Lodi News-Sentinel
A campus left in the cold
STOCKTON — San Joaquin Delta College’s Stockton campus was closed once again this week after its heating system went out again, causing classes to move to virtual instruction for two days. Alex Breitler, the school’s director of marketing and...
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Alley flooding problem persists for many Lodi residents
After a rainstorm drenched Lodi this week, an alley just north of Eden Street became one giant puddle. Eric Patino lives along the alley and said it floods every time there’s heavy rain. Water has been seeping from the alley into his garage since he...
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Shadowing the mayor
Mayor Ramón Yepez rolled up to city hall in a dark blue Chevrolet and navy suit on a recent Wednesday morning. He was running about 15 minutes late, because his day started earlier than normal. Yepez is a night owl, not a morning person, he said. Most...
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Not the final chapter
Long-time patrons of Lodi’s last bookstore encountered a plot twist last week when its owner announced he was selling the business. Tom Kohlhepp posted on social media last Thursday that “the time has come” and that Tom’s Used Books was up for grabs...
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CSU objects to some new community college degrees, igniting debate over who can teach what
Constance Duffle, a paramedic in Siskiyou County at the Oregon border, serves a vast wilderness region woefully in need of health professionals. She has enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in paramedicine, newly offered at College of the...
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‘We need more compassion, more love’
Fear is intensifying among immigrant communities in Lodi as national enforcement operations escalate and local tensions rise. In response, several local nonprofit organizations are bolstering their services. Some of the offerings help directly with...
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A delicate balancing act
The region’s wine industry has been experiencing a downturn in the product’s popularity for about half a decade now, which in recent years has created an oversupply of grapes waiting to be crushed. But experts now say that glut could be greatly...
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‘Now we are together’
The Cambodian temple in Lodi, Wat Khmer, is planning to build a heritage center in a sweeping transformation of its grounds. The Stockton metro area is home to one of the largest Cambodian populations in the U.S., many of whom came as refugees in the...
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NorCal Science Festival: A hands-on extravaganza
Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or someone who’s curious about coding, forensics, virtual reality or anything science-related, Lodi High School will be the place for you next weekend. Thousands of students and adults will converge on the campus...
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Pulling the plug
Lodi Lake is looking more like a marsh than a lake lately after its annual draining. Each year, Woodbridge Irrigation District drains the lake for dam maintenance. It also gives time for the Lodi Parks and Recreation Department to check for and make...
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Incidents reported, but no arrests during protest
The Lodi Police Department said no arrests were made, and a handful of disturbance reports were received during a Thursday protest in which hundreds of students walked the city streets after leaving local campuses. Video circulated on social media...
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Hundreds of Lodi students stage walkout to protest ICE
When the bell rang to end first period at Lodi and Tokay high schools Thursday, scores of students decided not to move on to their next class. Instead, they walked off campus, Tigers heading north on Ham Lane and Flames heading south. “Be safe,...
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Cuts hit home(less)
STOCKTON — County officials, city leaders, homeless advocates, and affordable housing providers are concerned Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal will threaten the progress made to reduce homelessness in California. Newsom’s proposal includes...
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Double Lovable
Love is in the air, and more than two dozen wineries are preparing for the weekend when couples visit to sip, savor and celebrate their relationships. The Lodi Wine and Chocolate Weekend returns for its 29th outing on Valentine’s Day weekend, and...
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Extending the Outreach?
The City of Lodi may have finally found an organization to manage its access center and help reduce homelessness. The Lodi City Council on Wednesday will consider awarding a more than $1.8 million contract to Outreach Ministries International, Inc. to...
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The Wright Stuff
At 96, Bill Wright has been sweeping the same floors for over 90 years. He doesn’t remember the first time his mom took him to work. That’s because he was only three months old. “My mother would bring me down in a bassinet and put me on the counter...
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Play ball!
After five years of planning, Tokay High School is ready for umpires to finally call “Play Ball!” Lodi Unified School District staff officially opened the school’s new baseball and softball fields Thursday with a ribbon cutting and ceremonial first...
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Mokelume River salmon run highlights hatchery success
OAKLAND – The East Bay Municipal Utility District reported this week that more than 10,500 Chinook salmon have returned to the Mokelumne River to spawn during the 2025 fall run. The agency said the returns represent a healthy count for natural...
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Making it count
Through thick fog early Tuesday morning, several dozen volunteers spread out to count every unsheltered person in Lodi. At the last count in 2024, there were 262 unsheltered people living in Lodi, a 26% increase from the two years earlier. Though the...
