Archive By Section - Local Columns
California needs a total recall of Sacramento
I'm not a huge fan of recalls but given the fact no one up in Sacramento really got the message May 19 I'm in favor of a total recall.
Why Republicans should like Jerry Brown as governor
Jerry Brown was right. Thirty-one years ago when Brown ended his second term as governor of California he not only had reduced taxes but had built up the largest state surplus ever. On his watch, California created 1 out of every 4 new jobs in the nation. He also was the trailblazer for building and energy appliance standards as well as solar and alternative energy. How did Brown do it? Simple. He refused to spend ...
Missing the boat in the letter tug-of-war
Reading the endless back-and-forth between Republicans and Democrats in these pages is often good for a few minutes of low-cost entertainment.
The high cost of celebrating our liberty
The price of liberty is high. And celebrating it isn't much cheaper either. Manteca's decision to shift the Fourth of July celebration to July 3 is being met with a growing storm of criticism running the gamut from it being borderline sacrilegious to downright unpatriotic. It is easy to understand the public sentiment. In a way, though, this is a good thing. Some 233 years after our forefathers declared their independence from rulers that taxed ...
‘Old Man River’ versus a ‘Younger Girl’
"Hotel California" was playing on the Escape's CD stereo as I turned down Yosemite Avenue headed for Staples Sunday with my 16-year-old granddaughter Ashley riding shotgun.
The unfairness of de facto boarding houses
Manteca creates neighborhoods designed for single family homes. You buy a home in such a neighborhood with the expectation that they will be used as a home for one family or an extended family. Then one day a home sells. Within a few days five different couples or individuals move in. What's going on? Some believe an investor may have bought the home and has converted it into a boarding house. In this example – ...
Managing risk in the mission field
The increase in trafficking, violence and kidnappings along the northern Mexican border is adding new impetus to stricter immigration policies, and heightened urgency to controlling illegal movement into the United States.
Five months that will shape Manteca for years to come
"The first five minutes are critical for what happens in the next five hours in a fire. (It is the same principle as) the next five months and how they impact the next five years." – Franco Torrice, Manteca firefighter
Time to rethink eighth grade ‘graduation’
Lathrop School is on to something. Under the leadership of Principal David Silveira, the school quietly jettisoned evening graduation ceremonies and replaced it with promotion ceremonies during the school day for those eighth graders who passed the muster to advance to high school. The low-key and inexpensive approach had several nice touches including a promotion breakfast as well as a chance for those advancing to go to lunch with their parents to celebrate before returning ...
Police physically & fiscally protect Manteca
Let's face it. Manteca Police – by the very nature of their job – encounter people who aren't exactly thrilled to see them. Criminals? They don't like seeing police officers. People getting a ticket for speeding or running stop signs? They don't like seeing police officers. People frustrated because officers take a while to get to their address because they've been on more pressing calls? They're usually not happy campers. Contrast that to firefighters. Everyone ...
Random acts of kindness multiply fast
Random acts of kindness and compassion come in all shapes and forms. Last Friday, students at George McParland School, for instance, demonstrated the rippling effect created by those good deeds in the form of a chain link that extended from the main site at the corner of London Avenue and Northgate Drive, to the Annex some two blocks away at 1370 London Ave. In all, nearly 1,200 kindergarten- through- eighth-grade students from both sites were ...
As goes General Motors, so goes the nation
As much as I don't like the idea of Uncle Sam nationalizing General Motors regardless for how short of a time period it might end up being, it is tough to argue against the move.
The burden of a 90% public safety retirement benefit
It did in Vallejo. It could also do major damage to Manteca. The culprit? The high cost of public safety. Or, more precisely, the high cost of public safety retirement. Manteca spends 57.84 cents out of every dollar in the general fund on police and fire services including retirement benefits. That is about normal for California cities that typically range from 50 to 63 cents. Vallejo though is in excess of 80 cents ...
State should take advantage of Hyundai offer
Too bad Gary Coleman wasn't governor. He'd have California's cash flow problem covered in just five minutes by calling CashCall.com. So what if the annual percentage rate on the payback is 99.25 percent? It obviously didn't bother the California Legislature when they have repeatedly refused efforts to impose tighter regulations on as predatory lenders who prey on the poor. Coleman – who finished eighth out of a field of 135 candidates in the infamous recall ...
Caswell State Park: Going, going, gone for years to come?
A unique Central Valley gem encompassing 258 acres awaiting those venturing to the southern end of Austin Road may soon be off limits.
Articles by Section - Local Columns
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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