It appears the wheels are off the Javier Lopez for Congress bus. The Ceres mayor now says he may pull the plug on his candidacy but truthfully we weren’t seeing a strong effort since his splashy announcement outside of the Doghouse Tap Room. His fundraising efforts have fallen significantly short for the task.
Lopez entered the race in April but Kevin Lincoln last month announced he wants to take on Adam Gray and has stolen the show. Now the former Stockton mayor has received the endorsement of President Trump. Even former Congressman John Duarte, who was backing Lopez, has reneged his allegiance to Lincoln.
Lopez wasn’t ready for the job nor do I believe he will be in time. He still must prove himself as a leader in Ceres and looming ahead this spring is the serious business of dealing with a $2 million budget deficit.
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A representative of StanCOG came before the Ceres City Council weeks ago to explain how they are in the midst of trying to identify any unmet public transit needs, i.e., bus service and dial-a-ride.
She noted how the outreach included social media including Instagram and Facebook and Survey Monkey. Newspapers were noticeably missing from the mention and as a newspaper man that’s troubling to be overlooked. Newspapers aren’t dead yet, folks, not by a longshot.
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Everyone talks about how their health insurance costs are going up but how many people actually stop to wonder why. Could it be due to the around 40 percent of Americans who are obese and 18 percent who are severely obese which leads to heart disease? Did you know that being fat increases the risk of getting 13 types of cancer? That includes cancer of the esophagus, breast (in women who have gone through menopause), colon and rectum, uterus, gallbladder, upper stomach, kidneys, liver, ovaries, pancreas, thyroid, meningioma (a type of brain cancer) and multiple myeloma.
People who don’t take care of themselves cost ratepayers and taxpayers billions of dollars a year.
Chronic conditions account for roughly 80 percent of all health care spending. For example, individuals with uncontrolled hypertension incur over $2,000 more in annual healthcare costs than those with normal blood pressure. Controlling high blood pressure can be accomplished by eating a heart healthy diet (low sodium, high fruits/veggies), regular exercise (walking, cycling), managing stress (meditation, sleep), not smoking, limiting alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking prescribed medications consistently, all while regularly monitoring numbers with a doctor.
Exercise has to be a mindset, a deliberate action and is often not the easiest thing to do. I force myself to walk or run and I can tell you from observation that very few are out doing the same. I am blessed that I am not taking any medications at my age and that has astounded some of my doctors.
According to Kaiser Permanente, physical inactivity can set a heart disease domino effect in motion. If you’re not staying active, it’s harder to prevent conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. And not getting enough physical activity can lead to heart disease – even if you don’t have other risk factors.
Mingsum Lee, MD, PhD, a cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente said: “There’s overwhelming evidence that ‘exercise is medicine.” The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (like brisk walking); or 75 minutes of high-intensity aerobic activity (like jogging). One study suggests that an hour of weekly resistance and/or weight-training exercises could lower risk for a heart attack or stroke up to 70%!
It would seem 21 minutes of walking per day is a great investment if it means saving yourself from a heart attack or cancer treatments.
Hey, sounds like a good New Year’s Resolution, doesn’t it?
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It’s a sad paradox how today’s society embraces women to destroy a life growing within them so they can “have a life,” yet God decided to use the human embryo to become life to ultimately give up His life so that we could have eternal life.
In our schools we celebrate the holiday season by singing nonsensical songs like “Must be Santa” and songs about bells that jingle or examples of multi-cultural gobbledygook. But they don’t dare sing the old Christmas carols, like “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night,” “Away in a Manger” or “Joy to the World” which were sung in schools 40 or 50 years ago. No, might be a lawsuit. We don’t want to anyone knowing about this Jesus character because he’s so divisive.
But that’s where we are in the world. Isn’t it odd how humankind can take something that was intended to unify and create something so divisive from it.
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Two weeks ago I saw a Tesla in Oakdale with a license plate frame that read: “I bought this before Elon went crazy.“
It prompted me to ponder a simple question: What was exactly so divisive about a successful businessman wanting to help his nation’s government cut waste, fraud and abuse from a budget that has been trillions of dollars in debt for decades? What was so wrong with trying to prevent future generations from being saddled with crippling debts that people would torch a Tesla dealership or a car that the man’s company manufactured? But if you suffer from Trump Hatred Syndrome, that hatred gives one license to be confrontational and criminal and abandon all semblance of decency.
Perhaps the license plate frame was placed by a true conservative as a message to pretend he or she is going along with a message of regret and hate.
Likewise, we certainly have a lot of Christian haters in the world. We saw that come out after Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
Seek the truth. The bumper sticker you’d choose would read: “Jesus died so I could live forever.”
