A free seminar to help laid-off NUMMI workers financially plan for life after the plant’s closure will be March 23 at the Tracy Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites.

Kendra L. Willis, the owner of Willis Insurance Services, as well as people from Calloway Insurance, said they decided to host the seminars because of the rough transition the newly unemployed workers will face.

At the seminars, experts on retirement, health insurance and budget planning and attorneys with more than 20 years of experience will discuss how to stretch money, what kind of insurance will be needed, and ways to deal with loan modification.

The closure of the NUMMI plant — a factory in Fremont run by Toyota that was originally a partnership between Toyota and General Motors — affects about 300 workers in Tracy and 800 in the San Joaquin County.

Two workshops in Newark will precede the Tracy seminar. They will be at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, and at 2:30 and 7 p.m. Thursday at 39900 Balentine Drive, in Newark.

At a glance

• WHAT: Workshop for laid-off NUMMI workers

• WHEN: 7 p.m. March 23

• WHERE: Tracy Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites, 3751 N. Tracy Blvd.

• COST: Free

•INFO: 925-838-7243 or www.calloway-financial.com.

News Briefs

Moose Lodge to serve pasta

The Tracy Moose Lodge invites the public to a pasta feed fundraiser at 6 p.m. today at the lodge, 35 E. 11th St. The menu is pasta with meatballs, salad, garlic bread and dessert.

Tickets are $9, while children 10 and younger are $5. Reservations are required.

For information: 835-4366.

Widows host monthly luncheon

Tracy’s chapter of the Widowed Persons Association of California will host its monthly lunch meeting at 11:20 a.m. today at Four Corners Restaurant, 7509 W. Linne Road.

Tickets are $11 and must be purchased by today.

For information: Dorothy Briggs, 836-4180.

New Jerusalem 4-H plans dinner

The New Jerusalem 4-H will host its 11th annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at New Jerusalem Elementary School, 31400 S. Koster Road.

Cost is $10 per person.

For information: 830-6789.

ICF announces dinner menu

The Italian Catholic Federation will have its monthly dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday in Father Fleming Hall at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, 163 W. Eaton Ave.

Pork loin will be served with roasted potatoes and all the fixings. Cost is $8 for members and $10 for nonmembers.

For information: 835-2997 or 835-1474.

Jefferson 4-H plans fundraiser

The 49th annual Jefferson 4-H spaghetti and tri-tip dinner fundraiser will take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 20 at Hawkins Elementary School, 475 Darlene Lane.

A silent auction will take place along with the dinner. Tickets are $12, and children 5 and younger get in free. Take-out dinners are available.

For information: 832-5389.

D.A.R.E. cosponsors bicycle drive

The Tracy D.A.R.E. Advisory Board, the Central Valley Wheelers bicycle club, Tracy Cyclery and Silva’s Bicycle Service will collect new and used bicycles from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 20 at City Hall, 333 Civic Center Plaza.

The bikes will be given away to needy children.

For information: Steve Abercrombie, 470-2892 or officerabs@yahoo.com.

Genealogists to meet

The Tracy Area Genealogical Society has scheduled Stacey James to lead a round-table discussion from 1 to 4 p.m. March 21 in the library of the Tracy Historical Museum, 1141 Adam St.

James will talk about Facebook and genealogy.

For information: Terry Ronneberg, tlronne@sbcglobal.net, 835-7847 or 610-8060.

Elks to host veterans dinner

The Tracy Elks Lodge will host its annual Vet Dinner starting at 5:30 p.m. March 20 at the lodge, 6400 W. 11th St.

The dinner raised more than $5,000 last year, and the money went to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Livermore.

A raffle and a blind auction will accompany the roast beef dinner. The cost is $15.

For information: 835-4413.

Society readies for annual luncheon

The Tracy Auxiliary of the Children’s Home Society will host its 13th annual spring luncheon and egg raffle from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. March 23 at Portuguese Hall, 430 Ninth St.

Tickets cost $17.50, and space is limited.

For information: 835-5258 or 603-3128.

Haircuts to help Haiti

Tresses Hair Salon will cut hair from 1 to 5 p.m. March 23 at SouthWinds Church, 13400 W. Middle Road, to raise money for survivors of Haiti’s January earthquake.

Haircuts cost $10.

For information: 914-2760.

State of the City address coming

City leaders and guest speakers from the San Joaquin Partnership will lead the annual State of the City luncheon from 9 to 11 a.m. March 24 at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts, 715 Central Ave.

Tickets cost $15 at the theater box office. A trade show will take place during the networking portion of the event to highlight various business sponsors.

For information: Sofia Valenzuela, 835-2131.

Latina Luncheon to be in Stockton

The ninth annual Latina Luncheon of the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will begin at 9 a.m. March 25 at the Hilton Hotel, 2323 Grand Canal Blvd., in Stockton.

Former CEO of eBay and candidate for governor of California, Meg Whitman, will be the keynote speaker.

For information: Martha Aguilar, 943-6117; or www.sjchispanicchamber.com.

Baseball team to host fundraiser

The West High School baseball team will put on a dinner-dance fundraiser from 6 p.m. to midnight March 27 at the Masonic Lodge, 1601 N. Tracy Blvd.

Tickets are $35. The night includes a no-host bar, dinner, live and silent auctions, a dessert auction and a raffle. Money raised will be spent on repairs to the school’s field and batting cages.

For information: Kim Thomassen, 835-6268 or

jkthomassen@aol.com.

Hispanic Business Group awards

The Tracy Hispanic Business Group will host its seventh annual Latino Leadership and Scholarship Awards Dinner at 5:30 p.m. March 27 at the Tracy Community Center, 950 East St.

Cost is $25.

For information: 835-2131.

‘Last chance’ crab feed on tap

The first crab feed of United Cerebral Palsy will begin at 6 p.m. March 26 at the Stockton Ballroom, 9650 Thornton Road, in Stockton.

This could be the last time this season to enjoy a crab feed.

Part of the festivities at the event will include dinner, music and dancing, a raffle, and a silent auction.

For information: 835-8222.

Women’s club offers scholarship

The Tracy Republican Women’s Club is accepting applications for its $2,000 scholarship. Any college-bound girl in a Tracy school who hopes to pursue a career in government, public policy or politics is encouraged to pick up an application from a school counselor.

The deadline to apply is March 30.

For information: 835-8222.

Senior citizens plan road trip

The Tracy Senior Citizens Travel Group will travel to Hanford on a daytrip to tour the city’s restored historical sites. The group will get together at 8 a.m. March 31 at the parking lot next to Tracy Shooting Supplies, 22 E. 11th St.

The trip will cost $30 per person and doesn’t include meals.

For information: 835-0847.

• Briefs announces news about events, organizations and people in the Tracy and Mountain House areas.