My dad is a good and smart Dad. First, he helps me to draw cars and people. I am a good drawer. Next, he rides a bike with me at the park. I had a lot of fun on the ramps. Last, my dad works hard and he gets money to buy food and clothes from the store. I love my dad because he is special. — Joel

• Residence: Oakdale

Q: What's the best thing about being a father? Or what's the best thing about your father?

Everyone who lives in the valley knows that one of the best things about our home is the abundance of locally grown produce.

Junie B. Jones, the first-grade star of a popular book series, is bringing her Stupid Smelly Bus Tour to Modesto on Monday.

NEW YORK -- Hamburgers and hot dogs? Check. Lighter fluid? Check. Beer? Check. More money?

Since she was old enough to wield a mixing bowl and wooden spoon, Adrianne "Dre" Bernal has had a sweet spot for making candy.

At a time when most of their peers are thinking of retirement, adding to the nest egg and perhaps booking an exotic trip or cruise, Dave and Babs Veneman are taking the road less traveled.

During the 1950s Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace prize, the black-and-white science-fiction hit "The Day the Earth Stood Still" frightened moviegoers, and Willie Mays, the "Say Hey Kid," entered professional baseball. What Modesto highlights do you recall from the 1950s?

Fans of the popular "SimCity" computer game series get to create and develop virtual cities.

My daughter and I decided to take advantage of a recent mild afternoon to host a girls tea party.

By day, Letitia Senechal is a full-time curriculum specialist who occasionally teaches computer graphics at Modesto Junior College.

The letter nominating Jim Johnson for this year's Stanislaus Arts Council Excellence in Arts Award for lifetime achievement has a theme of renewal. Its writers, Johnson's longtime Modesto Junior College faculty colleagues Lewis and Shirley Woodward, praise him for in 1981 "re-establishing the entire theater program at MJC," which had been canceled two years before. They also wrote that Johnson, when he was the college's dean of arts, humanities and communications, "played a major role in the total renovation" of the little theater. And "most recently," the Woodwards noted, "he has helped spearhead the renovation of the MJC auditorium complex, which will reopen this fall."

Improvise instructions based on the types of bridesmaid dresses in your closet. "Some fabrics are trickier to work with than others," Maxwell says. "But keep in mind that even the lining, lace and trim can be used."