Reduction realities

On the list of important birthday anniversaries, from that very first birthday party to a young woman's quinceanera or Sweet 16, turning 18 is not only cause for celebration but it is that critical turning point from childhood to being an adult.

Fair time is upon us

No sooner than the Turlock Chamber finished hosting thousands of guests on our fairgrounds for the Fourth of July, our team at the Stanislaus County Fair has shifted into high gear to prep our grounds and buildings for a celebration of our own.

Globalization is not so new

I was throwing sticks for my dog into the Snake River on Sunday evening, watching a fully loaded ocean-going barge on the slack-water of the river. The barges move mountains of goods all around the Pacific Rim, including from my part of the inland Pacific Northwest to Asia. This year it has looked to me like the intensity of barge traffic is down, I assume due to the global recession.

Best show in town

In case you missed it, the Stars and Stripes 4th of July Celebration was a wonderful event to end a great day.

Playing with Jello and deducing climate change

I hope you played with your food when you were young. Perhaps you experimented at some point with pushing a drinking straw through Jello. If you twisted the straw as you removed it from your food, you could sometimes trap a column of gelatin in the straw. You then had the choice of either blowing the Jello at a sibling or, if your parents were at the table, gently squeezing the gelatin out of the straw onto your plate with your fingers.

Here we go again

I don't know about you, but I am just now recovering from the last election season and the next election cycle has already begun.

A surprising Pride

When my alarm clock went off at 6 a.m. on Sunday it took me a few moments to comprehend what was happening. I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not sure I could even tell you what time the sun rises. But there I was, brushing my teeth and applying make-up at what I could only assume was the crack of dawn. What could make me sacrifice my one day of sleeping in this week? I was going to a parade!

Our new look

There are always those who obstinately cling to technology of the past. Like that one person in line at the grocery store who whips out their checkbook to pay the bill while the impatient debit card users roll their eyes. Or the final few Americans without a cell phone who don't want to be reached by others 24/7; and, I must admit, the Turlock Journal can also be called technology sluggish. Our current Web site is more reminiscent of 1999 than 2009.

Food truck junkie

Remember when you were a child, playing outside on one of those hot summer days, and all of a sudden music started faintly lilting across your front yard?

Reclaiming Father’s Day

As another Father's Day comes and goes, there are many who cringe when they see television-perfect children and their dads fishing together or playing catch. The ideal father-child relationship portrayed by Madison Avenue marketing types to sell more ties, lawn mowers and tools is just a reminder to some that a model father is nothing but fiction. But there is a way for the men in our community to reclaim Father's Day and become the ...

Federal funds making a local difference

At the ripe old age of 14 I entered the American work force and I haven't been without employment for more than a month's time in over 20 years.

Glass half full even if city coffers empty

If I were to make a list of people that I'm not envious of, "Turlock City Councilmembers" would be sitting pretty at number one.

Twitter gets the news to you now

When news of the two probable swine flu cases in Merced County broke in our newsroom, editor Kristina Hacker called reporter Alex Cantatore with a request.

Powering up the next generation

The following is an excerpt of California State University, Stanislaus' President Hamid Shirvani's 2009 commencement remarks.

Toodles Turlock!

For the past couple of weeks, I've been snapping photos and jotting down notes at various local graduations but if it's still June 6 and you are reading this over breakfast, good morning and by the way, I'm the one graduating! Today I'm participating in the commencement ceremony at California State University, Stanislaus and I'm newly unemployed.

Keep the discourse coming with public art

I admit it; I'm a fan of Califia. Since 2005, when the 14-foot fountain statue was placed at the corner of Main and Market streets in downtown Turlock, it has evoked many a passionate opinion - mostly negative. But I , for one, am a supporter of the mythical Amazon queen that is supposed to symbolize this area's connection to the soil and its agricultural vitality. On my daily drive to work, the ...

Yosemite must be available for all to enjoy

I am writing to provide comments on the National Park Service's (NPS) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Merced River Comprehensive Management Plan. Yosemite National Park is a national treasure that must be available for the American public to access and enjoy in the same manner that Americans have for decades. The 1864 Act authorizing the original Yosemite land grant to the State of California stated that the "premises shall be held ...

From the AP Stylebook: How to obscure

The Associated Press announced last week that it no longer sanctions the term "illegal immigrant" in its stylebook. Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll explained that the AP has decided it is wrong for reporters to use the word "illegal" to describe a person, but it's OK to use the word to "describe only an action, such as living or immigrating to a country illegally." Make no mistake about this decision. Whatever prompted the change, ...

