Highlights from "The Week in Review" (TWIR)

You can access the entire TWIR by clicking on the link on the right side of this page.

Public Works
Rain Storm Report: Several alarms and requests for service were handled by the staff at the Wastewater Quality Control Facility and Streets Division during the recent rain storm. This included some after-hours call-outs. The high winds created radio communications problems, and the volume of rain overloaded a few of the City’s storm drain pumps. Our data monitoring and control system worked well, identifying where the problems were so they could be corrected in a timely matter. Overall, the storm system worked as designed, with the retention basins collecting the flow from the streets and holding the water until it could be pumped away. By Thursday, most of the basins had no standing water, except for a few basins where pumping was delayed.

Community Development
Enterprise Zone: The City has been notified that the State Department of Housing and Community Development has awarded a Targeted Employee Area (TEA) for the San Joaquin County Enterprise Zone. Of the 14 census tracts that are located at least partially in Manteca’s City limits, 10 have received this designation. Everyone who lives in a TEA automatically qualifies for the State Hiring Tax Credit that companies who hire them can receive if they are located in an Enterprise Zone (EZ). The Hiring Tax Credit allows EZ companies to reduce State income tax by a percentage of qualified wages paid to eligible new employees. The State’s Hiring Tax Credit currently totals up to $37,400 for each eligible employee over a five-year period and, importantly, is retroactive for all eligible employees hired on or after June 22, 2008, which is when the San Joaquin County Enterprise Zone was approved. Residents in a TEA are one of 11 targeted groups of eligible employees whose companies that hire them can receive the Hiring Tax Credits. Other groups of eligible new employees include those who are economically disadvantaged; qualified Veterans; disabled; ex-offenders; qualified displaced workers; enrolled in WIA, Calworks or WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit); receive public assistance such as food stamps, cash aid, TANF, WIC, etc.; or are Native American Indian, Hawaiian or Samoan.

Zoning Ordinance Update Workshop: Staff is holding the first workshop on updating the City’s Zoning Ordinance. The meeting will be held October 27 at the Senior Center from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. This workshop will focus on ideas from the community and development stakeholders for possible changes to the Zoning Ordinance involving land uses, parking ratios, setbacks, height, density and allowable uses.

Building Safety Activities: The Building Safety Division conducted a total of 210 inspections during the week. The division issued 28 building permits: 2 single-family dwellings, 1 change to existing plans, 2 hood and duct , 3 miscellaneous electric, 2 miscellaneous mechanical, 6 miscellaneous plumbing, 1 residential fire repair, 1 commercial roof, 9 residential roofs, and 1 sign permit. A total of 14 new project applications were submitted for plan check services, which included 6 single-family dwellings, 2 commercial remodels, 1 fire sprinkler, 1 patio, 1 residential fire repair, 1 residential remodel, 1 sign, and 1 storage rack.

Parks and Recreation

Tidewater Tree Planting: Crossroads Community Church volunteers and the City of Manteca worked together on Sunday, October 11 to plant 256 trees along the Tidewater Bikeway along Moffat Boulevard. This project was a part of the church’s “Taking it to the Streets” volunteer program. More than 800 people took on various projects throughout the City. The most-visible projects included the Tidewater/Moffat tree-planting program and the Tidewater clean-up program. Other volunteers worked in other areas of the City, and in other nearby communities. Approximately of 150 of them arrived at the Tidewater just before 10 a.m. to begin planting four different species of trees. This project will provide much-needed shade to the path during the hot summer months, as well provide a nice visual barrier from the path to the railroad. In addition to the tree planting, another 50+ volunteers removed weeds and pruned overgrown shrubs on the north side of the bike path.

Police Department

Kidnapping Conviction: On October 8, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill sentenced Justo Mata Bustos, 27, of Parlier, and Fernando Espana Rubio, 21, of Madera, each to 14 years and three months in prison for the armed kidnapping of a Tracy jewelry store owner. On October 2, Judge O’Neill sentenced co-defendant Diana Teran, 30, of Madera, to 10 years and one month in prison. All three defendants pled guilty to kidnapping, and Bustos and Rubio also pled guilty to brandishing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence. This case was the product of an investigation by the Manteca Police Department.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Duce Rice and Kevin P. Rooney, who prosecuted the case, all three defendants admitted the victim was lured to a motel in Manteca and taken captive at gunpoint as part of a plan to steal the victim’s jewelry store’s inventory. The defendants took the victim away from the motel in his own car. When the victim saw a Manteca Police Officer, he jumped from the car, and a high-speed chase ensued. Bustos and Rubio threw handguns out the car’s windows before they were captured. During sentencing, Judge O’Neill emphasized the extreme violence and danger inherent in the crime and the attempted escape. U.S. Attorney Brown stated, “This successful prosecution was the result of the Manteca Police Department’s superlative response to an emergency situation.”