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Whether it's the military or law enforcement, boot camp or academy is no piece of cake. It's rigor with a capital R, designed to weed out those who aren't the most qualified physically or mentally. The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Regional Training Center, in partnership with San Joaquin Delta College, is graduating Police Academy Class 167 on Friday afternoon. A record 59 cadets out of 76 recruits competed 24 weeks of intense physical and mental training.

I got the chance to tour the Merced Theatre last weekend during the foundation's ice cream social, held to raise money for the building's restoration. The once-majestic interior -- complete with a faux Spanish courtyard -- remains bland and depressing.

It made me furious.

United Artists and other companies ruined so many beautiful theaters when it took them over and converted them into multiplexes to compete with the trend of the day. It happened to the Senator Theatre back in Chico, my hometown. While the multiplex walls have been torn down, the restoration effort there isn't nearly as far along as Merced's.