The new city trustees got to work Monday night and showed they are alive to the needs of the city. They did not accomplish much definite work, but did evidence a purpose to get things going in the way of needed improvements. Three representatives of lamp posts appeared before the board, showing choice selections of such posts as would make a pretty lighting system for Manteca.

A reduction in the water rate from 10 cents to five cents per hundred cubic feet after 30,000 cubic feet have been used was voted by the City Council at a meeting Monday night. The present rate of 25 cents per hundred for the first 600 cubic feet and 10 cents per hundred for the remaining 29,000 cubic feet was not changed. The change will not go into effect until an amendment to the present ordinance has been adopted.

Members of the Manteca Luncheon Club at Ray’s Quick Lunch last Thursday noon were told about the efforts of residents of River Junction Farms to have the level of South Durham Ferry Road changed to make it passable throughout the year. The speaker was Robert R. Collier, who operates the former Wood ranch of over 400 acres. Since the bridge over the slough was removed several years ago, backwater from the river runs over the road at that point, shutting off travel for residents living beyond there.

Whether the people of Division number 2 wish to recall L. W. Barry as their representative on the board of directors of the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, and at the same time choose his successor, will be decided at an election on Wednesday, May 31. That is the date set by official action of the board of directors at a meeting Tuesday. The Ripon City Hall will be the polling place and the polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Manteca will soon have its fifth elementary school. This became apparent Tuesday night when the Golden West bond issue was passed by a wide margin. A total of 1,186 ballots were cast, and the bond issue passed by a 920 to 253 margin. The second part of the ballot, the issue to accept state aid, was passed by an 874 to 255 margin. A two-thinds majority was needed for passage of both issues.

County Supervisor Frank Hoyt has selected a triangular-shaped parcel at the northeast corner of Lincoln Avenue and Center Street for a new court building. The selection of the parcel ends nearly six weeks of searching for a site, including the rejection by the city to have the structure located at Library Park.

Monday morning saw the wake of an increasingly depressed economy as 29 Libbey-Owens-Ford Company employees stayed home with layoff notices. An earlier group of 83 employees was taken off their jobs several weeks ago. Libbey-Ownes-Ford employs approximately 600 people.

The senior and junior 1990 queens were presented to the society of the Festa Espirito Santo Manteca in ceremonies at the FESM Hall Saturday night. Bernadette Linhares, daughter of Dennis and Maria Linhares, will reign as senior queen. Presented as junior queen was Melissa Cardoso, daughter of Angelo and Donna Cardoso. Dennis Linhares is president of the society.

Manteca home re-sales shattered all previous records for gains in the value of median-priced resale homes as well as the volume of transactions in March. Almost four existing homes were sold each day. New home sales were nearly as strong with an average of 2.1 homes closing escrow on a daily basis. Median prices for re-sales hit an all-time median-price record of $156,500 in March for 113 closings. The median price was 21.7 percent higher than for March 1999, when it was $128,500.