Keystone conducts ‘Help the Animals’ drive

Kayla Miller and Megan Anderson started out as volunteers at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manteca/Lathrop.

FIRE DISRUPTS DOWNTOWN PARADE

A fire broke out at Fred's Barber Shop in the 200 block of West Yosemite Avenue on Saturday just minutes before the start of the holiday parade forcing the procession to reroute down Sycamore Avenue to Center Street to Main Street and then back down Yosemite Avenue.

BREAKFAST WITH THE CLAUSES

Scenes from Saturday's annual Manteca Presbyterian Church's Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Boys & Girls recognizes Hall of Fame members

Mary McCleary had a chance to see youngsters making the most of their time at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Manteca / Lathrop.

Taste of Ripon draws 400 downtown

RIPON - It was a "Taste of Ripon" like none other – with nearly 400 residents swarming into the downtown to greet old friends and neighbors.

Holiday Boutique offers 34 vendors with wares today, Sunday at MRPS Hall

Andrea Cambra and Teresa Rieb were all smiles Friday at the Holiday Boutique.

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS

The following are various upcoming Christmas activities in Manteca, Lathrop and Ripon

Record housing sales for Manteca?

Manteca is 27 days away from setting two housing market records – one for the most homes sold overall and the other for the most previously owned homes closing escrow.

Manteca lights up official Christmas evergreen

The ear-to-ear smile on the face of Inessa Villanueva could have been the first true sign of the holiday season.

Lathrop kicks off holiday season with family event

LATHROP – The Lathrop Community Center was standing room only. The sea of faces, many of them multigenerational families led by grandparents, were all smiling for a good reason.

Holiday happenings in Manteca, Lathrop and Ripon

ODDS & ENDS

Twilight parade on Saturday

Get ready to rock Saturday at 5 p.m. in downtown Manteca.

Four big draws may bring 3M visitors to Manteca in ‘10

A decade ago Manteca's then fledgling Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau had to "generate reasons why" people should visit Manteca.

Manteca Tree of Lights

Brenna McLeary had a good reason to support Hospice of San Joaquin's annual "Manteca Tree of Lights" on Wednesday evening.

Manteca home values up $66,750

The value of existing Manteca homes rebounded 35.4 percent during 2013 with the median selling price jumping $66,750.

PIONEER DESCENDANT

Almost every Tuesday morning, Ron Howe volunteers his time and service to the Manteca Historical Museum.

Upgrades for tennis courts get approval

Manteca's tennis courts are getting upgrades.

Atheists, freethinkers gathering at Manteca Library

David Diskin doesn't want to offend anybody.

Two men escape car fire

Two Manteca men in their early 20s survived a flash fire in their 1996 Chevy Lumina Monday afternoon as it was parked in a rural dirt driveway on Peach Avenue west of Union Road shortly before 2 p.m.

Ernie’s chef back on TV

Top Chef launched chef Michael Midgley's star as a small-town cook with big-league potential.

Mayor: Time to step up water conservation

Manteca Mayor Willie Weatherford wants the city staff to start taking steps to reduce water waste now and not later.

Library town halls set in South County cities

What are the immediate and long-term library needs of Lathrop, Manteca, and Ripon?

There are 25 days left to donate

When Jennifer Munoz came up with the idea for trying to raise $3,000 to overhaul Santa's Downtown Manteca home, she knew it was going to be a long shot.