Willie Brown speaking at Modesto JC MLK event

MODESTO – Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., two-term mayor of San Francisco and longest-serving speaker of the California State Assembly (1980 – 1995), will provide the keynote address entitled "How Martin Helped Shape My Life" at the community-wide Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration to be held Friday, Jan. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Modesto Junior College Auditorium.

Almond Blossom dinner ticket deadline

RIPON - The Ripon Chamber of Commerce is holding their 48th Annual Almond Blossom Kick Off and Tribute Dinner on Thursday, Jan. 14, at the Ripon Community Center, 334 Fourth Street at 6 p.m.

IN UNIFORM

Carilynn Keeney

ODDS & ENDS

Measure K keeps SJ moving

Every time someone buys a dollar's worth of taxable merchandise in San Joaquin County they are contributing a half cent to fix potholes, build major roadways, construct railroad crossings, secure bike paths and roadway landscaping plus help advance rail and bus transportation.

Lathrop spending $3,500 on reception for chief

LATHROP – Lathrop resident and businessman J. Chaka Santos adamantly opposed the city's plan to hold a $3,500 catered appreciation event for up to 200 people at the Community Center in honor of outgoing Chief of Police Dolores Delgado.

Reggie Ginn promoting mini-tour on Sacramento KMAX-31 channel

Could vampires in love be the jumping off-point for a successful music career?

Supersizing of McMansions during 2000s

The 1950s was the era of the flat-top in Manteca with a typical home – even those with traditional roof lines - consisting of a one-car garage, a little over 800 square feet and two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Lathrop: To tweet or not to tweet?

LATHROP – Councilman Robert Oliver provided the comic relief during an otherwise serious discussion Monday night.

3-car crash sends woman to hospital

A pickup truck, a Honda SUV and a Toyota passenger car mixed it up in an intersection crash Monday morning at about 11 a.m. sending a Manteca woman to the hospital.

FESM starts off January crab feeds in Manteca

It's January and it can mean only one thing in Manteca – the start of the crab feed season.

Full speed ahead on outlets

Crews are working seven days a week to finish what will be Manteca's biggest retail coup of 2010 – upscale outlet stores.

The green crush

RIPON - Anthony Beato has a passion for his lot in life – between his family, rock crushing, and his church.

Rubber really meets the road in Manteca

Old tires may just end up on your street – in the asphalt that is.

Delicato Vineyards fine art show entries open thru Jan. 8

Delicato Vineyards is holding its 22nd annual Fine Art Show from Saturday, Jan. 16 through Saturday, Feb. 6.

WATER EMERGENCY

A South County water emergency could be declared by month's end.

IT’S ALL MIME

When Jon Walkup first got behind a camera it was a camcorder he borrowed from his parents and attached to a tripod designed to take film photos.

Volunteers sought to harvest citrus

Jim Todd drives by countless yards each day with citrus trees bursting with nutritious oranges, tangerines, lemons, and grapefruit.

State edict: Don’t save water

An edict from Sacramento bureaucrats amid a severe drought crisis is prompting the South San Joaquin Irrigation District to suspend efforts to save enough water a year to meet all of the annual needs of a city the size of Tracy.

Give Every Child a Chance bowl-a-thon set for Feb. 28

The Give Every Child a Chance (GECAC) Antone E. Raymus, 16th Annual Bowl-A-Thon takes place Saturday, Feb. 28.

Man with knife shuts down shopping center

A 24-year-old knife-wielding man in front of a Lathrop coffee shop on Harlan Road south of Lathrop forced the evacuation of the entire SaveMart center shortly after the noon hour on Tuesday kept police at bay for more than three hours before being taken into custody.

BEE-ZY TIME

The bee invasion is underway.

PHC crab feed follows year of expansion

Quinn Higginbotham loved the Pregnancy Help Center's inaugural crab feed so much she felt compelled to call in her food review.

Interchange may lure commercial

The new Lathrop Road interchange is expected to attract more highway commercial and retail seeking easy freeway access to Manteca.

Is Lathrop successful at attaining council goals?

LATHROP – There's nothing new about the City of Lathrop holding a goal-setting session.

Weston School work is on target for reopening

Weston Elementary School is scheduled to be re-open on time for the 2015-16 school year.

ST. PAUL’S METHODIST

St. Paul's United Methodist Church is marking 100 years.

Soldier in DUI crash had been drinking

The Manteca soldier severely injured in an accident involving another driver who was drunk on early New Year's Day had a blood alcohol content in excess of .08 at the time of the crash.

River Islands irrigating with recycled water

Water that River Islands at Lathrop residents send down the drain won't got to waste.

Wind cuts power to 3,400 PG&E customers

More than 3,400 homes, offices, and commercial establishments around Manteca High School were left in the dark Friday evening when strong winds caused a power pole to snap like a giant pencil, sending dangerous live wires scattered on the ground and dangling precariously overhead.