Staff/Wire reports

Three coyote traps purchased by Fairfield haven't been used because city ordinances prohibit police from killing the animals after they're caught.

City Council on Monday considered revising a city law to exempt municipal employees from the hunting ban. State law specifies that coyotes and other wild animals caught in traps must be destroyed. The devices were ordered in December after residents in several neighborhoods complained for the second time in a year about the wild canines.

Tugboat rams Ohio River bridge

The Taylor-Southgate Bridge, linking Cincinnati to Newport, was closed for several hours Monday morning after a tugboat hit one of the span's piers. The tugboat, pushing empty barges upriver, struck the bridge at 8:30 a.m. There was no obvious damage to the bridge, but officials closed it until Kentucky Department of Transportation officials inspected the structure. The bridge reopened late Monday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the crash.

TRAFFIC

Only one lane of Beechmont Avenue in each direction in Mount Washington will be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as highway crews complete a road project. The project should be completed by March 1.