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Hardy bugs are eating up the mess
The disaster in the Gulf has been plenty grim. I don’t envy paymaster Kenneth Feinberg who has now taken over BP’s $20 billion compensation fund. Feinberg is no stranger to trying to compensate those who have lost much, including the families affected by Sept. 11, 2001, and a somewhat lower-profile project to compensate victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech.




Get this cat a job
Here's good news: After years of reading and reviewing business books, I have finally found one volume that is 100 percent guaranteed to improve your life. It's not about moving your cheese or swimming with sharks. It doesn't teach you how to read your boss's mind or provide the seven steps guaranteed to fog the mind of a hiring manager. In fact, this book has absolutely no redeeming features at all, except it does ...




The return of the red ribbon
There are a lot of health problems in the world today. A flu pandemic swept the world last year, prompting the cancellation of some public events and temporarily closed schools. Whooping cough is making a comeback.  And your morning eggs could be peppered with salmonella. Despite the plethora of things to worry about, I fear that one fatal disease is in bad need of an awareness jumpstart. Approximately 56,000 people become ...




Leaving home
For the past two weeks, I've been traveling across the country interviewing law students who have applied for jobs at my law firm. I talk to young people from New York who want to be in California, and to young people from California who want to be in New York. Some days, it seems like the only constant is that (almost) no one wants to be where they're from — and where their family is.




The science of learning
It was the summer after my sixth grade year and I was looking forward to spending three months lounging by the community pool with my friends. But my mom had other plans.




What is a city manager?
                Recent media scrutiny of city managers — or, more specifically, their compensation — has reached a fever pitch in California and across the country. The city management and governmental compensation abuses uncovered last month in the small Los Angeles suburb of Bell are deplorable and warrant a full investigation. Such trespasses are rare in a profession known for transparency and populated by ...




Change in the wind for council
In two months and two and a half weeks, the face of the Turlock City Council may drastically change.




Real tax increases, real consequences
Taxpayers don't look at taxes the way the people who spend the tax money do. Take the battle over the extension of the "Bush tax cuts." Americans to Washington: They were tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. If Washington allows all or parts of the "Bush tax cuts" to expire at the end of the year, the result won't be to not cut taxes, as Beltway lingo ...




City devalues life guards
The City of Turlock should be ashamed.  Not only did they change a written employee contract, but they have devalued the importance of life guards.  In order to qualify as a life guard, one must be a strong swimmer and certified — at a cost of about $250 plus a lot of class time, annually.  Not just anyone qualifies.  Their responsibilities include water ...




Why voters should tell Sacramento to bag it
There are two kinds of people in California politics: those who want Sacramento to ban plastic grocery bags and those who just want state pols to pass a budget.The budget is after all — what? — only 39 days late.AB1998 would ban the distribution of single-use plastic bags in 2012. Shoppers ...




Milk talk: Another fair season comes to an end
Dear friends, we have survived another fair.  We finished the Stanislaus Fair on July 25 and on July 28, we went to the State Fair.  The State Fair finished Aug. 1. Two weeks in a row of fair is very tiring but extremely rewarding.  The California Milk Advisory Board did it again.  They made sure that there was plenty ...




For whom the Bell tolls
I would like to offer the City of Bell my gratitude for proving that newspapers are still needed in this day and age.




The easy life of crime
I just need to know WHY? We all know Turlock has a large number of car thefts. Why is that?  I ask this because we had three cars stolen one day and a trailer we had been using that belonged to a friend a different day from my son’s house. He caught people robbing his house — two different times.My husband ...




Grizzled veterans of America's math wars
I am a veteran of the math wars. I was there in 1995 when the shiny new California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) test told graders to award a higher score to a student who incorrectly answered a math problem about planting trees — but wrote an enthusiastic essay — than to a student who got the answer right, but with no essay.




Time to put ethics back into city council
The recall movement is alive and well in Hughson. After successfully obtaining the necessary signatures to be able to place the recall on a ballot, I can say that we are on our way in our campaign efforts to put some ethics and order back into our City Council.I am so proud of the six candidates who have stepped ...




The law needs to better protect abused women
This is a question that I always wanted the police to answer: Why does the law in our time and age let battered women’s incidents get as far as a death?You would think they would know by now this is something you would have to take care of right away, as far as someone not abiding by the law. ...




Wanted: Community leaders
Walt Whitman once said, “A great city is that which has the greatest men and women.” Fortunately, Turlock has had the support of great men, women and most importantly leaders who have guided and shaped the city from a railroad stop into a city of almost 70,000 citizens.Since its incorporation in 1908, 20 men have held the position of ...




