Amazing! That is what everyone's participation in this blood drive turned out to be. We tried our best to schedule as many donors ahead of time as possible to minimize the long wait to donate several of you incurred due to the unbelievable show of support from so many family members and friends of Debbie and Paul. | Full Story

Readers may remember my column awhile back on the smartphone I bought at the urging of my children. I wrote that I wasn't sure if my new phone would bring me happiness or grief. | Full Story

Well, Amie Chick lucked out again. After receiving only a one-year sentence from Judge Frank Dougherty, she was sent home upon reporting to the Merced County Jail, because of overcrowding. She will serve her year at home with all of the comforts - privacy, computer, home-cooked meals. This is so much better than a jail cell shared with other inmates. I can't imagine what Andrew Maloney's parents must feel. There is very little justice. | Full Story

This is in response to the article “Spilling Starbucks Agenda” printed in the April 20 edition. | Full Story

FFor the past few centuries it has been presumed that humans control the animal world. Not true. | Full Story

Some people reading this column are in Los Banos for the May Day Fair, and they've purchased the Enterprise to find out what's happening here. | Full Story

When I read that John Cusack had been cast to play Edgar Allen Poe in "The Raven," I thought it a wise choice. John Cusack has a face that is able to express utter joy and absolute sorrow simultaneously. Anyone in doubt should revisit "High Fidelity." | Full Story

What happened then? | Full Story

Last Saturday I had the privilege of being one of the speakers at the third annual Salvation Army Tea. It was a beautifully planned and inspirational event. It highlighted how much we depend on and need each other as well as the importance of faith and setting goals and being a good example for others. It was stressed that it is very important to have a purpose in life and to be resilient, and not quit. Among the speakers for this celebration of the fellowship of women was Salvation Army officer Bonnie Roberts, youth leader Jessica, Bonnie Ketcher and Sandy Lemas. Sandy had the group repeat the affirmation, "We are lovable, we are capable, we are significant." | Full Story

The Starbucks coffee corporation has begun a public campaign to rewrite our marriage laws. They did this when they announced that "same-sex" marriage was "core" to its corporate identity and values. I was shocked to hear of a major corporation willing to alienate at least half of its U.S. customers and millions more worldwide in favor of a political agenda. | Full Story

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" | Full Story

Mention "poetry" to many people and you'll get responses like "hard to understand," and "not for me." | Full Story

Maybe you read the tribute in last week's paper dedicated to Steffanie Duarte, daughter of DJ and Richard Barcellos. If you did not, you missed an opportunity to be touched by the immortality of love. April 8 was Steffanie's birthday; it is also my son, Brett's. Dear friends that DJ and I have been for what seems forever, DJ lost Stef to the clouds and stars while I am still blessed my Brett is earth bound. But we both know how fragile that thread between life and spirit can be, and that love knows no such limits. DJ knows that to my Ron she was the 'other' red head and has been there for me in my loss, and in my continued relationship with Ron. Ron and I helped marry and bury her daughter McKensie. Mark Barcellos, who I saw the day he was born, shoots (very well I must brag) in trap competitions with Ron's gun. All Easter weekend I thought about love, relationships and how our lives interconnect in such amazing ways. Prayers are answered in such unique ways. At Easter Vigil there was a time we were told to go out in front of the church and light a candle, but as candles were limited to take one per family. Because fate/God had given me two new adopted brothers, Eddie Gutierrez and Mark Brux, I could indeed share a family candle. Sunday Mass I was thinking of Ron, looked behind me to see Yvonne Falasco, and grabbed her hand. Her loss was brand new, and in our clasped hands passed the shared grief of loss and the belief of life ever lasting. Then I went over to Lou and Frank Vierra's home for their family Easter gathering. Besides being my dear friend, Lou is my Godmother, who brought me into the Catholic Church. Believe me that is a strong bond. Then it was off to my daughter Lara's home and a perfect traditional Easter dinner. There were calls with my other children and friends, a poignant visit to the cemetery, and few special moments picked out to look up at the clouds and stars to think of Steffanie, Ron, and all the loved ones who have crossed over that bridge. What better day to do so than resurrection Sunday? | Full Story