Merry Christmas indeed!
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Gavin Newsom gleefully launched a website with taxpayer money which highlights what he calls Trump’s ties to “criminal cronies.” He takes a look at the president’s pardons of so-called insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, and others.
The website features eight AI generated mugshots of Trump labeling him “Criminal in Chief.” Hmm, wasn’t Newsom the one who signed a bill that outlawed the use of AI in political satire (illegally I might add) last year?
Perhaps Newsom’s mock website is an attempt to distract the new Homeland Security website (wow.dhs.gov) where you can see mugshots of all the illegal alien thugs removed from the country and/or arrested for criminal enterprises in various towns and states.
I did a search for Ceres and found none but in the neighboring city of Modesto I found multiple individuals who were deported for such crimes as assault, drug trafficking, hit-and-run, DUI, selling marijuana, burglary, weapons offenses, meth sales, homicide, auto theft, domestic violence, fraudulent use of credit cards, child sex offense.
These criminals received protection by Newsom – who took an oath to uphold the Constitution – and his sanctuary state policies.
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Not getting a lot of media attention is the scathing report of Grant Parks, the California State Auditor, pointing out areas where state agencies are high risk if the agency is at risk of suffering, or the issue is at risk of producing, waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement.
Newsom is in charge of these agencies yet he brags about how well the state of California is being run. It’s all B.S. folks.
New on the list this year is the CalFresh program which administers the SNAP benefits. Because the recent federal changes to will require California to shoulder part of the cost of the program’s benefits and if the state doesn’t get a handle on what’s called payment error rate (overpaying benefits not earned), the state could have to cough up $2 billion extra annually to provide what was once called food stamps.
The auditor writes: “If Social Services is able to lower the PER to between 8 percent and 10 percent, the State will still be responsible for paying 10 percent of the costs of SNAP program benefits, or about $1.2 billion. This is particularly concerning considering that California faces growing multiyear budget deficits, as well as a $20 billion operating deficit for SFY 2026-27. The addition of these significant, new state costs will jeopardize a key program for Californians in need and pose a serious impediment to balancing the State’s budget.”
Get that? Newsom’s state is facing a $20 billion budget deficit next year! I can’t wrap my mind around what a billion looks yet we’re talking times 20. That’s some serious mismanagement.
California Globe writer Katy Grimes called the auditor’s report “an unvarnished indictment of Governor Gavin Newsom and his administration. The report should have everyone living in California horrified.” Grimes goes to say: “The only conclusion is that Gavin Newsom is the most unserious politician to serve as California Governor, interested only in power and control, having performed none of the executive work and actual governing.”
But sadly, Newsom fools many because of his slick speech and Hollywood looks.
The auditor also noticed that the Finance Department’s mismanagement of federal COVID 19 funds continues to represent a significant risk to California and its residents and will therefore remain a high risk statewide issue.
The state is failing to resolve problems with Medi-Cal eligibility determinations. The Auditor says as of April 2025, the number of eligibility discrepancies between the county and state eligibility systems remains only somewhat below the level that they identified in 2021 that was estimated to have caused the State to disburse $1.9 billion in questionable payments.
The auditor also reports the state is failing to expand or update water infrastructure projects (dams).
The auditor also warns that State Water Project delivery capabilities could decrease by as much as 23 percent by 2043. A total of 49 dams throughout California are rated as posing extremely high hazard to life and property and are below satisfactory condition.
That’s failed leadership.
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I think every business and commercial property owner needs to stop and look at how their places present to the public with a fresh set of eyes because appearance affects sales.
Case in point: The sad little shopping center on the north side of Whitmore Avenue at the corner of Mitchell Road where Family Pizza is located.
Kept in the parking lot near the sidewalk are two trash dumpsters and trash cans. It’s ugly and unwelcoming. How about a trash enclosure with some landscaping to soften the look of it all?
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In my side life I have a growing YouTube channel (History Hunters) that will carry me into retirement. Sad news came for me and thousands of his fans on Monday when we learned of the death of Adam Williams, of the popular Adam the Woo channel which has 749,000 subscribers.
I met Adam on Sept. 5 in Burbank and was honored that he remembered my videos which he liked. Keep in mind I have far less followers (188,000).
He was excited about Christmas and was counting down to the day. He’s gone at age 51. Make every day count, folks.
Rest in peace, Adam, friend.
This column is the opinion of Jeff Benziger, and does not necessarily represent the opinion of The Ceres Courier or 209 Multimedia Corporation. How do you feel about this? Let Jeff know at jeffb@cerescourier.com
