U.S. Briefs: Massachusetts to rule on engagement ring

Bruce Johnson popped the question. Caroline Settino said “Yes.” So, who owns the $70,000 Tiffany engagement ring now that the wedding is off? The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case Sept. 6 and seems sympathetic to overturning state precedent on such matters. After Johnson proposed at a Harwich golf club in 2017, he accused Settino of an affair, called off the wedding, and sued her for the ring. A 1959 Massachusetts ­precedent calls for the giver to get the ring back—but only as long as he wasn’t “at fault” for breaking the engagement. A trial court judge ruled Johnson was wrong about the affair and thus at fault for breaking off the engagement. But an appeals court disagreed, determining that even if Johnson accused her falsely, he should still keep the ring. At oral arguments before the high court in September, attorneys sparred over whether Massachusetts should treat the ring as a “conditional gift” that returns to the giver regardless of why the engagement ended or as an unconditional gift that can’t be returned. Practices in other states are mixed. Either way, the justices seemed inclined to get courts out of the business of determining fault in broken engagements. —Bekah McCallum

Oregon

Despite opposition from Indian tribes, the federal government will take bids on Oct. 15 for the development of two wind energy sites sitting in the ocean 32 miles off the state’s coastline. Wind power makes up nearly 12 percent of Oregon’s energy production, and the state hopes to slash carbon emissions by 90 percent within the next 25 years. After a five-year due diligence period, the winning company must submit a plan, outlining how the project will not threaten the environment. Still, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians passed a resolution last November to oppose the development. The winning developer may offset up to 25 percent of its bid by committing to develop programs to help local tribes and commercial fishermen. —Bekah McCallum

Wyoming

Anthrax recently killed more than 50 cattle and one moose in southeastern Wyoming. The naturally occurring bacterial disease that can infect livestock, wildlife, and humans hadn’t been seen in Cowboy State herds since the 1970s, according to the Wyoming Livestock Board. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department, which announced its findings for the moose Sept. 3, said the last confirmed case in state wildlife was in 1956. Animals may become infected when they breathe or ingest anthrax spores in contaminated soil, plants, or water. The spores can lie in the ground for decades and emerge when disturbed or when the soil is flooded. State health officials weren’t concerned about risks to humans, but they recommended people avoid dead animals or those that look ill. —Todd Vician

Illinois

Prison staff at FCI Thomson are raising the alarm about the danger of illicit drugs entering federal prisons by mail after a correctional officer was apparently exposed to amphetamines and had to be hospitalized. The low-­security prison of 1,906 inmates in the town of Thomson was placed on lockdown on Labor Day shortly after the incident. Just two weeks earlier, another officer was hospitalized after narcotic exposure. Meanwhile, at a federal prison in Atwater, Calif., correctional officer Marc Fischer died on Aug. 9 after being exposed to drug-tainted paper while sorting mail. Jon Zumkehr, the president of FCI Thomson’s union, is urging Congress to pass the Interdiction of Fentanyl in Postal Mail at Federal Prisons Act, a bipartisan bill that requires the federal Bureau of Prisons to screen mail for illicit drugs outside the prison, while ensuring inmates receive a digital copy of their letter within 24 hours and the original copy within 30 days. The BOP scanned mail at two facilities during a one-year pilot program that ran out of funding in 2021. According to Zumkehr, six FCI Thomson staff members have been sent to the hospital so far this year due to drug exposure. —Addie Offereins

—This brief has been corrected to reflect that Fischer died after exposure to drugs of an unconfirmed identity.

Montana

The state’s Supreme Court allowed two laws—passed last year to encourage more affordable housing—to take effect while a lawsuit against them proceeds. One law requires cities with at least 5,000 residents to update zoning ordinances to allow duplexes on lots previously set aside for single-family homes. It also demands that zoning regulations not be more restrictive for multifamily units. The companion law requires municipalities to allow at least one accessory dwelling unit (aka casitas or mother-in-law houses) on single-family-home lots. The legislation was to take effect in January 2024, but a group of homeowners, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification (MAID), sued in December and requested a restraining order. They said the laws would harm property values, unconstitutionally void existing covenants, and be more restrictive than regulations developed by local governments. A district court initially sided with the homeowners, but the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Sept. 3 that MAID failed to demonstrate enough reasons to halt enforcement of the laws while the suit continues. —Todd Vician

Arkansas

“The Man in Black” is getting a statue at the U.S. Capitol. A crowd including some of Johnny Cash’s family members gathered outside the Arkansas Capitol Sept. 5 for a send-off as an 8-foot-tall bronze rendering of the late American musician began its thousand-mile journey to Washington. The unveiling of the statue, scheduled for Sept. 24 in Statuary Hall, will be the first to honor a professional musician. Cash was born in Kingsland, a small farming community about 60 miles south of Little Rock. He sold more than 90 million albums over his career and was inducted into the halls of fame for country, rock ’n’ roll, and gospel. The Cash statue depicts the singer with a guitar slung across his back and a Bible in his hand. It and an image of civil rights leader Daisy Bates are replacing two statues from Arkansas that have been at the Capitol for more than 100 years. The state Legislature voted in 2019 to replace the figures of the little-known 18th- and 19th-century Arkansans. —Kim Henderson