Families displaced by tear gas after bank robbery in need of donations

Six Manteca residents have been displaced from their homes for at least two weeks – if not longer – due to the aftermath of Friday's Bank of America robbery and subsequent 12-hour standoff in a South Lincoln Avenue duplex.

Winds fail to stop the fun at Color the Skies event

RIPON - The organizers of The Color the Skies Over Ripon hot air balloon event that drew thousands of enthusiasts early Saturday morning didn't let a 22 mile per hour wind dampen their spirits.

Top cooks donate winnings to food bank

The top two winners in the recent chili cook-off benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank did not bring home their prizes.

4th straight month of 30 plus new housing starts

August was the best month for new housing starts in Manteca in more than two years with construction starting on 37 new homes.

Delicato grape juice available Sept. 19 for home winemakers

Delicato will host the 74th Annual Juice Days from Saturday, Sept. 19 through Monday Sept. 28 this year. Delicato has been supplying fresh grape juice to home winemakers since the winery began in 1935. Winery founder Gaspare Indelicato, enjoyed meeting old friends and sharing a glass of wine with them as he crushed their grapes. Gaspare's family continues the tradition of providing grape juice for home winemakers in honor of his memory and as a tribute to their winemaking heritage.

Tickets now on sale for old-fashioned social, turkey BBQ benefitting museum

An old-fashioned tri-tip and turkey barbecue social is in its 17th year benefitting the Manteca Historical Society and Museum.

Lathrop Days offers contest for chili lovers

What's the key to making good chili?

1989: Record crowd attends annual Delicato Grape Stomp

ODDS & ENDS

Does Manteca’s future hold the anti-McMansion?

Imagine – if you will – living in a 90-square-foot residential unit just 13.62 square feet bigger than a Volkswagen Beetle.

UP, UP & AWAY

The 2009 Color the Skies balloon festival begins today with a pancake breakfast that starts at 5:30 a.m. at Ripon's Mistlin Park on River Road off of Jack Tone Road accessed via Highway 99. The balloons will inflate and launch between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. today and again Sunday. For more information about the festival visit its website at www.colortheskies.com.

Forced layoffs of cops as more cons getting out?

It was ironic that while 45 law enforcement officers from various agencies were tied up near downtown Manteca with two Bank of America bank robbery suspects holed up in a duplex the Manteca City Council was meeting behind closed doors trying to figure a way to avoid laying off 15 Manteca Police officers.

ODDS & ENDS

SSJID throws down gauntlet

South San Joaquin Irrigation District is forging ahead in its bid to replace PG&E as the retail power provider in Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon with the goal of reducing rates by 15 percent across the board and enhancing reliability.

Photographers frame Manteca in CVB contest

Trevis Schuh was captivated by the moment.

$1.9M Louise project this summer

Work on a $1.9 million project to make two miles of Louise Avenue more conducive to pedestrians and bicyclists while enhancing the looks of the east-west corridor with start this summer.

GOING HOLLYWOOD

Marshall Magincalda stood in the front of his Woodward Avenue ranchette and gazed at the dozens of people buzzing around his property as if it were normal.

He’s helped folks keep their cool for 20 years

Frank Warren is a busy man.

Move afoot to restore librarians

Mary Buchanan is not a certificated Manteca Unified teacher librarian. But she is working hard to convince district officials "to consider returning the teacher librarian positions to each of the high schools." Those positions were among the victims of the budget cuts that were made during the Great Recession.

Donations allow man to keep foot

A Manteca man who suffered a compound fracture above his ankle during a river accident and faced amputation will get to keep his left foot.

Powwow ends three-day run in Manteca

Orena Monahan once again enjoyed her three-day stay at the Fourth of July Powwow at the Three Rivers Lodge in Manteca.

ONE SWEET LIFE

"Coach" is still swinging for the bleachers.

ADA lawsuit: The $32,000 parking stall

There's a potential $32,000 pay day in Manteca for someone trying to make a living by filing Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits for alleged non-compliance to federal rules.

8 MUSD schools gearing up for latest technology

If everything goes according to plan, eight elementary schools in Manteca Unified will be fully wired for 21st-century technology connection by September.

Manteca parade offers Independence Day fun

It wasn't exactly the fictional Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon Vacation.

5 nurses start internships at Doctors Hospital

Five graduate nurses picked from a field of 187 applicants were welcomed into Doctors Hospital's six-month-long Versant internship program at a noon luncheon on Wednesday in the DHM conference room.

PATRIOTIC PARADE

Today's Manteca Independence Day Parade will feature over 34 entries to the theme of "Traveling the USA."

Pay raises for city workers in new budget

There's money for pay raises in Manteca's $30.1 million general fund spending plan for the next 12 months.

Independence booms stress some veterans

They've been known to drive dogs crazy.

Fireworks unnerve dogs, officials warn

Pet stores are offering sedation pills to calm dogs during the booming July 4th fireworks, according to Manteca Animal Control Officer Les Rowe.