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• Storm over Supercenter

• Lodi's pollution commotion

• Lodi budget crunch affects workers, services, rates

• Greenbelt sparks conflict, progress

• DNA clears man who spent 10 years in prison for rape

• Lodi loses artists Frey, Surdez

• Bank of Lodi sold for $50 million

• Land, Howard quit Lodi city council

• Flynn looks for new job, instead resigns, then runs for council

• Mondavi sold to Constellation for$1.3 billion

• New police building opens, budget cuts stall other projects

• Herzog accepts lesser sentence in murder case

• Wackiest police calls of 2004

• Memorable quotes of 2004

• LUSD OKs new high school attendance areas

• Acampo man seeks legal action against those who dumped concrete on his land

• Lodi woman creates fowl collectibles from foul substance

• Woman arrested after driving backwards in front of Lodi police station

• The mystery of Thornton's 'miracle' statue

• Lodi police arrest naked man after chase

• Nakanishi's bill warns against 3-D ultrasounds

• 'Mr. Box' at meeting raises questions of decorum

• Driver involved in fatal Tokay crash will be charged

• Two Tokay students hit by truck in front of high school

• Wet weather, wind to greet revelers for New Year's Eve

• Lodi's health industry looks to gain from New Year's weight loss resolutions

• Farrell excels in low-profile post as Galt's city treasurer

• Lodi Fire Department promotions carry unknown costs

• Regional Roundup

• New Year's holiday closures

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
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• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
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The mystery of Thornton's 'miracle' statue

St. Anne's may not be that different from most other Catholic churches in the United States, except that very few of them have had to deal with a "miracle."

The miracle: A statue actually shedding tears and moving 20 feet or more to the altar -- all by itself.

In 1981, reports of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima moving, untouched by human hands, came from several parishioners at St. Anne's mission church in Thornton, Mater Ecclesiae. The results: Thousands of people showing up in Thornton to view the statue.

The statue moved to the altar on the 13th of each month from April to September 1981, said Al Amaro, a Thornton resident since 1942. The statue stopped moving after church officials moved it to a different location inside the church. The statue is still there, Amaro said.

Long-time Thornton resident Manuel Pitta also claimed that Jesus and Mary spoke directly with him.

Father Harmon Skillin, pastor at St. Anne's and Mater Ecclesiae from 1983 to 1994, remembers having to handle what rightfully could be termed a delicate situation.

"It was a great diversion for a pastor, believe me," Skillin told the News-Sentinel last week.

"A delegation came from Thornton," he said.

So how do you insist that the statue didn't exhibit human characteristics, yet treat your parishioners with respect with dignity?

"Very carefully," Skillin said.

Roger Mahony, then bishop of the Stockton Diocese and now cardinal of the Los Angeles Archdiocese, appointed a commission of four area priests to investigate what was going on in Thornton.

During a press conference in Thornton on June 8, 1983, Mahony announced before a battery of newspaper and TV reporters that the statue didn't constitute "a miracle in the eyes of the Catholic Church," according to a story in the News-Sentinel.

Skillin said he had to be gentle, but truthful.

"Sometimes, truth is not acceptable (to those who don't wish to accept it)," he said.