Los Angeles, California - Thirteen defendants made their initial appearance in federal court Monday to face drug smuggling charges following the interdiction in southern Santa Barbara County over the weekend of a Mexican panga carrying nearly 3,000 pounds of marijuana.

Fresno, California - A Bakersfield man who pleaded guilty late last year to aiming a high-powered laser pointer at a Kern County Sheriff’s Department helicopter has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, following a probe by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office.

Santa Barbara, California - AIGA Santa Barbara, the Central Coast’s professional design association, is excited to present a 2-day workshop with Marty Neumeier, bestselling author of six books on design and innovation. Neumeier will lead an in-depth brand strategy session for creatives and marketing professionals, in which participants will learn the essential principles of brand strategy while applying them directly to their own brand or their clients’ brands.

Sacramento, California - The Bureau of Reclamation has released a Finding of No Significant Impact for acquiring refuge water supplies from privately and publically owned groundwater production wells within or near the Grassland Ecological Area and the city of Los Banos. The groundwater acquisitions are a five-year action, March 2016 through February 2021.

Shasta Lake, California - The Bureau of Reclamation has released for public review the Draft Environmental Assessment for the implementation of an accelerated process for annual water transfers and/or exchanges, pursuant to Section 3405(a) of the Central Valley Project Improvement Act for Contract Years 2016 through 2020 (March 1, 2016, to Feb. 28, 2021).

Twentynine Palms, California - JOSAR is recruiting new volunteer members. No prior training or experience is required. Joshua Tree Search and Rescue provides extensive training in land searching, tracking, incident management and high-angle rope rescue techniques. You may participate as a rescue member, field searcher or in a support capacity for team operations and logistics.