Free Republic

LANCASTER -- Karen Perez of Lancaster wouldn't commit to march at a February peace rally in Hollywood with her mother and sister, at least not until she heard from her son, Navy Corpsman Lonnie Lewis. Lewis was aboard the USS Boxer, a Wasp class multipurpose amphibious assault ship, loaded with Marines and Navy personnel on their way to Kuwait. "I wrote an e-mail to him, telling him what I was thinking of doing, and he wrote back the most amazing e-mail," said Perez, seated in the living room of her Lancaster home with daughters Tonya Lewis and Ashley Perez and...

While the Salinas Police Department says its anti-cruising crackdown is intended to protect the public, some people reject the strategy as both disruptive and unfair to young people. On Feb. 6, police announced a new campaign to eradicate cruising, the practice of vehicles repeatedly driving a street route to be seen and socialize. They say it breeds illegal activity. Last Friday and Saturday nights, officers set up checkpoints on North Main Street and threatened to ticket any drivers who passed through twice within six hours. The department plans a similar effort this weekend.... In calls and letters to The Californian,...