Inspiring students to take on STEM

Anyone tuned into science news has probably heard that the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search recently announced this year's winners. The competition is an opportunity for high school seniors in the United States to win scholarships for their original science, technology, engineering, or mathematics research. This year's 1st place winner, 17-year-old Sara Volz, used her own bedroom to make trailblazing research towards cost-efficient, algae-powered biofuel. Other students' truly incredible projects ranged from improving ...

High speed rail folks sue me, you and a dog named Boo

The $68 billion train wreck in the making – California High Speed Rail – continues rumbling down the tracks with all of the subtlety of General Sherman's march to the sea. The folks who never saw a cost overrun they didn't like have used an obscure state law to blanket sue you, me, and every soul on earth - and presumably the space station too. It is a bid to gain immunity from future ...

Penalizing the law-abiding to punish criminals

How do you fight lawbreakers? The new trend is to punish those who abide by the law. And - wherever possible - make responsible citizens pay even more. Have a problem with "meth heads" using over-the-counter flu remedies such as Sudafed to cook up their poison? Simply make those suffering from the flu get a doctor's prescription. That's the solution Senator Dianne Feinstein is proposing. Forget the fact it takes ...

Outsourcing may be the answer for Caswell

At the southern terminus of Austin Road is one of 280 gems known as California State Parks. Caswell Memorial State Park is home to unique valley riparian woodlands. Such clustering of woodlands once covered immense swaths of the Valley floor alongside rivers. Today less than 2 percent of riparian oaks that existed when unsuccessful gold seekers turned to farming still stand. The 258 acres in the state park are home to perhaps a hundred ...

Economic two-step is getting old fast

On the front page of Wednesday's paper, there was a story about an open house at a new business in town and right next to it was a report on the number of unemployed in the county, which increased to 15.6 in the month of January. Along with the not-so-great news of increased unemployment, was the announcement that Post is closing its Modesto plant and laying off 140 workers. Sometimes it feels like ...

The new child abuse: Buying your kid a rifle

My brother Ronald knew how to safely use a rifle before he entered the fifth grade. His two kids - Joshua and Jennifer - were introduced to shooting long before puberty. Joshua was a serious contender for the Junior Olympics Rifle competition and earned a partial college scholarship based on his marksman skills. Ron is involved in running the Junior Rifle program that's part of the Lincoln Rifle Club. The 80-year-old ...

Proposed Delta water solution not good for region, economy

The following letter was sent to Governor Jerry Brown: The undersigned members of Congress express our bi-partisan concerns with the State Water Resources Control Board's policies surrounding the Bay-Delta and rivers tributary to the Delta. Many of us have been providing our various perspectives on the Bay-Delta Conservation Plan and we will continue to engage with you as the draft BDCP and related environmental documents emerge in the next month. However, for ...

College districts need to put education first, jobs second

Just 36.4 miles separate Delta College and Modesto Junior College. They both offer similar courses. Both have had to clamp down on enrollment and raise fees. But were all of the fee hikes and class caps necessary? The simple answer is no. That's because the fantasy known as "local control" takes precedent over education. San Joaquin Delta Community College District and Yosemite Community College District could easily be operated under one board and one ...

Complaining about roads second nature to Turlockers

New California gold rush: Folks making $200K+

They don't call California the Golden State for nothing. Contrary to some crying wolf, the better off among us aren't leaving California. Posturing politicians as usual miss the real story. The past two decades - according to the U.S. Census' American Community Survey - have seen a net 3.4 million people flee California for other states. If it hadn't been for high immigration from outside the United States and the birth rate the ...

Learning the lessons of Debi Austin’s life

It is with great interest that I've been following the story of Debi Austin, the woman from the trailblazing 1996 California anti-tobacco ad. Austin recently passed away after battling a host of health problems brought on by decades of smoking. Austin, who began her addiction at age 13, was already plowing through a pack of cigarettes per day before she graduated from junior high school. Not long later, she underwent a laryngectomy that ...

State water decision would leave Valley hanging dry

There is no life without water, and nowhere is this sentiment truer than in California, where water is critical to the vitality of every part of the state. But that does not give bureaucrats the justification to decimate the San Joaquin Valley to divert water from some areas to give even more water to others. The State Water Resources Control Board quietly decided on New Year's Eve to increase water exports for fish ...