Let it snow, let it snow in Manteca!

Valley commuters on their way to work in the Bay Area early Monday morning were treated to a rare visual treat in the Altamont: white chocolate hills that turned the normally brown and green vista into a winter wonderland magic.

Fire district flap flares up over half hour of OT pay

LATHROP – It may not turn out to be as expensive and as laboriously long as the City of Lathrop's Matt Browne case, but a personnel issue involving the demotion of a 15-year fire captain with the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District is also being reviewed by an administrative law judge.

Turning blight into senior housing

Six months ago, the only shelter that the 1.4-acre parcel wedged between Grant Avenue and the back of Dribbles' Car Wash and Burger King provided was for a homeless encampment amid rubbish and weeds.

1,060 families may go without Christmas meal

Sue Teunissen at this point wouldn't mind at all if the community was able to come forward with just enough money to put hams on the tables of struggling families in Manteca, Lathrop, and Ripon this Christmas.

Delicato Vineyards fine art show entries open on Dec. 26

Delicato Vineyards is holding its 22nd annual Fine Art Show from Saturday, Jan. 16 through Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. All art in this show will be available for sale.

Violent sex offender is registered in SJ County

The Megan's Law Website lists recently released sexual predator Dewayne Michael Smith as a resident of San Joaquin County – not San Francisco, where he was said to be working after a short stop at his parent's mobile home address in Manteca.

Brock Elliott Pancake Slam

The fourth annual Pancake Slam takes place at Brock Elliott School on Saturday, Dec. 12, from 7 to 11 a.m.

MUST planning basketball fundamentals clinic on Dec. 23 at Manteca High

Shane Carpenter knows the importance of fundamentals to the game of basketball.

Holiday Affair set for Dec. 16

Manteca Soroptimists are planning their upcoming 30th Annual Holiday Affair.

OLD FAMILIAR FACES

Brett Lewis is confident and goes as far to say that he's developed somewhat of a swagger.

Stuff the Bus

Ripon VFW Auxiliary sends gifts to GIs in Iraq & Afghanistan

RIPON - Sheri Layson, president of the Ripon Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Auxiliary, is working hard to see that gift boxes get shipped out in time for the holidays to troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Auto thefts on slight upswing

Vehicle thefts after dropping for four straight years are on a slight upswing in Manteca.

Ripon tiff over 1945 vs. 1874 date on arch sign

RIPON – Time dating downtown Ripon seemed like the perfect finishing touch for archways that capped an extensive renovation project that replaced nearly all street surfaces with pavers and helped add a retro element to the central district.

Union Road/120 interchange proposal now at environmental review stage

Fifteen years ago you couldn't access Union Road from the Highway 120 Bypass.

Kicking for a Cure soccer match tonight

Its logo might adorn all the letterhead and signage, but Manteca High soccer coach Justin Coenenberg will be the first to admit the "Kicking for a Cure" game is an event driven by the community.

Manteca High junior mixes yoga & murals

Evelyn Gonzalez plans to do a yoga pose in front of all 200 plus murals at Manteca High.

Underground beats mainstream for hip-hop artist Andrew Bell

East Union High graduate Andrew Bell has become a permanent fixture in the Sacramento hip-hop scene since moving to the State Capital from the Bay Area several years ago.

CAPS gardeners get needed exercise through planting and harvest chores

The annual planting at the CAPS' campus on North Austin Road at East Yosemite Avenue adds an element of unexpected "exercise" for the consumers at the learning facility designed as an extra level of educating the physically and learning disabled in the community.

With Their Aid

Jocelyn Patane was nervous, intimidated and at times, lost on the wide-open stretches of the soccer field.

Manteca alleys: Retain & repair or eliminate?

Some new urban neighborhoods embrace alleys.

Lathrop hires help to check building plans

LATHROP – It's not as simple as looking at a picture and giving it the thumbs up.

Master gardener program helps sharpen skills

Some people are born with green thumbs. Others are made.

Make it appeal to Petula Clark

It's not 1918 anymore.

PLANTING THE SEED

In black shades and a Hawaiian button-up, Larry Teunissen is the epitome of beach-boy cool.

Post office pulls plug on mailing taxes by midnight

The tax day midnight madness is no more.

Campaign to drop all federal income taxes

Imagine an America where the corporate income tax is reduced to zero.

Divided downtown derails decisions

Can't all the downtown merchants just get along?

Bureau increasing flows on Stanislaus River on Monday

The Bureau of Reclamation will begin increasing releases from Goodwin Dam into the Stanislaus River to benefit Stanislaus River steelhead and San Joaquin River Chinook salmon starting on Monday.

Glacier Point opens to cars Monday

YOSEMITE NATIOMNAL PARK - The Glacier Point Road in Yosemite National Park is open to bicyclists.