Woodworker seeks people interested in helping paint wooden toys for needy kids

Recently I saw an article in one of the local papers showing some young people painting blocks of wood that had the appearance of cars or trucks. It indicated that they were making them to send to children in China.

Buying home for less than monthly rent

Ben and Sandee Myers don't have cable TV, a flashy car, or the latest high-tech toy. The 20-Something couple, though, has something that they believe is a whole lot more evaluable – a home they can call their own where they can raise their daughter Mallory who turns 2 in May as well as grow old together. The Myers would not have been able to buy a home three years ago when homes in the ...

Home grown comedian performing Saturday

Erik Mackenroth has been crisscrossing the West Coast, performing his standup comedy act at various venues.

Dickman tells of his World War II flying days

Manteca native Frank Dickman, a member of the Greatest Generation that came of age in the Great Depression and fought in World War II, passed away this week. The Manteca Bulletin profiled Dickman's war service on March 22, 1990. That story is being rerun here to remind us of the great debt we owe the men and women who served America in World War II as well as in other wars and in time of peace. His obituary appears on Page A2 of today's Manteca Bulletin.

Week in Photos: March 19-25

A sample of the photos taken by the Bulletin staff that appeared in the print edition of the Manteca Bulletin during the week of March 19-25.

Water cops getting word out: Don’t waste water

Getting the word out on conserving water might be a good idea. Two people were spotted hosing down driveways and sidewalks while three other households had a steady stream of water running into gutters and into storm drains during a mile-long swing through East Manteca at 1 p.m. Tuesday. It is against city rules to clean concrete by hosing it down and it is illegal to both water lawns between noon and 6 p.m. when ...

EU Cemetery in need of helping hands

The new East Union Cemetery Association board wants to be ready for business once they get the official okay from the state.

Parks: Back to the future

There was a time 30 years ago and longer that if the community deemed recreational facilities were needed, volunteers would join forces with local government agencies to share the cost of constructing them.

School, city & fire still at odds over Frontage Road

RIPON - After years of what seemed an unbreakable deadlock, the agencies with a viable interest in the new frontage road along the west side of Highway 99 are heading back to the negotiation table.

School board may cut their stipends by 5%

Trustees of the Manteca Unified School District receive a monthly stipend in accordance with the state education code.

East Union Talent Show

East Union High faculty members staged a talent show at the campus Saturday to raise scholarship funds for graduating high school seniors.

Students get taste of flushing out suspects

Some 70 students in the Regional Occupational Program's Careers in Law Enforcement classes at Lindbergh School and New Vision were faced with the task of flushing out and apprehending a suspect.

Tractor Supply’s Christopher: Chef & animal lover

RIPON - Preparing five-course meals for 25 family members on holidays is old hat for Tractor Supply Company manager Rob Christopher.

Roundabout future for Manteca?

One way to slow down traffic – and to make neighborhood streets safer – is by designing developments with narrower streets, roundabouts, chicanes, bulb-outs, and non-intrusive fast growing trees that create a partial canopy over the pavement.

Julie Sweeney city employee of year for ‘08

Julie Sweeney – a seven-year staff member in the finance department – is the 2008 City of Manteca Employee of the Year.

1,619 more Manteca homes?

Get ready for a new McMansion Era in Manteca.

UNITY CAN BE FUN

Youngsters of the Friday Unity Night in the Neighborhood were still getting used to their new digs following the ribbon-cutting event.

Diocese mulls bankruptcy after sexual abuse settlements

By ROSE ALBANO RISSO

Non-profit benefactors of PG&E embrace rate hike

STOCKTON – Non-profits in and around San Joaquin County are appreciative of the money that San Francisco-based PG&E has given out to them over the years.

SJ County Fair opens 5-day run Wednesday

STOCKTON – The San Joaquin County Fair is back after a brief run this past fall.

Manteca murder mystery

It was a long unsolved missing person's murder "cold case" that covered more than two decades until police were tipped off last month that skeletal evidence was buried in or around Manteca. The grave of a missing Stockton woman is yielding clues to a murder mystery that began with the disappearance of Karen Michelle Sterzl, 36, in December of 1990, from a houseboat on the Tuleburg Levee that she shared in Stockton with Manteca upholstery ...

Twin tunnels: Death knell for Delta farming?

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta could become saltier if the state builds the two massive diversion tunnels Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed to supply water to the Central Valley and Southern California. And if that occurs, it could lay waste to $560 million of San Joaquin County's annual farm production of $2.2 billion. Water with high salt content ultimately renders soil toxic to Delta farm crops. Once fertile soil laden with salts - either intentionally or ...

Lathrop may go solar to counter PG&E costs

LATHROP - Could hedging power costs end up saving taxpayers a bundle? It all depends upon where electricity costs do over the course of the next three decades. Last week the Lathrop City Council heard a proposal by a solar energy firm that could eventually lead to an overhaul of the way that the municipality pays for its electricity. They would shun the standard PG&E model and go instead with an extensive solar power system ...

MUSD provides free meals to 2,000 plus kids

Zimmerman’s attorney walks tight line in defense in shooting of teen

SANFORD, Fla. (AP) - George Zimmerman's lead attorney will be walking a fine line as he tries to convince jurors that his client didn't murder Trayvon Martin: He needs to show why Zimmerman felt threatened by the African-American teenager while avoiding the appearance that either he or his client is racist.

Comcast buffs up guides for Internet age

WASHINGTON (AP) - After years of making money providing Internet service, cable TV companies are now tapping the power of the Internet to improve clunky program guides that are a relic of the 1990s.

Digital music service expected from Apple

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple is expected to reveal a digital radio service and changes to the software behind iPhones and iPads today as the company opens its annual conference for software developers.

Heat at graduation sends five to hospital

LOOMIS (AP) - At least 15 people suffered heat exhaustion and heat stroke at an outdoor graduation ceremony in Placer County, which saw record-breaking temperatures and conditions that posed extreme fire danger on Saturday, authorities said.

BART official paid $330K for not working

OAKLAND (AP) - A top official for the agency that manages the San Francisco Bay Area's BART system earned more than $330,000 last year - even though she didn't work a single day for the public transit agency, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Japanese troops train on Calif. beach

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Japanese troops will converge on California's southern coast in the next two weeks as part of a military exercise with U.S. troops aimed at improving that country's amphibious attack abilities.