"We have met the enemy and he is us." – The much quoted line from Pogo comic strip from 1971
The 1906 Earthquake couldn't do it. The Great Depression didn't break it. Nor could repeated droughts or any obstacle Mother Nature could toss-up. Arnold Schwarzenegger – who is sounding more and more like a worn out punch line with every passing day – and the rest of the so-called Big Five have managed to cobble together a farce of a budget plan that has all the right ingredients to turn California into a Third World ...
In better times proceeding with the planting of 250 trees along the Tidewater Bikeway's Moffat Boulevard leg would be a no brainer.
Proposition 13 has become the whipping boy for many playing the blame game for the current budget deficit as well as the weakened condition of public education in California.
In the beginning, they were simply clerks. Then they became associates. And now at places like Nordstrom's they're personal navigators. Whatever the name, their job is still the same - helping make shopping easier for you. However, there are always a few apples that spoil the reputation of the whole bunch. We're not just talking minor nuisances here. It's the full Monty of rudeness from people who are unclear on the concept of customer service. ...
It was time to pay the piper. We were heading into San Francisco for the day. I had just paid $4 for the Bay Bridge toll and was pulling out of the toll plaza when Ashley – my 16-year-old granddaughter – expressed surprise at the dollar amount and wanted to know why it cost so much. I replied that the California Toll Bridge Authority operates five bridges and that the money pays for the constant ...
I have to admit that I wasn't emotionally moved when I first saw "Field of Dreams" some 20 years ago.
It was, as they say, a defining moment. A caller 18 years ago to the Bulletin was indignant that the Manteca Police were announcing to the entire world that his house was vulnerable to criminals. What was drawing his wrath was a program called "If I Were a Burglar." The transgression Manteca Police had committed was leaving behind a notice on the inside of his garage door that he was inviting theft by leaving his ...
Petula Clark would not have been inspired to sing her 1960s hit "Downtown" were she to walk the streets in the heart of Manteca today.
Want proof positive that marijuana causes brain damage? The Marijuana Policy Project has put together a 30-second commercial urging folks up in Sacramento to legalize pot. That by itself would simply mean they hold a different opinion than many people have about whether marijuana should be accepted and has no serious side effects. It isn't until you see the commercial you realize that marijuana obviously kills off brain cells. It starts with a woman going ...
People who see in black and white only inadvertently shortchange themselves – and others – by not embracing a wide repertoire of hues that can make things possible even during trying times.
Why, they ask up in Sacramento, don't people trust us? There are at least two million reasons why. That happens to be the amount California State University Chancellor Charles Reed spent of your money to hire high-priced private sector lobbyists to lobby your state representatives to get even more of your money. If that sounds outrageous, you haven't heard anything yet. Reed spent the money without seeking bids and did so on top of $1.1 ...
It's Tuesday morning and I'm online trying to find the best PC feed to view the Michael Jackson memorial services.
Rip-off AT&T's intellectual property and make it available for free and faster than you can text "SUE U" the communication giant would unleash lawyers upon the offender in droves.
The guy was a jerk. We were driving the right way down a one-way parking lane outside Trader Joe's in Modesto Saturday when he turned the wrong way and stopped within three feet of my front bumper. I sat there waiting for him to move. He stared. Thirty seconds passed he did not move nor was there even a single car passing behind him in the travel lane in front of the stores. Another 15 ...
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.