SAN FRANCISCO, California, July 13 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Western Regional Information Office issued the following report on July 12, 2024, entitled "Occupational Employment and Wages in Madera - May 2023": * * * Workers in the Madera, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.01 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Chr  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, July 13 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics - Western Regional Information Office issued the following report on July 12, 2024, entitled "Occupational Employment and Wages in Modesto - May 2023": * * * Workers in the Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $30.49 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner C  more

LOS ANGELES, California, July 13 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for Central District of California issued the following news release on July 12, 2024: A Lompoc man was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting the distribution of fentanyl that resulted in the death of a fellow inmate at a Santa Barbara County jail and the serious bodily injury of another inmate. Kaelen Jacobkeali Wendel, 32, was sentenced by United States District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frim  more

HEALDSBURG, California, July 13 -- The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued the following news release: * * * Finds employer did not pay overtime when employees worked more than 40 hours * * * A U.S. Department of Labor investigation has found one of four restaurants owned by popular Sonoma County chef Octavio Diaz willfully denied three workers at its Healdsburg establishment of more than $35,000 in overtime wages. Investigators with the department's Wage and Hour Divisio  more

NAVAL AIR STATION NORTH ISLAND, California, July 13 -- The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command issued the following news release: By Janina Lamoglia Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW) has once again proven indispensable in naval operations, swiftly and skillfully addressing a significant mechanical fault on the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). Their efforts not only resolved the immediate issue with precision but also highlighted their critical role in crisis response and preventive  more

WASHINGTON, July 13 -- The U.S. Department of Justice issued the following news release on July 12, 2024: A Texas pharmaceutical marketer was sentenced today to two years and five months in prison and ordered to pay over $59 million in restitution for conspiring to defraud the United States, receiving illegal kickbacks in exchange for compounded medications prescription referrals, and money laundering. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Quintan Cockerell, 43, of Palo  more

LOS ANGELES, California, July 13 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Los Angeles District issued the following news release: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District released the Report of Findings from its four-year Los Angeles County Drainage Area Project Disposition Study, which determined federal interest continues to exist in the federal project and, therefore, disposition cannot be recommended. The Los Angeles County Drainage Area, or LACDA, is a comprehensive syste  more

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, July 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued the following news release: U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that NIPUN DESAI ("DESAI"), formerly of Hammond, La., but now a California resident, age 55, pleaded guilty on July 10, 2024 before U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter to making false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). On March 27, 2020, the President of the Unite  more

SAN FRANCISCO, California, July 13 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release on July 12, 2024: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a proposed settlement with OMG Partners of Turlock, Calif. to resolve claims of Clean Water Act violations after one of the company's tanker trucks overturned and a fuel product spilled into the roadway, Laguna Creek, Coyote Creek, and the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge. The fuel reached the San Francis  more

SACRAMENTO, California, July 12 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release: Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private nonprofit organizations in New Mexico following President Biden's federal disaster declaration for Public Assistance as a result of the South Fork Fire, Salt Fire and flooding that began June 17 announced Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Pri  more

MONTEREY, California, July 13 -- The Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security issued the following story: For Ryan Smith, human excreta is a homeland security issue. The Center for Homeland Defense and Security Master's Program alum (MA 2020) has made sustainable and resilient treatment systems central to both his academic and professional work, more recently focusing primarily on waterless, container-based sanitation (commonly referred to as compost toilets), inclu  more