Integrity needed on Hughson council
Hughson faces a recall election on Aug. 24 because three of its City Council members have refused to follow the recommendations of the Stanislaus Civil Grand Jury and resign from office.The grand jury concluded that they broke several laws, that their conduct was unacceptable, and their continued presence did not serve the best interests of Hughson.




The absence of reason
 Say, what!?!?!!  Should Turlock say “Yea” or “Nay” to those council members who just voted to deny the right of their fellow members to abstain from a vote?  I suppose it depends on how one views decision making.  Let’s look at decision making at a personal level.  In every election, I am faced with choices between minor candidates whose character I have no ...




Carlin’s legacy
I wonder if comedian George Carlin knew in 1975 what he was doing.




Keeping it simple
At every level, we humans have a natural drive to understand the world around us. We try to understand people and the economy (with little success), and we try to understand the natural world around us (with more and more success over time).




The bright possibilities for Turlock
Dear Editor,




A new wave of activism
Prior to 2007, protests in Turlock were a rare occurrence.




It’s about time
Eating corndogs larger than your head. Watching cars run into each other on purpose. Engaging in activities you know may lead to projectile vomiting.




University researchers lend expertise to the Valley
It takes everyone’s help to strengthen Central Valley communities.




Same old, same old doesn’t cut it
One day a month I ignore my nocturnal tendencies and wake at the absurdly early hour of 6 a.m. I then drag myself down to Latif’s for the monthly Kiwanis Club of Turlock Board of Directors meeting.




Summer vacations that teach a lot
My finest memory from childhood is sailing a kayak my clever brother had made out of plywood and canvas. The sailing adventure was on a lake in Glacier National Park. The wind was good, my beloved dog was tucked between my knees for ballast, and I scooted over the water like a rocket – or so it seemed to an 11 year old.  I have a black and white ...




A season of change
Everything changes.




I love America, but not Palin
My congratulations to Journal reporter Alex Cantatore on a fine article on Sara Palin's visit. It achieved its goal of raising badly needed revenue. I did find Mr. Rob Veneman's comments very interesting. I am in my 70s and have loved this country and found it exceptional most likely longer than Mr.Veneman. I cannot be counted, however, as a lover of Sara Palin. Mr. ...




The biggest show in town
As you are reading this at least a dozen people are probably still at California State University, Stanislaus sweeping up peanuts from the circus that was the Sarah Palin event.




A sad situation
I believe the picture that ran with Saturday’s Journal story, “Shelters overrun with feral kittens,” was probably the cutest animal photo we have ever published. The story that accompanied the photo, however, was also one of the saddest animal stories we have ever published.




More than a party
Growing up in Indiana, one of the best things about summer was the community backyard.




Eggs from near and far
To me, there’s nothing like a breakfast that involves an egg. That dose of protein, I think, helps me last at work until noon or even beyond the lunch hour if need be.




It’s time for a new city council
Dear Editor, Since the primaries have ended and now voters in four and half months will be selecting a Mayor and two Turlock City Council members, it is informative to evaluate the work of the council in Turlock. 1. The bus system has been changed from a hub downtown to a new hub at Hawkeye Avenue and Dels Lane. The first hub and routes used to ...




Innovation is the key
Back in 2006, Nintendo obtained a license to print money — an arm-waving, flail-centric, world-changing license to print money.




Howze decides which kids are worthy of safe recreation
Turlock City Councilman Ted Howze has struck again! He proposes cutting all summer swim programs at the Turlock High and Pitman High schools. He calls the current programs “the biggest money loser in the entire recreation department.” He also disagreed with Councilwoman Mary Jackson that these pools afforded children a safe place to swim and recreate during our 105 degree summers. He wishes to “force” everybody to use Columbia Pool. This means ...




Grow up national media
Most days I am proud to be a member of the media. I believe that newspapers — and other forms of news media — are essential to a healthy democracy. But sometimes the actions of my colleagues make me want to hide my head in the sand and deny that I ever shared the same profession.




Children of Turlock deserve a safe place to swim
Thank you Turlock City Council for allowing two more weeks to hopefully get the community to rally around keeping at least one more pool open for recreation swimming.




The best is yet to come
There’s no reason to be concerned about Turlock’s lack of a July 4 fireworks celebration this year.




‘Sex and the City’ stars good examples
The famed “Sex and the City” characters have given hope to women all over the world since their 1998 debut of their HBO series, and now two movies. They rock killer shoes, designer brands and juggle relationships, while keeping friendship a priority.







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