Looking for a marriage game-changer this year? Switching up your routine will help you be a better spouse in the long run.

They were young and old, a range of races. They came from all corners of the county, though the majority were concentrated inside Modesto's city limit.

Thirty-six people were homicide victims in Stanislaus County in 2008, more than during any year in recent history. Twenty of those killings were in Modesto. They took place all over the city.

Performing artist David Garibaldi brought his "Rhythm and Hue" painting presentation to Spring 2009 Institute Day at Modesto Junior College. MJC faculty and staff watched as Garibaldi performed live painting on stage as rock music played in the background.

What arts and entertainment do January, February and March hold in store? Check our winter calendar to find out.

When it's cold outside, few things make you feel better than a nice, warm piece of pie. Just in time to warm up our winter blues comes the new SonyPies. Owner Sonja Spence opened her pie business in October, working out of the Simply Cupcakes Bake Shoppe, 4459 Spyres Way, Suite C, Modesto (off McHenry and Bangs avenues).

Mike Sauls doesn't flinch at loud noises. He always responds the same way: "It happens."

When Anne Abruzzini of Turlock had a dream in August 1997, she had no idea it would save her life.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Sex addiction has come out of the closet.

At 8 a.m. on a recent Wednesday you might have spotted Rebeka Willett on the Modesto Junior College campus. She was the 18-year-old in a Raiders T-shirt and jeans, giggling along with her classmates as she practiced arabesques in a dance class. But Rebeka is the child of disabled parents, and the family's story is an inspiring one of love, devotion and perseverance.

Six years ago, young mom-to-be Laci Peterson was reported missing Christmas Eve morning, and what followed captured the attention of the world. Click here to look back at the case and our coverage from a year ago on the five-year anniversary.

Yeah, thanks writers and producers. Thanks a lot. No "Rescue Me." No "Damages." Not even a little fall-back "24" action.

During fund-raising for the Gallo Center for the Arts, the same criticism came up again and again. People feared the Modesto venue would be elitist, that it would be for a small, well-to-do segment of the community. But from the time the Gallo Center opened more than a year ago, the venue has done its best to buck that notion. The move appears to be working — people of many ethnic groups have come out to the center.

MARIPOSA -- Jeanette Lozano managed to save 29 orphaned puppies, ranging in age from 8 to 14 weeks, that were part of a bizarre incident that happened in Mariposa County in early December.

YOSEMITE -- As melting water gushed off the ice in a tinseled maze of rivulets and tumbled through a gaping chasm, the hikers watched, wondered and worried.

In addition to delighting neighbors and passers-by with their warm glow and beautiful, often whimsical, reindeer, snowmen and other figures, there's an obvious upside to brightly decorated homes: Santa, soaring way up high in that toy-laden sleigh of his, can't miss 'em.

It was standing room only when the new St. Stanislaus Catholic Church held its first public event Saturday afternoon with a holiday candlelight concert by the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.

SACRAMENTO -- California as we know it today was built largely on this fantasy: That arid cities in the south could indefinitely satisfy the thirst of a growing population by importing water from the north.

Chevrolet Bel Air — It's my favorite car because my mom and dad bought the car in 1956 from John Roth Chevrolet in Merced and turned it over to me when I got my license to drive in 1967 when I was a sophomore at Atwater High.

Thanksgiving wasn't supposed to be a religious holiday. But for Modesto resident Jack Benenati and his pet tortoises, the day brought miracles.

What do you see when you look at your holiday photographs over the years? A fully set dinner table, group shots of carefully arranged family members, blurry images of kids running around? And everyone’s favorite: people eating?

Here's what I want for Christmas: A better local economy and lower unemployment.

Before browsing through national mail-order catalogs or Web sites this holiday season, consider buying locally produced products from companies here in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.

Bernard "Boots" Stuit is at work early on a Tuesday morning, wearing his "Go Fish" hat, wheeling his Dodge Dakota pickup truck over to the Oroweat store on McHenry Avenue in Modesto.

Why do we give gifts during the holiday season? We do it for a reason that is as timeless as humanity itself: women.

They say all couples eventually start to look alike. One look at Ray and Honey Smith and you'll know it's true. The Ceres couple has been dressing alike -- from shoes to pants to shirts and hats -- for the past five years.

From the e-mails and voice mails:

This Thanksgiving, when Wenona "Wendy" Campbell sits down to a turkey dinner with all the fixin's, she will relish every bite.

It's not every day you get to dress a rock star. Modesto designer Tawny Holt recently sold several pieces of her one-of-a-kind clothing to Courtney Love, former frontwoman of Hole and widow of grunge pioneer Kurt Cobain.

OAKDALE -- The 300,000-square-foot factory off Yosemite Avenue south of Oakdale hasn't moved an inch since Hershey ran its last line of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups there nine months ago, but its address has changed.

TURLOCK -- It's rare if Dominick Rufo misses the chance to jump something on his bike -- curbs, drainage ditches -- even people, if they're gutsy enough to lie down in front of him. A creek bed once dealt him a concussion.

I discovered the Stanislaus District's No. 1 football team Wednesday.

Amanda Johnson of Ghana has a heart for poor people in her country and is putting that compassion to work through Opportunity International, a nonprofit organization that extends financial services to the world's poorest residents.

Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather together and express gratitude for all that we have been given, the freedoms we enjoy, and the loved ones who enrich our lives. We recognize that all of these blessings, and life itself, come not from the hand of man but from Almighty God.