Downwardly: Dave Cantrell and his midnight U-Haul

MANTECA — Dave Cantrell considered loading the U-Haul in the middle of the night and leaving while his neighbors were asleep. He couldn't bear to face them. He had become a community leader here, rallying his neighbors to stand up to the builder that was planning to auction off one-third of their new Paseo West subdivision at 40 percent discounts.

For one brief night in his living room on Cistus Street, with his neighbors raising their voices and pointing their fingers, they had united against the one they thought was responsible for their impending misfortune. Cantrell believed he made a difference, that maybe the auction prices wouldn't be as low as he feared, that they would all recover. He promised to have a block party when it was all over.