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Has Lodi been touched by ICE crackdown?
As Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests increase and escalate nationally, advocates say Lodi is part of the trend. According to Bertha Castro, president of local nonprofit Unidos Progresando, two men were arrested by ICE while walking to work...
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Concerns raised about Measure L funding
The Measure L review committee wants to make changes. At its most recent meeting this month members of the Measure L Committee unanimously voted to recommend changes in the sales ordinance making it better match what voters were promised. Committee...
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Serving up Lodi
Starting today, over two dozen Lodi eateries will open their doors for the city’s first Restaurant Week. The “week” will actually last 10 days, until Feb. 1, featuring a variety of meal deals with ranging prices. “This is a big moment for our city,”...
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Making green by growing green
What does sustainability mean to you? At the annual meeting for the Lodi Rules sustainable winegrowing program on Wednesday morning, wine grape professionals answered the simple question. “Economics,” said Bruce Fry, a fifth-generation Lodi...
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Sparkling wine producer shuttering Lodi operations
One of the largest sparkling wine producers in the nation is closing its Lodi facility this year. Healdsburg-based Rack & Riddle announced a strategic facility realignment on Tuesday aimed at strengthening its long-term growth, increasing efficiency...
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A collective experience
When PJ Rhae was in the 10th grade, she witnessed racial injustice at her school. Although she said she was young at the time, Rhae knew it was wrong. She soon organized a peaceful protest in her community modeled after the principles espoused by Dr....
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Routine, structure, visual support
On an overcast November day at Vinewood Elementary, Stephanie Kermgard’s eyes darted back and forth as she watched her students dash across the playground. Though her class had just begun, she could tell it was going to be an eventful day. A boy with...
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A Sikh celebration
On a chilly dark night, hundreds of people found warmth around a bonfire and from the community at Lodi’s Sikh temple. They gathered there this Tuesday for Lohri, a Punjabi festival celebrating harvest and winter’s end. As the sun began to set,...
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Homeless plans scrapped
Citing increased costs for a proposed “monitored” homeless camp in North Stockton, county officials decided to scrap plans for the project and possibly sell the property. The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved...
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Coming attraction
A Lodi landmark may soon be no more. The city’s Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee will consider approving a 44-unit senior townhome project at 1100 W. Lodi Ave. during next Wednesday’s meeting. The 2.93-acre project site consists of five...
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Hatching young minds
Lodi Unified School District students this week participated in the first step to hatch salmon and return them to the Mokelumne River. Representatives from East Bay Municipal Utilities District visited more than 80 classrooms throughout the region...
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Newsom’s final year in office begins with $18B deficit
In 2019, first-year Gov. Gavin Newsom inherited a state flush with cash. With a $21.4 billion budget surplus to play with, an ambitious Newsom invested billions in affordable housing, child care and health care expansion while paying down the state’s...
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Water rescue at Dry Creek
Five people were treated for dehydration and hypothermia Monday after being rescued from flood waters in the northern part of the county. San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the report of a group of homeless individuals trapped...
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Lodi City Council will discuss selling park, which has been considered before
Once a location of concern due to homelessness, a city park may find itself in the hands of a local contractor. The Lodi City Council will discuss selling Lawrence Park to Diede Construction during closed session before it meeting Wednesday. Because...
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Lodi’s Second Act of 2025
The News-Sentinel is looking back at the top local stories of 2025. Part 2 covers July through December. The dates listed are when the stories appeared in the NewsSentinel, followed by the headline that accompanied the respective stories and a brief...
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A look back at Lodi’s headline grabbers
The News-Sentinel is looking back at the top local stories of 2025. Part 1 covers January through June. The dates listed are when the stories appeared in the NewsSentinel, followed by the headline that accompanied the respective stories and a brief...
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Police investigating Lodi’s first homicide of 2025
Lodi Police Department detectives are investigating the motives behind two shootings over the weekend that injured one person and left another dead. Officers responded to the report of of two explosions — possibly gunshots — on the 800 block of West...
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Storms compromised Lodi Access Center structure
The Lodi Access Center’s 46 clients weathered this week’s storms by spending two nights at the Salvation Army as a safety precaution, officials said. Access center director Johnny Coughran said while the structure at 710 N. Sacramento Street suffered...
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How about s’more kindness?
It’s been 10 years since Pastor Robert T. Schlipp launched the A Community Transformed — or ACT — Project, aimed at encouraging Lodi youngsters to identify real needs in the lives of others and finding solutions to them through an essay...
