California IN BRIEF : BARSTOW : 10 Arrested at Site of Off-Road Race

Federal rangers arrested 10 people at the site of the banned Barstow to Las Vegas off-road race course while nine others were allowed to stage a protest ride along the Mojave Desert route. Barbara Maxfield, a Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman, said seven of the arrested people were violating the route closure. Three others were illegally driving cross-country or off the roadway. Maxfield said the 10 were cited and released pending a court date. If convicted, they could be jailed up to one year and fined $100,000. A federal judge earlier this week allowed protest riders to traverse the closed race route. The nine protest riders included Barry Van Dyke, son of the actor Dick Van Dyke, and eight other members of the Sahara Club USA. Offroad enthusiasts and environmentalists have battled in court over the desert race for nearly two decades.