Confessions of a guy not fully committed to the envivornment

"Empaque su basura" reads the sweatshirt hanging in my closet. On it is a picture of a surfer carrying a broken, "Geek"- brand board and tossing a glass soda bottle out onto the beach while a garbage can is clearly within reach. And while I'm wont to support such an organization – organized by the Pleasure Point Night Fighters, originally a volunteer firefighting crew that served the small surfing community located at the end of ...

Neighbors worry about French Camp fertilizer

FRENCH CAMP – Helen Carter watched the news on Wednesday night and cringed. A building with flames reaching high into the Texas sky suddenly and violently exploded – blowing the windows out of homes and businesses within a five block radius. While she undoubtedly felt empathy for those killed in the blast, Carter also became immediately concerned about a complex located less than a mile from her rural French Camp home that stores the same ...

Could West Texas inferno happen here?

LATHROP – The image of a West Texas fertilizer plant exploding Wednesday night startled a nation already on-edge after the terrorist bombing of the Boston Marathon earlier this week.

THAT’S THE TICKET

It takes reserve Manteca Police officer Eugene Estrella less than 30 steps to chase down a purse snatcher while on-duty.

Scholars debate roles of constitution, government

The panel discussion between Mike Winther and Steven Routh was supposed to center on the Second Amendment.

$7K plus in taxes bringing carnival to Lathrop in May

LATHROP – There are few things as All-American as the old-fashioned carnival and the fun that comes with it.

Sheriff enlists Chico State for help with body

LATHROP – San Joaquin County Sherriff's Department officials are hoping that experts from Chico State will be able to shed some light into who exactly they dug up on Manthey Road last week.

THE BEST OF LATHROP

LATHROP – It didn't take San Joaquin County Supervisor Steve Bestolarides very long to find a shining-example of a public-private partnership.

Candini was part of the Jackie Robinson story

It was the summer of 1951. Sugar Ray Robinson was the middleweight champion of the world, Ben Hogan was victorious at the Masters and the U.S. Open, and Mickey Mantle made his debut in centerfield for the New York Yankees. And in Brooklyn, a journeyman pitcher from a small town in Northern California that nobody from Flatbush – or his teammates from "The City of Brotherly Love" for that matter – had ever heard of ...

Lathrop chamber honors Junior Spartans efforts

LATHROP - Jaime Hernandez knows football. It's his love. It's his passion. It's what he has dedicated more than a decade of his life to – the founder and president of the Lathrop Junior Spartans. But Hernandez also knows respect. He understands that sports can be an incredible vehicle for delivering some of life's biggest lessons. And in his given profession – law enforcement – he knows all too well what happens when kids don't ...

Bicyclist may have found human bones

LATHROP – A peaceful bike ride took a grisly turn for one Lathrop area resident Tuesday afternoon after discovering what may turn out to be human remains along the side of the road.

Schools step up efforts to help autistic students

One in 88 children will be diagnosed with autism. For boys, that number drops down to one in 54. And whether it's a better understanding of the autism spectrum, how to properly recognize and diagnose the disorder or environmental factors that are leading organizations like the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to reexamine its numbers – or a combination of the three – the ratios certainly aren't sliding in the direction that experts would ...

Brick sales start for ‘generation complex’ work

LATHROP - It would be easy for Lathrop's youth to stand by and wait for the "Generation Complex" to be built.

Retired Lathrop minister gains Hall of Fame nod

LATHROP - Lu – Lucius to those that know him really well – Davis Jr. will soon forever be etched into the athletic history of Berkeley High School.

Lathrop Chamber honoring Papa John’s as entreprenuer

LATHROP – Angela Johal was busy making a pizza when she received the phone call. It was the Lathrop District Chamber of Commerce informing the Papa John's Pizza franchisee that she had been named the organization's annual Entrepreneur of the Year. All she could do is stop and cry. They, of course, were tears of joy, but they were also tears that marked the culmination of a long process that began at the Chamber's installation ...

Military may shutter Lathrop’s Sharpe Depot

LATHROP – After more than 75 years of providing jobs to the local economy, the future of the 724-acre military installation now known as Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin – Sharpe is uncertain. On Tuesday the Defense Logistics Agency – the government entity charged with combat logistics support and the delivery of all military goods to troops in each of the four major branches of the service – announced the opening of the mandatory 30-day ...

THE CANDLEMAKER

Editor's note: A butcher, a baker, and a candle(stick) maker. As part of The Bulletin's Q&A series with people in the community, it rounds out a trifecta with Manteca-based artisan Maria Passetti – who has grown her hobby of making soy-based candles into a healthy side-business.

Harmony stays in step with dancing in Manteca, Lodi

Weekdays are long for Harmony Rebeiro.

Park it in the pew & get some fuel

LATHROP – Need gas? Need God?

Image Changers Church worshipping in larger facility this Saturday, Sunday

LATHROP – Pastor Willie Anderson Jr. had a vision.

Valley CAPS plants community garden

Give a man a tomato and he can spruce up a salad.

TACKY ART

When it comes to art, Madeleine Romero is as sharp as a tack.

Veterans laud McNerney efforts on their behalf

LATHROP – The war wounds that Al Alexander suffered during the 13 months that he spent in Korea still plague him to this day.

Firefighters go to bat for dying colleague

Tuesday morning was not about softball.

Community gets taste of top chef creations at Merrill Gardens event

Chef Jose Morales knows how to pick a menu.

RELAY FOR LIFE

It wasn't the weather that brought Virginia Zore to California. It wasn't Disneyland or Hollywood or San Francisco or any of the other trappings of The Golden State. It was cancer. It was the Relay for Life. After flying clear across the country to visit friends in Manteca, Zore - who was diagnosed with lung cancer on Oct. 12 – represents the fighting spirit that the event promotes and the tenacity that one person can ...

Three bouncers charged in beating death of Ripon man

He makes it his business to please customers

Armed robbery at Lathrop carwash

LATHROP – A man that asked for a "light" for his cigarette Thursday afternoon ended up taking a lot more.