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Tamal in the family
Stacks of corn husks and big bowls of masa and meat fill the tables. Family fills the house and steam fills the air. That’s how you know it’s a tamalada, a Christmastime gathering to make tamales for Christmas Eve. Every family’s style of tamales is...
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Database reveals violations at Lodi Memorial
A Bay Area newspaper has created an online tool for the public to see if their local health care facilities have state regulatory violations in the last three years, and a local hospital has been cited for more than a dozen. Using AI to gather...
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A Dip in the Numbers
Though the Mokelumne River Hatchery is teeming with eggs right now, its salmon spawning season ended this week with a lower number of returning Chinook than the past two years. “We came off of two years of record-setting runs, and we were expecting to...
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A vision of hope
He’s been screamed at, cursed at, and his life has been threatened. Yet, he accepts the verbal abuse and ungracious attitudes as a part of the job of director at the Lodi Access Center. It comes with the line of work he’s in. He says it’s a...
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Intersection of concern
Another intersection with a history of safety concerns may soon receive traffic calming measures. The Lodi City Council during a special meeting Monday directed staff to return with safety recommendations for the Crescent Avenue and Oak Street...
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Exposing the mealybug
Vineyard researchers group up during a site visit to a Lodi vineyard in September. Out in Lodi’s vineyards, investigators searched for evidence with a UV light. It revealed thousands of bubblegum pink dots. From afar, they might seem like specks of...
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Pedaling the Christmas spirit
Christmas came early for nearly 1,000 children over the weekend after Lodi Adopt-AChild bestowed them with bicycles, scooters, LEGOs and other toys. Saturday was the nonprofit’s 35th annual Christmas Wish Program, where underprivileged families gather...
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A light in the dark
Even in the dark, a light shines at the corner of the driveway at Cherokee Memorial Funeral Home. There, a small wooden box labeled “Little Free Grief Library” beckons to those driving into the cemetery. It was funeral director Tori Monforte’s idea to...
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Bigger piece of the pie: Guantonio’s expanding
Since it opened its doors at 600 W. Lockeford St. five years ago, Guantonio’s Wood Fired Pizza has become one of the most popular eateries in Lodi. On some nights during the week, passersby can spot long lines of customers outside the entryway,...
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A work in progress
Costs for the City of Lodi’s new animal shelter have not significantly increased since plans were approved two years ago, officials said this week. The Lodi City Council last week approved on its consent calendar an amendment to a services agreement...
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Next stop, Lodi: Midday Amtrak service reinstated
Every weekday at about 11:42 a.m., a familiar face has begun rolling into Lodi’s station. Tall and silver with blue and yellow stripes, the Amtrak Gold Runner trains started seeing daylight in Lodi on Monday. In the wake of pandemic Amtrak service...
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Old plans get new life
A once-controversial housing project in the Heritage District is breathing new life this week as the applicant has decided to remove its “affordable” status. The Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee will once again consider approving a...
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Lodi’s Tree of Lights ceremony a celebration of life
For more than three decades, dozens of Lodians have gathered on Pine Street, anxiously waiting to see hundreds of blue, red, yellow and green lights illuminate the 80-foot tall tree outside City Hall. Some even search a “memory board,” looking for the...
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‘Excited to get down to work’
With Ramón Yepez’s appointment as mayor, a city that is 40% Hispanic will have its first Hispanic and Latino mayor. The Lodi City Council unanimously voted to appoint Yepez as mayor and Mikey Hothi as vice mayor at their meeting Wednesday night, as...
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Clean-flowing funds
The county’s top law enforcement official rewarded some of Lodi’s best environmental investigators this week with a donation to help with equipment and excursions. On a cold Tuesday afternoon, San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas presented...
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A grand addition
The oldest elementary school in Galt unveiled the newest addition to campus this week that will provide more space and a more inviting learning environment to its third-grade students. The Galt Joint Union Elementary School District and staff at...
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‘I can’t believe this happened’
Lodi Unified School District Superintended Neil Young announced Sunday that counseling and mental health professionals will be on all 53 campuses this week in the wake of a mass shooting at a Stockton banquet hall Saturday that left three children and...
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Minding their business
The Lodi Chamber of Commerce is promising an evening of modern elegance and high-energy celebration next month as it honors local businesses, ambassadors and individuals at its annual dinner and awards night. The chamber’s annual gala will be held at...
