HAPPY THANKSGIVING. One of my favorite holidays arrives next week with Thanksgiving, a time when families and friends gather around the dinner table to enjoy a delicious California-grown turkey. For me, it’s a fabulous time to visit with lots of people without having to become frustrated over cooking the bird. I arrive, sometimes with wine in hand and in a festive mood because someone else usually roasts the bird. In past years, the official bird cook was my mom and my friend Tom Dompe of Crows Landing. Joining them are a whole host of (mostly) women who prepare the amazing meal that accompanies the bird. The men are superb at carving the locally-grown turkey. This is an easy holiday for me, because I really only eat, drink and talk a lot. It’s fun. With this year’s column I want to thank all my family and friends who are responsible for this year’s holiday dinner and fun. We are moving the annual feast from my mom’s home to a family friend’s home. I haven’t told my friends that I’m writing about Thanksgiving dinner, so I’m not revealing the location this week.

If you are the official cook for your family dinner, I urge you to check out California’s official “turkey” website at www.cpif.org and check the “holiday cooking” section. The website also has a video that shows how to prepare and carve the bird. It also lists some hotline phone numbers, including Foster Farms, where you can call for information every day leading up to Thanksgiving. In fact, the hotline is also available on the big day if you need help. I hope your holiday is as fantastic as I know mine will be!

DOCTORS GIVING FREE CARE. When Newman’s Dr. Manuel Canga isn’t examining up to 400 patients a week in his Newman office you may find him in West Modesto near Paradise Road, assisting the lowest of low income people who have no resources to seek health care. Canga and his award-winning niece (who is a nurse), Candy Canga-Picar, serve these men and women from a van hosted by the Calvary Temple Church in Modesto. You will spot the van easily, because both Canga and his niece are visible with very giant size photos of them on both sides of the vehicle. You can’t miss the Canga team, and it’s great to know that Canga is providing help to the needy in many ways. When I asked him if this work was safe since he serves people in the shadiest area of Modesto, he says all work is done during the day and he isn’t worried. While the van is part of the church service, the Cangas donate their own medicines and expertise. Canga-Picar was just honored for nursing excellence. She is one of five finalists for the 2009 California Nurse Week Nursing Excellence Awards and was honored in Garden Grove recently. She is the manager of Surgical and Nursing Support Services at Memorial Hospital. The Canga team provides this outreach at least two Saturdays every month.

WATER BOND LONG WAY TO GO. As you know from last week’s column, the $11.1 billion state water bond will be on our ballot next November. However, critics aren’t so sure it’s wise to raise money for dams and other projects. Some editorial writers are saying the bond is giveaway to corporate farmers and other special interests that will benefit from the water projects. Some of their comments are a lot of bunk. Many farmers will be out of business without water, and that means some local jobs will be lost too. It’s never easy to get anything done in California with so many special interests chiming in. But the fact that the bond will be on our ballot gives us all a chance to study it carefully and weigh the pros and cons. Don’t write it off or support it until you know what’s in it. Then compromise with what you learn; it will never be perfect! Not in this state awash in politics.

More importantly….the West Side economy is supported in a very large part by reliable water sources so it’s wise for our businesses and our schools to understand its importance.