Forty years ago this week, I walked into The Modesto Bee for the first day of what would turn out to be, to my absolute and everlasting delight, a grand adventure.

Few people regularly attend local government meetings, and those who do usually can be categorized as representing an interest or as preparing to run for office. Occasionally someone stands apart. Emerson Drake is such a person.

Earlier this month, the SSJID unveiled an irrigation system that allows growers to order water on their mobile phones or iPads and have it reach sprinklers and drip systems with enough pressure to work.