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‘Overload with fun, joy and smiles’
The Salvation Army, the Lodi Access Center and LOEL Senior Center will all offer free or low-cost Thanksgiving meals this week. It’s a busier year in the wake of cuts to federal food benefits, according to Maj. Richard Pease of the Salvation Army in...
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New court of the block
The courts at Hale Park will get a makeover this spring, giving Lodi its first soccer court. Lodi City Council approved up to $180,000 for the project at a meeting last Wednesday, most of which will go towards resurfacing all of the courts at the...
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‘Overwhelmed and humbled’
A Lodi family at the forefront of community service had their life turned upside down Friday morning when a fire destroyed their home and took the lives of three pets. Vintage Church pastor Timothy Stewart said he and and his family of seven were fast...
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‘Thank you for standing watch’
Lodi resident Mike Thomas held back tears Tuesday as he described the end of a colleague’s life during his last mission as a sniper in the Vietnam War. Thomas, who served with the U.S. Marines from 19681970, was the keynote speaker at the American...
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Holiday transformation
As the holiday season approaches, the Downtown Lodi Business Alliance is planning a month-long celebration that brings a winter wonderland to the heart of the city. The alliance has a number of events and features scheduled for School Street and the...
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Lodi City Council backs local wine tax
Lodi city leaders this week said an assessment fee to be levied on local wineries was a much-needed boost to promote the region’s struggling tourist industry. The Lodi City Council unanimously approved a resolution consenting to the establishment of...
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Passage of Prop 50 splits Lodi into three congressional districts
STOCKTON — California voters have overwhelmingly supported Prop 50, but the race is much closer in San Joaquin County, which will be split into five congressional districts — three in Lodi — for the 2026 midterms and subsequent elections through...
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With little help on the way, an invasive species poses a major economic threat to the Delta region
Spurts of goo oozed between Jeff Wingfield’s fingers as he methodically crushed a handful of golden mussels, popping the shells of the tiny invaders like bubblewrap. “You can just push your way right through them,” said Wingfield from the dock where...
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Sherman convicted of murder in Downtown Lodi shooting
A Stockton man accused of murdering a homeless man in Downtown Lodi was found guilty on Monday. Scott Sherman was convicted of first-degree murder in the drug- and alcohol-fueled shooting death of Felix Makinano on Oct, 3, 2023. The jury also found...
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Order up: New Pietro’s to open on Saturday, Nov. 8
Days after announcing its Kettleman Lane location would be closing its doors, Pietro’s Trattoria has revealed the grand opening of its new digs across town. The restaurant will officially open its 282 Rocky Lane location on Saturday, Nov. 8 at...
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A weighty proposition
The San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters expects another smooth election next week as voters decide whether or not to draw new congressional district boundaries. Registrar Olivia Hale said her staff is currently reviewing all final details for...
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Framing the future through the past
Mayor Cameron Bregman brought Lodi back to its past at his State of the City event Wednesday morning. His remarks and speaker selections focused on how past leaders’ decisions have shaped both prosperity and hardships in Lodi. In particular, Bregman...
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California wants to overhaul high school learning
At CART High near Fresno, there is no gum stuck to the floor. The saffron-yellow walls are unmarred by graffiti. Toting laptops, students file calmly down spacious, lightfilled hallways to classes like biotechnology and digital marketing. There’s no...
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A salute to veterans
The keynote speaker at the American Legion Post 22’s annual Veterans Day ceremony this year is a Lodi resident whose service in the Marines is detailed in a recent book and who is currently looking for others to share their experiences in the Armed...
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Catch them if you can
On a crisp Lodi Lake afternoon in 2003, the Flames had just lit a spark. One-by-one, girls in bright red jerseys came rushing across the finish line. It was the first time in nearly a decade that the Lodi High School girls varsity team had won a league...
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Hungry for a deal
More than 130,000 San Joaquin County residents who need food assistance could be affected by the government shutdown if lawmakers do not return to work in Washington D.C. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that he was going to set aside $80...
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Digging into the future
The Lodi Unified School District will be developing a five-year strategic plan in the near future, and will begin the planning process next spring. The district’s board of education voted 5-0 to approve the process Tuesday, which will include...
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Livable, Lovable, Drinkable: Lodi unveils ‘No Reservations’
Lodi’s top wine authority is hoping its latest effort to promote the industry will attract a new generation of Anthony Bourdains to the region. The Lodi Winegrape Commission announced this week that it has launched “No Reservations,” a marketing...
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