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• Lodi teen gets 'Switched!' for TV show

• Woodbridge Dam project gives Mokelumne ecosystem a boost

• Lockeford man pleads guilty minutes before manslaughter trial begins

• Lodi SWAT team takes top competition honors, beating 10 area agencies

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi chief to lead statewide police group

• Local rail transportation thrives despite warning to be cautious

• Logbook

• Some San Joaquin ambulance providers claim Stockton dispatch center policy's unfair

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 7th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 6th, 2009

• Short sales make up nearly half of Lodi market

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi man accused of smuggling drugs, weapons for inmates at state prison

• 'I-5 Strangler' sentenced to 6 terms of life

• Jury convicts Acampo man of torture, assault of his girlfriend

• Young girl is 200,000th person to assemble AIDS, HIV care kit

• Woman in wheelchair struck by car

November 5th, 2009

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Regional Roundup

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

November 4th, 2009

• Candle fire

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

November 3rd, 2009

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Correction

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Regional Roundup

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Clarification

November 2nd, 2009

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Public Meetings

• Correction

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Regional Roundup

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

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Lodi teen gets 'Switched!' for TV show

A Lodian got to live another life recently -- and a Coloradan got to live a Lodi life.

Nick Mackey, 18, traveled to Colorado to live for four days with a new family in a life much different from his own -- with the cameras rolling.

He and his counterpart, Liza Mitchell, 18, of Longmont, Colo., switched homes and took part in each other's normal daily lives.

For Mackey, this included going to classes, participating in aerial fabrics and Scottish dancing, and walking a donkey. Mitchell, who traveled to Lodi, took part in extreme sports.

The two teenagers did this as part of "Switched!" the ABC Family (a cable family channel) reality show that takes different teens and has them live in ways they might not be used to. The teens don't know where they're going until the day they leave. The show is for 16 to 20 year olds, and they may apply on the Web site, www.abcfamily.go.com.

Mackey, who graduated from home school, worked at the Lodi skate park. ABC Family representatives called the skate park, looking for BMX bikers and skateboarders. He applied to participate and was excited to hear he made it.

He arrived in Colorado and met Mitchell's parents at the airport. They brought him to their home and showed him around.

"I lived her life," he said.

He went to her aerial fabrics class. Aerial fabrics is the art of doing acrobatics and dancing with pieces of fabric hung from the ceiling. He also did Scottish dancing.

"It was hard to pick up, but I got it down," he said.

Nick Mackey

He also went to Mitchell's private school, which he said was really nice. He did a welding class there. Everyone at the school knew he was taking Mitchell's place. On Saturday, he walked the Mitchells' pet donkey. That was his only chore to do.

"Liza's parents were really nice people. They were really smart, too," he said.

While Mackey was in Colorado, he enjoyed the scenery and got to visit a couple of other towns.

"I just really liked everything about Colorado," he said, adding that he would like to go back and visit.

"Basically, the whole experience taught me to try new things in life," he said.

An ABC Family representative contacted Mitchell's aerial fabrics teacher to see if any teens were interested in the show.

"It would be a really fun experience ... to travel somewhere for four days and live someone else's life," Mitchell said.

Mitchell traveled to Lodi, which she found was not too different from towns she'd seen.

"The weather was gorgeous, and I had a fun time," she said. "The people were nice, too."

Mitchell arrived at Mackey's apartment, which had a note on the door that said she could go inside. Once inside, 10 of Mackey's friends and his brother Nathan were there to welcome her.

While in Lodi, she did bodywork on a truck -- one of Mackey's hobbies -- and learned how to sand it down and glue parts on it. She also learned how to do BMX biking in the skate park. Mitchell admits she was scared at first, but she enjoyed it, and Mackey's friends tried to teach her tricks. Then she got a cell phone text message about a challenge, which was a drag race at a track in Sacramento. She did a ride-along at first, then drove the car with her instructor. Then, she was on her own to drive in a drag race, which she won.

"It was quite a rush ... we were flying down the track," she said. "It was not as difficult as I thought."

Liza Mitchell

Mackey also went to Lodi Lake where she did wakeboarding. Though wakeboarding is not allowed at Lodi Lake, an exception was made for the show. She had a hard time with it at first, but once she got the hang of it, she did fine.

Mitchell traveled home to Colorado where she met Mackey for the first time. Her family had a barbecue for them. They talked about their experiences, and Mitchell said she was impressed that Mackey did the Scottish dancing and the aerial fabrics because he seemed like a macho guy.

Mitchell said she would love to go back to Lodi and that she made a lot of good friends.

"I will have to do more extreme sports," she said.

Mitchell said she has responsibilities at home with school, activities and preparing to go to college in August.

As for her take on her trip: "It was like a vacation -- an escape from reality."

New episodes of "Switched!" will begin in June. Currently, no date is set for the Lodi-Colorado show to air.