat, plans to begin preproduction this week on "Bloodline," which tells a story of tattoos that grow and change, wreaking havoc on the people who bear them.

SOUTH

EDISON, Ga. (AP) — Wounded veterans from all over Georgia gathered for the "Purple Heart Hunt" during the weekend — a quail hunt in the southwest part of the state. Dan Hammack III, a special forces veteran who helped organize the event, said wounded vets can benefit from getting away from the day-to-day grind of recovery and sharing in the therapeutic qualities of nature.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — City managers in North Carolina say the state's easy annexation laws have contributed to strong growth in the state, but organizers of anti-annexation movements are asking the General Assembly to overhaul the 1959 involuntary annexation law. They want the law changed to give citizens the chance to decide in local elections whether to be annexed.

MIDWEST

MONROE, Mich. (AP) — Increased electricity demand in Michigan is bolstering DTE Energy Co.'s long-range plan to build a new nuclear power plant near its existing Fermi 2 reactor, the company said. The utility budgeted $30 million for studying the feasibility of a new plant, and is on track to submit an application by year's end. Fermi 2 is located near Newport in Monroe County.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — The Saint Francis Medical Center plans to begin work here this spring on an $84 million center for cancer and heart disease. Officials say the 180,000-square-foot facility will expand and consolidate services, so patients won't need to travel to St. Louis or Memphis for many aspects of cancer or heart disease treatment. The center is expected to open by fall 2011.

WEST

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — More horses are being sent to Mexico for slaughter since the closure in 2006 of three horse-slaughter plants in Illinois and Texas for violating state laws. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says more than 45,000 horses went to Mexico for slaughter last year, up from about 11,000 the year before. Horses are crammed in double-decker trailers for the trips, officials say.

HONOLULU (AP) — A panel of transit experts are deciding what type of "fixed guideway" system will be used for Oahu's transportation line. The $3.8 billion route will run for 20 miles from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center in Honolulu. Four technologies are being considered: steel wheels on steel rails, rubber tires on concrete, monorail and magnetic levitation.