Archive By Section - Local Columns
It is time to pull the plug on California’s government
Santa Barbara is burning. The water levels behind Oroville are precariously low. The nation's Appalachia Valley of the 21st century in terms of poverty – the Southern San Joaquin – reels under unemployment approaching nearly 20 percent. California – despite all of its potential and wealth both natural and economic – has gotten it all wrong. We haven't altered land development patterns that make conditions ripe for annual wildfires that wipe out thousands of homes ...
I still listen for the pitter-patter of paws
It all started when John Grogran first got the idea to publish his tales about life with a young Labrador that instantly captured the heart of America. And for those of us who grew up with a lab in our house, the pages that Grogan filled in that book became almost a verbatim recount of the things encountered with the wiry but outrageously loyal animals. But there was a darker tinge in that story – ...
This is your Mother’s Day card, mom
Dear readers: My mother, Cynthia, recently visited from Washington State. Having recently completed 81 years, she still surprises me with her energy. Raised Christian Scientist by her parents in the Boston environment, she learned that maintaining good health requires a real balancing act. Loving the outdoors, she became early on a camp counselor. Wanting to promote the health of others, she studied physical therapy and perfected her art on the island of Guam. Knowing what ...
Sweet words: ‘Due to inactivity on your account we are canceling your card’
Shortly after I turned 18 I got my first two credit cards from Mervyn's and Chevron. They were simply for convenience although there were times I stretched my Mervyn's payments over three months. Then came the bank cards that were essential for a photography business I had on the side. They also were perfect when traveling. Then – like most people I suppose – I started using credit cards to purchase items in advance of ...
Did liar home loans also attract criminal element to Manteca?
Has Manteca's crime rate gone down because some of the "right" people are losing their homes?
Weatherford Woods may ultimately help Manteca sewer woes
Weeping willows take on more water than the Titanic. They also create great wildlife habitats for birds and other creatures. If Mayor Willie Weatherford has his druthers, they'd be some 200 acres of willow trees in a floodplain on the southwest part of the city. They would literally drink up treated wastewater while at the same time recharging the water tables allowing nature – via the trees – to remove nitrates and ammonia. "Weatherford Woods" ...
Purpletie.com proved the fallacy of many high tech based businesses
Remember Purpletie.com? It was the idea of high-tech Turks from the Silicon Valley to do a web-based dry cleaning service. They were seeking capital to build a massive dry cleaning plant in Manteca next door to where Frito-Lay is on Moffat Boulevard. Routes would go into the Bay Area and Sacramento with pickups and deliveries opposite of the commute. They thought they were brilliant. After all, busy people don't have time to go to the ...
The downtown bulbs and debunking 8 myths about them
The traffic bulbs downtown don't exactly give everyone the warm fuzzies. It is time, however, for people to give up the ghost – especially downtown merchants – when it comes to demanding they be ripped out. Here's why. MYTH NO. 1: The bulbs are killing business by eliminating parking. It's been more than four years since the bulbs were put in place. Name the businesses that went under because parking spaces were eliminated in the ...
Municipal crisis: We are all in this together
The City of Manteca at one point had 430 approved employee positions. That was at the start of the current economic malaise triggered by the foreclosure mess, Today, there are 370 municipal workers on the job. If all goes well and another 10 to 20 employees will retire in the coming fiscal year, property and sales tax news isn't as gloomy as feared, and all of the budget cutting strategies being pursued and put in ...
Give a prisoner a cell & you should get put in a cell
Prisoners have better healthcare than most taxpayers. They even eat better than many who are law-abiding. So why is anyone surprised that prisoners have easy access to cell phones? More than 2,800 cell phones were confiscated last year from inmates in California prisons or hidden in and around cells. You're asking how the prisoners managed to get cell phones. According to state spokesmen, about half come from prison employees including the highly paid guards who ...
Crying wolf too many times may catch up with educators May 19
Crying wolf one too many times could lead to an unpleasant day of reckoning come the morning after May 19 for California public schools.
One headache I don’t mind: Kicking the diet soda habit
I have a mild headache – and I couldn't be happier. It's been 28 hours as I type this that I decided to go cold turkey. No more caffeine. That may not sound like a big deal but I have a $2,022 a year Diet Pepsi habit. Those 16 ounce bottles add up when you put away an average of four a day. Caffeine is clearly addictive. I learned this all too well 15 years ...
Extreme eaters
I wouldn't call competitive eating a sport. Not just yet. But make no mistake about it: the events of the Major League Eaters are extreme. Take last Saturday's Stockton Asparagus Festival, for example. Many at the 24th annual event – sanctioned by MLE – made their way to the main stage of the Weber Point Event Center to watch four-time defending champion Joey "Jaws" Chestnut take part in the world deep-fried asparagus-eating contest. He's the ...
Governor 2010: A race where the older guy has the real fresh ideas
Dianne Feinstein – arguably the best choice for California's next governor – isn't likely to run for the Golden State's top elected office unless she has a martyr streak a thousand miles wide.
Manteca Unified isn’t crying wolf about budget woes
If you want class-size reduction to stay intact, then there is only one thing to do – convince the Manteca Unified School District board Tuesday to put Lathrop High on ice and close two elementary schools by consolidating Veritas and Nile Garden as well as New Haven and Joshua Cowell.
Articles by Section - Local Columns
Shooting a hole in the debate over gun control
Here's a little nugget for those embroiled in the debate over gun control: Young men kill.
Ammo sales & ‘The Obama Effect’
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.
Safeguards against PG&E style file browsing at Manteca City Hall
Is the plan PG&E proof?
Tax Internet sales until virtual cops can protect us
The Internet.
Summer heat and keeping dogs safe
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
Taxes you pay go to PG&E & not Headstart
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.
The Pope and Godless capitalism
"This is called slave labor," said Pope Francis.
Cinco de Mayo is as American as you can get
People need to stop having heart palpations over Cinco de Mayo celebrations.
Meeting your Ripon neighbors at jury duty, plus an unexpected pleasure over lunch
Meeting a couple of Ripon folks, and one from Linden and another from Tracy was an unexpected pleasure in my brief two days of jury duty this week – especially when four of us just happened to go out to lunch together on Thursday.
Kentucky Derby’s horse tie to French Camp
FRENCH CAMP – It's a funny thing, this horse racing business.
Guns: Being judged by 12 instead of being carried by 6
She's a single mom in her early 30s. She lives in an old farmhouse in an almond orchard five miles east of Manteca. The closest neighbor is a quarter mile of a way but the trees make it impossible to see their home.
Want a safe environment for vacation? Then stay out of Yosemite
Yosemite National Park is not Disneyland.
Perhaps Manteca should work with Wal-Mart to create a homeless park
The aging RV was parked under a stately tree providing relief from the 90-degree midday heat.
Count your blessings that disco didn’t survive the ‘70s
Bell bottom pants. Flare-leg pants. Men's rayon tie scarves. Polyester suits.
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