Double-digit increases in arrivals and spending last month have made summer hotter for Hawaii tourism, though it still lacks the sizzle it had a few years ago.

Hawaii is among five states seeing the biggest decline in the well-being of children over the last 10 years, according to the annual Kids Count Data Book produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The state Department of Education will lay off about 40 employees as part of a push to meet $142 million in budget cuts for the coming school year.

Utah is not the only state where lawmakers are attempting to address illegal immigration — which is traditionally a federal issue handled by Congress.

As one voracious non-native fish bears down on the Great Lakes, notorious mussels are spreading across the West. Frustrated state officials say it’s time for the federal government to play a bigger role in stopping the spread of invasive species.