SUPPORTING WRITING PROJECT

PG&E wants to increase power bills by almost 10 percent

Exploding transformers in San Francisco are in part going to drive up your PG&E rates by almost 10 percent over the next three years.

Era of Ripon air patrols starts

RIPON - Ripon Police officers took to the air early Wednesday morning in the powered parachute they received this week from the U.S. Justice Department – one of only three in the nation.

Final Movie in the Park takes place on Saturday

Those who arrive Saturday before 7 p.m. for the final Movies in the Park screening of the summer will get in free.

SSJID HOSTS CHAMBER MIXER

Farmers market draws people to Library Park Tuesday evenings

Eddie Moya worked hard on Tuesday afternoon to make sure that everything being presented to customers at the De Palma Farms booth located dead-center in the row of professional produce growers that make the Manteca Convention and Visitors Bureau weekly Farmer's Market what it is at the end of the day.

Firefighters tackle ‘mock’ fire emergency

Manteca firefighters – both regulars and reserves – entered a smoke-filled storage facility Tuesday night in the first of a three-night training session.

Jail operating tab will cost $68 per capita

It is going to cost $68 annually for every man, woman, and child to cover the cost of operating the proposed expansion of the San Joaquin County Jail.

100 MPH PURSUIT

It began with the pursuit of a career auto theft suspect at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour and ended with a Manteca police dog treeing a wanted passenger in the top of a walnut tree.

Kids participate in bicycle rodeo

It had been years since the last bicycle rodeo was held at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manteca / Lathrop.

Lathrop furloughs saving $525,000

LATHROP – Lathrop City Hall will be closed on Fridays starting Aug. 14 until further notice as the city wrestles with a $3 million plus budget deficit this fiscal year which started on July 1.

Chucking 4-lane plan?

There are dozens upon dozens of homes built decades ago along Woodard Avenue west of Main Street when it was still almost a mile drive to reach Manteca.

Railroad crews work to reopen main line to LA

Union Pacific Railroad work crews were busy laying new track sections Tuesday morning at the scene of the main line wreck Monday evening as one Manteca family relived the scare of their lives.

Restore the Delta makes chamber pitch

LATHROP – Restore the Delta - a group dedicated to finding an alternative to the Peripheral Canal – made a pitch for support at the third annual Lathrop District Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday that drew some 80 members to the Mikasa Japanese Restaurant in the Save Mart Shopping Center.

Lathrop mayor, & city council cut their pay by 10 percent

LATHROP – Members of the Lathrop City Council have volunteered to give up 10 percent of their stipends in solidarity with the employees who are being hit with the same amount of pay cut as part of the effort to reduce the $2.5 million budget deficit this year.

Suspect in teen’s death released

The charges against 19-year-old Mia Aguiar are serious.

TV CHALLENGE

Paul Binford builds bikes.

SSJID leery of state’s intentions

One of California's water rights gurus says the state wants to protect senior water rights such as the ones held by South San Joaquin Irrigation District.

Blaze destroys mobile home near MHS field

More than 30 firefighters battled a mobile home fire late Tuesday night attempting to keep the blazing inferno from setting adjacent structures on fire in the 500 block of Moffat Boulevard.

Manteca Punjabi group staging community event

Cultural and traditional pride will be on display Saturday for the annual Punjabi American Association Manteca "Bringing Communities Together" event.

WATER WAR ON HORIZON

A water war is about to erupt on the Stanislaus River.

TRIPLE BLESSING

Three girls – believed to be identical triplets – were born to a Manteca couple last week who already have two children at home.

Manteca’s goal: 5th fire station, new police office

Manteca needs to restore police and firefighting staffing to prerecession levels.

Library landscaping facelift on Arbor Day

The Manteca Public Library landscape facelift continues on Friday.

Tesla bringing jobs to Lathrop

It's a business at the forefront of the movement towards fossil fuel-free transportation.

‘ACT LIKE ZACH, SMILE LIKE ZACH’

Zachariah Gomez Hernandez smiled.

SSJID taking delivery of federal power

Electricity generated at federal facilities will start powering the South San Joaquin Irrigation District offices and a portion of the agency's pumps starting in 2015.

Candidates’ forum to feature three SJCOE superintendent candidates

STOCKTON - An open forum featuring the three candidates running for superintendent of San Joaquin County Office of Education will be held Thursday, April 24, in the Fireside Room of Central United Methodist Church in Stockton, 3700 Pacific Avenue. The event, which is open to the public free of charge, will begin with a "meet and greet" starting at 6:15 p.m. followed by the presentation of the candidates at 6:30 p.m.

Sleepy Hollow nearly empty

Just over a month ago the Sleepy Hollow Mobile Home Park was busting at the seams with squatters.

Steve Winter joining Hall of Fame

Steve Winter - a Manteca High Buffalo through and through for 40 years first as a student, then as a teacher and coach, next as an administrator, and then five years as principal - is being inducted into the Manteca Hall of Fame.