Port City Pin-Ups 2012 Calendar
Local ladies pose for women's health
The Port City Pin-Ups are all about supporting bold, beautiful women, and to prove it, they're releasing their third annual pin-up calendar for 2012, with all proceeds benefitting the Women's Center of San Joaquin. Each year the twelve girls featured in the calendar are chosen through an elimination contest in which the girls prove their pin-up prowess. One girl is also chosen as Pin-Up of the Year at the end of the elimination. When the ladies aren't posing for their calendar months, they're hard at work promoting local non-profit organizations and community events. The calendar is available for purchase at local businesses on the Miracle Mile, or through the Pin-Ups' Facebook page.
For more information: facebook.com/PortCityPinups
Jesse De La Cruz
Inspirational author tells all
Stockton resident Jesse De La Cruz has released his first book, Detoured: My Journey from Darkness to Light. Twelve years in the making, it tells the Texas native's tumultuous life story. De La Cruz battled polio at the age of 3 and was hospitalized until he was age 6. After moving to Tulare County, he and his family lived at a farming camp, in two one-room cabins with cement floors. He didn't begin school until he was 7, and his education was disrupted by his family's need to travel for farm work.
Wanting a different life, De La Cruz joined a gang when he was only 9 years old. He was arrested at ages 12 and 14, and sent to a boys' camp at 16. From that point on, he was in and out of prison for thirty years, and was released for the last time on April 2, 1996. He also ended a heroin addiction that had begun when he was 14. After leaving the prison system for good, De La Cruz received his bachelor's degree in sociology and his master's in social work. He is now working on his doctorate in education at CSU Stanislaus and teaches criminal justice at Heald College.
De La Cruz began writing his story as a catharsis, and to give hope to families caught up in the cycle of addiction. He hopes his audience will take away a sense of hope after reading the book.
"I'm not here to glorify what I did," says De La Cruz. "My intent is to share my past with other people so they can learn from my mistakes."
Check mazon.com or local bookstores for copies of Detoured.
