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Downtown casino, 300-room hotel was an April Fools’ joke
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It was an April Fool’s joke that sparked social media activity and prompted calls to city hall — a 100,000-square-foort casino with a 300-room hotel attached was coming to downtown Manteca .

Someone posted a phony City of Manteca press release complete with the municipal logo. The “news release” also prompted comments on Neighborhood Watch and other pages.

A few people connected the absurdity of the casino-hotel announcement with the date on the calendar.

But even if they couldn’t the absurdity of what the “news release” contained would have been enough to dismiss it as a prank.

That’s because a 100,000-square-foot casino would take up fourth-fifths the space of the Manteca Target. The structure for a 300 room hotel would be two thirds the size of the Great Wolf hotel. By the time you toss in parking you’d have to level practically all of downtown to accommodate it.

Deputy City Manager Toni Lundgren said the responsible party ended up calling city hall to apologize and has since taken down the postings.

 

There are good things on

the way for downtown

Speaking of downtown, the City of Manteca is continuing to look at ways to add more appeal through various touches.

Lighting has been strung across the 100 block of North Maple Avenue to create a welcoming nighttime mood.

It is lighting up the way as a precursor to other endeavors the city is working on rolling out.

Also the final touches are being put on the new bidding process to widen Main Street from Yosemite Avenue to Alameda Street from two to four lanes through downtown using pavers  are being made at city hall. They are expected to go before the City Council later this month.

The city is also continuing to power wash the decorative sidewalk and crosswalk pavers  by doing a section of the downtown at a time.

The effort has already made a difference in popping up the visual appeal by removing dirt and grime. The pavers went 15 years without being cleaned until city hall management installed a year ago decided Manteca needed to stop neglecting investments they have made in beautifying the city’s heart.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com