Transparency is now all the rage at all levels of government. It is easy to understand why. The well is going dry in terms of options on how many ways are left to skin a taxpayer. It's about time transparency is more than mere lip service although a lot of folks in government still have one heck of a ways to go before they are crystal clear about what they are doing with our money. ...
A photograph of Candlestick Park is thumb-tacked on the wall facing the desk of reporter Jason Campbell.
You've got to love some newspaper reporters. It is against their nature to report on anything unless they can show there is conflict. Such is the case with the Almond Court subsidized low-income senior apartment complex dedicated on Monday on North Union Road in Manteca. The Modesto Bee had to give the story "tension" so they found a real estate agent who brokers apartments in the Northern San Joaquin Valley – 100 complexes in the ...
What's the name of Manteca's official flower? Apparently it is the weed. Weeds are what grace Manteca's front door at Yosemite Avenue and Highway 99 in a testimonial to the fact government moves at a pace that would put your garden variety snail to sleep waiting for results. The project is more overdue than government spending reform in Sacramento. The landscaping of the areas along the freeway ramps and medians on Yosemite Avenue is part ...
If your neighborhood socialist – aka congressmen, senators and legislators – used your tax dollars to prop up AIG while AIG was selling you a commodity that they kept hiking the price on, how would you react? And what if while you're on a fixed income, in a wage freeze or have lost your job and the AIG division that you had no choice but to buy the commodity from gives its CEO a 5 ...
The Bible tells us to be slow to anger in Proverbs 14:29. It means that we shouldn't fly off the handle when something or someone rubs us the wrong way. I have obeyed this wise saying this last two weeks. I am referring to the column that our City Manager Steve Pinkerton wrote two weeks ago in response to my "Lead Balloon" column in this newspaper, which appeared, on March 20. He was fairly critical ...
Enough is enough. If the California Legislature really wants to eliminate the deficit, they should hike the fine for holding and using your cell phone while driving to $1,000. The state could go from deficit to surplus faster than you can download the theme song to the old TV show "CHiPS." Over the years, I've seen a lot of close calls between motorists and other drivers preoccupied with yakking on a cell and turning into ...
Think you've seen everything? Well how about this one. Some people are really into exercising their pets...On a recent drive through a new subdivision in north Manteca I came upon a gentleman driving his pickup truck down the street with his dog trotting alongside the vehicle. What's different or wrong with that? The driver was holding onto a leash as he drove. The leash was attached to the dog's collar.
There's one danger in playing chicken. If the other guy doesn't flinch you've got to face the music.
Let me tell you How it will be. There's one for you, Nineteen for me, 'Cause I'm the taxman. Yeah, I'm the taxman. Should five percent Appear too small, Be thankful I don't Take it all. 'Cause I'm the taxman. Yeah, I'm the taxman. If you drive a car, I'll tax the street. If you drive to city, I'll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat. If you take a ...
To access City Manager Steve Pinkerton's blog go to www.ci.manteca.ca.us/blog/
I drive a Ford. That must irritate those who are using this economic mess to push for the government seizing control of American corporations. While the powers-that-be in DC run around saying GM and Chrysler got themselves into this mess – and Ford to a lesser degree – by turning out gas hogs they've got it all wrong. The real reasons are the fully loaded Cadillac Escalade version of health benefits that cost GM over ...
It is a miracle, plain and simple. I reached 53 years of age today at 10:10 a.m. It defies all the odds. First there is conception that some put the odds at a million to one for the right sperm to connect with the right egg to start the process of creating the unique individual that each of us is today. Then there is the infant mortality rate. Back in 1956 when I was born, ...
Ty Lawson had to be stoked that our 44th U.S. President knew him by name. The 21-year-old point guard for the University of North Carolina sat out the first-round of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with a jammed right toe. His injury concerned many filling out their March Madness pools, including Barack Obama. The President made an under-the-radar campaign promise to ESPN that, if elected, he would reveal his tournament bracket picks on ...
Mt. Diablo isn't among Mother Nature's highest peaks. Even so, the summit that towers 3,849 feet provides one of the most awe-inspiring views you'll ever see. Sunday's strong breezes cleared the skies to allow you to see one of California's two volcanoes – Mt. Lassen – some 180 miles to the northeast. Between Mt. Diablo and Mt. Lassen lies the vastness of the Sacramento Valley. You can spy the Delta, much of the East Bay, ...
Dear graduates:
Manteca is celebrating an anniversary this year that is one for the books.
LATHROP – And I wondered why people don't trust the government.
Ripon – the community – possesses a wealth of heart-inspiring stories in the minds of its many highly respected senior citizens.
It was the white lie of the last decade.
Shame on you, Tim Cook.
The San Joaquin Valley's blessing is its curse.
Mom didn't die.
Imagine your kid playing on an aging soccer field.
Here's a little nugget for those embroiled in the debate over gun control: Young men kill.
Almost four years ago, I wrote a column entitled "The Obama Effect" in which I described how fear and distrust of our then newly elected President created panic among our citizenry and that there were massive shortages of almost every kind of ammunition imaginable.
Is the plan PG&E proof?
The Internet.
DEAR DIDI: It hasn't been all that hot yet but I noticed when I was walking my English Bulldog the other day he refused to stay on the sidewalk. Can you tell me about temperatures for walks and what I should watch for when I take her in the car? -Worried Mommy in Manteca
Pundits - and editorial cartoonists - are having a field day over Congress' decision to restore funding for air traffic controllers while letting programs such as Headstart for low-income kids and Meals on Wheels for shut-in senior citizens take federal budget hits.