Archive By Section - Local Columns
Joe Bazookas need to enjoy stepping on gooey gum
If there is a merciful deity, there is a special spot reserved in hell for those who abuse the privilege of chewing bubble gum in public.
Congress runs America like the Titantic
The Titanic should have taught us all a lesson. When the ship of state hits an iceberg, it's the rich and powerful to the lifeboats first while the rest of us are left scrambling around like a bunch of trapped rats on a sinking ship.
The rich – and powerful – are different than you and I
I get it now. AIG executives get mega bonuses using taxpayer bailout funds after helping nearly sending the American economy into the elephant graveyard but the second it looks like Ma and Pa Kettle are taking advantage of the "Cash for Clunkers" the bureaucrats almost have a major stroke applying the brakes. At the same time the national media is all aflutter about the "injustice" of a black professional in Cambridge arrested in his own ...
Freeing the angel inside
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 ...
Manteca needs to create Moffat transit village
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 ...
The most cost effective health care solution is you and I
"We have met the enemy and he is us." – The much quoted line from Pogo comic strip from 1971
Get ready for The sequel: ‘Kindergartner Governor’
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 ...
Moffat project is more than just planting 250 trees
In better times proceeding with the planting of 250 trees along the Tidewater Bikeway's Moffat Boulevard leg would be a no brainer.
Without Prop. 13 California would be in worse shape
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.
Nominations for worst store clerk
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. ...
That $4 bridge toll is a real deal as are many of our government services
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 ...
Manteca’s ‘Fields of Dreams’
I have to admit that I wasn't emotionally moved when I first saw "Field of Dreams" some 20 years ago.
Time to stop enabling criminals
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 ...
Downtown Manteca at crossroads
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.
Hey, man, like tax me, like a lot, like now
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 ...
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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