2013 Columns Archive Stories

Calvary Christian Center in Yuba City is honoring veterans this weekend with A Grateful Nation Remembers, but religion has little to do with it. "This is nothing like a church service," said the Rev. Michael Ciociola on Wednesday. "No preaching, no hymns, nothing of that nature. The normal liturgies are off the table. This is not to do a

Name: Ronisha Hall. Age: 32. Family: My husband, Michael Hall; five children, Rhnijuh, Tajia, Michael II, Teosha and Tyrisha. City of residence: Marysville. Occupation: Youth minister at Calvary Christian Center in Marysville, and I consider myself an entrepreneur. Hob

Yuba City Men to serve missions Tyler Jerome and Tyler Stimson of the Feather River congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints left to serve as missionaries for two years. Stimson, the son of Paige Hensley and Greg Stimson, both of Yuba City, will serve in Baltimore. He graduated

Next week, our middle daughter will graduate from high school. How can it be? It seems like she was just running around in diapers. Now she is headed out the door for college. When I was younger, I always thought life's next season would be my happily-ever-after: graduation, finding a job, getting married, having kids, owning a home. Whe

I don't know why he caught my attention; the area is replete with folks on bicycles. Perhaps it was the fact that he had a rather large adult tricycle laden with a full cart on the back. His pace was slow and steady even as the heavy winds fought him along the way. I noticed the following day he was down the road a stretch of maybe some

Hotels in the area are filling up fast — if not already fully booked — as a busy Memorial Day weekend arrives. Anthony Propps, director of operations at the Bonanza Inn, said the hotel is booked Saturday. Graduation ceremonies at California State University, Chico are bringing visitors, he said, along with the Marysville Stam

Appeal-Democrat Ramps on Highway 99 to East and West Nicolaus will be closed for about 60 days starting Tuesday as California Transportation Department contractors build a new two-lane bridge over the Feather River. The on- and off-ramps at Garden Highway south of the Feather River Bridge are affected. The work is part of

Motorists are being detoured this week around the 14th Street entrance to Beckwourth Riverfront Park in Marysville while a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crew tests a gas line. Drivers are being directed to the south entrance of the park while pressure testing on the line is done, according to City Services Director Dave Lamon. T

Age: 17. Family: Dad, Steve; mom, Suzy; older brother, Nate; younger sister, Rachel. Residence: Yuba City. Occupation: I am currently working as a high school student, but I'm considering a career change, as it doesn't pay very well. Hobbies, interests: Reading and writing and ba

Felony Arrests Wayne W. Martinelli, 48, of the 4200 block of Mary Avenue, Olivehurst, was arrested by the Yuba County Sheriff's Department at 1:31 p.m. May 21 in the 200 block of Fifth Street on suspicion of inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. He was booked into the Yuba County Jail. Alejandro E

It's a rule of thumb in Middle East conflicts that whenever peace talks are announced, each side steps up the fighting so it can grab as much territory as possible before the cease-fire lines are drawn. This struggle for position is happening now in Syria, in the run-up to planned negotiations in Geneva next month that will be co-sponsor

Recently, a local veteran of World War II was upset with the A-D. The A-D stated Japanese-Americans were unjustly interned in camps. Because we received restitution (for violation of our civil rights), he felt we received better treatment than he, a veteran. He called us "Japanese" and didn't acknowledge us as U.S. citizens. Apparently, we are "

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.7 on the Richter Scale shook Yuba-Sutter on Thursday evening. The quake, reportedly centered outside Greenville in Plumas County, was felt at 8:47 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Yuba City’s Diane Ulm felt her sofa rocking and looked in her backyard. &ldq

A Wheatland pastor faces more than eight years in state prison and must register as a sex offender after pleading guilty to a year-long sexual relationship with a 15-year-old parishioner. Brian Clay Gray, 51, pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Yuba County Superior Court to three counts of lewd and lascivious acts, three counts of unlawful se

Sobriety checkpoints and additional police patrols will be on hand over the three-day holiday weekend in Sutter, Yuba and Colusa counties. The Avoid the 9 Task Force plans drunken-driving checkpoints in Colusa on Friday and Marysville on Saturday. Extra “saturation patrols” are also scheduled Saturday in Marysville, Y

It's an extravaganza. It's a celebration. It's a colorful Yuba-Sutter tradition — and there is money on the line. The 80th annual Marysville Stampede returns this weekend to Marysville with all the flash and flamboyance that has made Cotton Rosser's Flying U Rodeo famous. "It's the only professional sporting event that come

LOS ANGELES — Less winter runoff has allowed visitors to enjoy mostly clean water at California beaches, according to a report released Thursday. An estimated 93 percent of the 445 beaches along the state's coast that were tested for bacterial pollution from Memorial Day through Labor Day had good to excellent water quality.

WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama is set to at least partially bring out into the open some components of the U.S.-directed drone program, a key component of counterterrorism strategy, as he outlines the contours of the continuing threat to American security. On the eve of the president's speech at the National Defense University,

Another invitation arrived today. That makes six this year. Everybody but you, it seems, is having a baby, therefore, a baby shower. Consequently, you've bought enough receiving blankets to cover your city and wrapped enough tiny outfits to outfit an infantry of infants. You're good with babies. Everybody says so, but for whateve