Saturday - September 7, 2024
News Tipoffs - California Editors Newsletter for Saturday July 13, 2024 ( 19 items )  

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL LEADS COALITION TO COMBAT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION BY SUPPORTING HUD'S DISCRIMINATORY EFFECTS RULE
CHICAGO, Illinois, July 12 -- Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued the following news release on July 11, 2024: Attorney General Kwame Raoul and District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb today led a coalition of 18 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief urging a federal court to reject a challenge to the Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Discriminatory Effects Rule. The homeowners insurance industry is challenging the rule, which under the Fair Housing A  more

Biological Science Helps Fuel the Future of Electric Air Travel
WASHINGTON, July 12 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory issued the following news: * * * A New Study Reveals A Four-Fold Increase In Cycle Life For Electric Aircraft Batteries Thanks To A Novel Electrolyte Solution Discovered Using A Bioscience Technique * * * When it comes to figuring out why electric aircraft batteries lose power over time, one typically wouldn't think to turn to a decades-old approach biologists use to study the structure and   more

BLS - Western Region Issues Report Entitled 'Occupational Employment and Wages in Madera - May 2023'
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

BLS - Western Region Issues Report Entitled 'Occupational Employment and Wages in Modesto - May 2023'
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

Calif. U.S. Attorney: Santa Barbara County Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl That Resulted in Death of Fellow Jail Inmate
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

Contracts for July 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, July 12 -- The U.S. Department of Defense issued the following news release: ARMY Nakupuna Consulting LLC,* Arlington, Virginia, was awarded a $370,000,000 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the integration for functionality into the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 9, 2031. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Provin  more

Department of Labor Recovers More Than $71K for 3 Workers Exempted From Overtime Improperly by Popular Sonoma County Restaurant Owner
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

FEC Issues Digest for Week of July 8-12
WASHINGTON, July 13 -- The Federal Election Commission issued the following weekly digest: * * * Commission meetings and hearings On July 9 and 11, the Commission met in executive session. The Commission voted to cancel the open meeting scheduled for July 11. * * * Advisory Opinions Request Received Advisory Opinion Request 2024-08 (Bob Good and Good for Congress) On July 9, the Commission made public an advisory opinion request from Rep. Bob Good and his principal campaign committee, Go  more

Fleet Readiness Center Southwest's Rapid Response to USS Boxer Challenge
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

Governor Newsom Proclaims Disability Pride Month 2024
SACRAMENTO, California, July 12 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-California, issued the following proclamation on July 11, 2024: Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring July 2024, as "Disability Pride Month." The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below: * * * California joins communities around the nation in recognizing July as Disability Pride Month, an opportunity to celebrate the many ways that people living with disabilities - whether visible or invisible, mobil  more

Justice Dept.: Pharmaceutical Marketer Sentenced for Compounded Medications Fraud Scheme
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

LA District Releases Los Angeles County Drainage Area Project Disposition Study Report of Findings
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

La. U.S. Attorney: California Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Cares Act Fraud
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

Media Alert: USGS Dye-Tracing Study in Lake Fork Creek to Map Groundwater Flow
WASHINGTON, July 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey issued the following news release: During this time, a non-toxic green dye, fluorescein, will be introduced into the Creek between 3 and 7 p.m. and will be monitored through the night as it flows downstream. Findings will help researchers understand how water from the historic Sugarloaf mining district flows into Lake Fork Creek. The environmentally safe dye is commonly used in hydrologic studies and will be   more

National Park Service Awards More Than $3.2 Million in Grants to Preserve and Interpret World War II Japanese American Incarceration Sites
WASHINGTON, July 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service issued the following news release on July 11, 2024: The National Park Service today announced $3,273,639 in Japanese American Confinement Sites grants to support nine preservation, restoration, and education projects that help tell the story of the more than 120,000 Japanese Americans, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens, incarcerated by the U.S. government following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and President Fr  more

OMG Partners of Turlock, Calif. Penalized $140,000 for Fuel Spill That Reached San Francisco Bay
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

SBA Disaster Assistance Available to New Mexico Private Nonprofit Organizations
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

Sustainable, Resilient Sanitation Systems Focus of Center for Homeland Defense & Security Alum's Work, Thesis
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

This Week at Interior July 12, 2024
WASHINGTON, July 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Interior issued the following news release: An official website of the United States government Here's how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure webs  more