Valley Christian Center of Los Banos would like to thank the following business and individuals who donated to the Easter Outreach Program held Saturday, April 6. Valley Christian Center sponsored it's first community outreach at the Casa Verde Apartments in Los Banos Thanks to your generous donations and support, out event was a great success. Sierra Landscaping, Pereria's Tree Service, Santos Ford, Wolfsen Meat and Sausage of Gustine, A&A Pro Auto Service, LULAC, Buzz Jump House, Little Caeser's, Pacheco Chevron, Eddie's Restaurant, Sixth Street Diner, Jesus Mexican Restaurant, Cecilia's Mexican Restaurant, Lupita's Market, Los Banos Flowers, Castillo's Flowers, Campos Flowers, The Country Duck, Richwood Meat Co. of Merced, Tutti Frutti Ice Cream, Jovita Villalobos, Clyde and Pat Hernandez and Johnny Chapa, as well as a special thank you to Vinom Nuevo church for all their help and support. | Full Story

We are approaching the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy coming to the San Joaquin Valley and breaking ground on the San Luis Dam project. | Full Story

On March 26, 2012, our beloved mother lost her three-plus-year battle with lung cancer. | Full Story

Just about everyone perusing my column today enjoys reading. My guess, dear reader, is that you enjoy books as well as newspapers. | Full Story

After reading that Amie Chick had only received one year for the killing of Andrew Maloney in a DUI crash last summer, I felt angry. | Full Story

Yet in this hectic world filled with constant noise and stimulation we live in, silence is as rare as a "really" free lunch. In an elevator, while on hold on the phone, everywhere, we are confronted by the intrusion of noise. You can even buy a machine that creates "white noise" to help you sleep. We are that dependent on sound. What were Simon and Garfunkel thinking about when they wrote their song in the seventies? Maybe we try to escape silence because we do not want to hear ourselves think, or worse, hear what God may be whispering. | Full Story

I enjoy my grandchildren. Between my wife Sandy and me we have 14 grandchildren and we love each one dearly. | Full Story

This May the police department and the Los Banos Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a community event that focuses on safety. | Full Story

Bill has seen a lot and done a lot in his near-century of life. If you have any doubts, just ask him. | Full Story

After reading the March 16 Los Banos Enterprise article about ideas for grants, I must say, Tom (Mello), you are so right, "We need to build our quality of life here, not keep it down." | Full Story

I was sitting at Taco Bell when a teenage girl had trouble with the ice machine and could not get it to stop the flood of ice from flowing over. In a flash I was once more an 18-year-old young wife trying to be accepted as I served as co-hostess at a coffee mixer at my minister's home in Sherman Oaks. The house had pristine carpeting, and I was in charge of the coffee urn. Suddenly, like a scene from "I Love Lucy," I could not get the urn's spigot to stop spewing hot coffee, as I panicked and kept placing cup after cup underneath so that each drop would be caught before it hit the white carpet. It seemed an eternity until someone came to my aid and fixed the broken urn. Relived, I sat and cried for the damage I had almost done. I was too young to understand the fault would not have been mine nor did any damage take place; I was lost in the fear of the could have been. | Full Story

When I was running for mayor, I mentioned how to create revenue for the city of Los Banos by putting a toll bridge starting at Billy Right Road and out of Ward Road only for Los Banos to create revenue and checkpoints, and to create industrial jobs. Unfortunately, its really happening and I'm sorry that the city has to go through that. I'm going to write to the senator and people should write to them so you can find all the information you need. I hope something good happens for the city of Los Banos. I've been reading the paper and I still keep in contact with my friends in Los Banos a lot of them are concerned and worried about the how high the crime has been there. I hope that is being taken care of as well. | Full Story

Nitrogen pollution under some of California's most intensively farmed areas has posed a threat to drinking water for decades. But the full extent of the problem -- and the challenges in correcting it -- were laid out in detail last week by a team of scientists at the University of California at Davis. | Full Story

Half the fun of a trip is in the anticipation. | Full Story

We would like to express our gratitude to the Los Banos Enterprise for its coverage of our chicken/polenta dinner on Feb. 25. We also are grateful to everyone who supported this event with your donations, attendance and assistance. Thanks to all, it was a great success. Our fundraiser supports many charities and scholarships. We hope to see you next year. Molto grazie! | Full Story

Recently the Milliken Museum was broken into. Many items were stolen and many exhibits were damaged. | Full Story

This is Sunshine Week, an annual reminder of the importance of open government to our democracy. | Full Story