Saturday, an angel incarcerated for 556 years finally saw the light of day. High up in one of Haghia Sophia's towering domes, the seraphim had been carefully painted sometime after the church's construction in 537. It held vigil over the faithful who made pilgrimage to one of Christianity's most beautiful shrines, until, in 1453, Ottoman Turks overran the ancient Byzantine capital, Constantinople. The pearl of Orthodox Christianity soon was reduced to a mosque. Defenders of ...
Transit villages are supposedly cutting edge concepts in urban planning. It's where shopping and housing is densely clustered near rail or transit hubs. Such transit villages are being pursued on various legs of the BART system. One, however, doesn't have to live in an East Bay or a San Francisco Peninsula city to take advantage of such a concept that is actually rather old. Before the mass production of the auto, most people and businesses ...
"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.
Shaun T. - one of the late night gurus of exercise DVDs - wants you to send him three monthly payments of $39.95 to take advantage of his Insanity Workouts.
Let the distortions begin.
One man's due diligence is costing more than 40,000 households, business, and farmers $12 million a year.
I'm a prime candidate for the Homeland Security watch list.
Why does Uncle Sam insist on subsidizing rich people?
Want to see the future of the Northern San Joaquin Valley?
The toughest job in Manteca might just be the men who are part of the Manteca Police Department's traffic enforcement unit.