Republican Jack Mobley and Democrat Adam Gray are not well-known names to people in Modesto or Stanislaus County. An election forum for the two candidates Thursday evening at Modesto Junior College remedied that.

Dozens of volunteers are expected to knock on doors Saturday throughout Modesto and Ceres asking voters to support Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's tax initiative to increase education funding and block spending cuts.

The closely watched San Joaquin Valley congressional race between Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, and challenger Jose Hernandez has veered again into court, with the GOP incumbent suing Democratic operatives for defamation.

In this city with financial troubles, council members Kathy Morgan and Tom Dunlop are challenged by three political newcomers who want to take Oakdale in a new direction. Two four-year council seats are at stake in the Nov. 6 election.

Today is the final day to register to vote in the Nov. 6 election. Registration forms are available at city halls, post offices, fire stations, libraries and county buildings.

Before agreeing to borrow money, savvy consumers know they should find out how much it ultimately will cost to repay the loan and how long they'll be in debt. Voters should understand the same financial details before deciding whether to support a proposed school bond, but getting that basic data isn't easy.

WATERFORD — This small city in eastern Stanislaus County will start 2013 with a new downtown, a new government building and, possibly, a new City Council.

School bonds on ballots next month all pledge to fund projects that voters may agree are needed. But within each project list lie options that could balloon into major expenses — even new schools — with no further need for voter approval.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker will visit Modesto next week to raise money for fellow Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

About 80 people turned out at the State Theatre in downtown Modesto on Tuesday evening for the live broadcast of the second presidential debate.

Merced voters have been provided inaccurate and misleading information about how long it would take to pay off the bond debt being proposed by the Weaver Union School District.

After Rizo Lopez Foods left town with its more than 230 employees, Mayor Virginia Madueño helped bring in Compass Foods, a chicken processor that could employ as many as 50 workers by the end of this year. But there's more to the story.

The official California state voter guide provides 134 pages of information about 11 statewide ballot measures, including tables, maps and a liberal helping of strike-throughs and parentheses in the fine print.

Volunteers for the nonprofit Mi Familia Vota walked precincts in Modesto and Ceres on Wednesday afternoon to encourage Latinos to vote next month.

Mayor Virginia Madueño is fighting accusations that she does not know that absentee ballots count just as much as votes cast at the polls. She is running for re-election against Councilman Richard O'Brien, and the accusations were made by Chip Langman, O'Brien's campaign consultant.

The candidates in the 5th Senate District each have topped $1 million in fund-raising since Jan. 1, according to their latest campaign finance reports. Reports from Assembly candidates in and near Stanislaus County show a wide range of fund-raising activity in advance of the Nov. 6 election.

Former Mayor Farrell Jackson said that the financially troubled city government needs his experience. The two other candidates for a two-year council seat countered that City Hall could use some fresh ideas.

The Republican Party of Stanislaus County invites those interested to watch Thursday's vice presidential debate together at GOP headquarters in Modesto.

The race between incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen and her Democratic challenger, Christopher Mateo, has played out mostly on paper.

Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, tries to walk a fine line in a hyperpartisan world. As he seeks re-election in the newly drawn, Stanislaus County-based 10th District where voter registration is about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, Denham can display some bipartisan stripes.

Patterson voters should have no trouble this year distinguishing between two candidates for mayor. Incumbent Luis Molina, 47, is an experienced policy-maker as leader of both the City Council and the Stanislaus County Board of Education.

Perhaps it's no surprise that Patterson, where political gamesmanship seems as popular as apricots, has produced six candidates for just two City Council seats.

The candidates in the Fifth Senate District differ on taxes, high-speed rail and the best way to create jobs in an area still mired in a lousy economy. Democrat Cathleen Galgiani and Republican Bill Berryhill shared their views in a meeting Wednesday.

Voters will choose between two familiar names for mayor this fall: incumbent Virginia Madueño and Councilman Richard O'Brien. While the two agree on many of the issues facing the city, they offer voters stark differences in how they would lead the city.

Campaign accusations about tax liens apparently caught Rep. Jeff Denham by surprise Monday evening, and he spent much of Tuesday sorting things out. The tax questions emerged Monday during a lively debate between 10th Congressional District candidates Democrat Jose Hernandez and Republican Denham.