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• Council approves water rate increase

• 'Livable, Lovable Lodi' ranks among top city slogans in the U.S.

• Crocodile found in Acampo will probably end up in zoo

• Census: West seeing fastest urban growth

• 'Three Doctors' prescribe education to students

• Regional Roundup

• Severe thunderstorms cut swath through S.J. area

• In light of Hurricane Katrina, concerns arise about security of local levees

• Mississippi girl finds friends, fun in Lodi

• Logbook

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

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

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• 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

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

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

• Correction

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

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

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

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Census: West seeing fastest urban growth

Stockton area, including Lodi, is fifth in nation for population increase

The Stockton metropolitan area, which includes Lodi, is the fifth fastest growing in the entire nation.

The San Joaquin Valley's Modesto, Merced and Sacramento-Roseville areas were also listed by the U.S. Census for their population growth between 2000 and 2003, according to a report being released today.

In fact, 12 of the nation's 20 fastest growing metropolitan areas are in the West, the Census Bureau says. The fastest growing: Greeley, Colo.

Greeley and its surrounding communities, about 60 miles north of Denver, grew by 16.8 percent, to 211,000 people.

The Stockton area grew 12.3 percent to 633,000.

Growth around Lodi, which is limited to 2 percent a year, puts the city's economy in a precarious place, according to Pat Patrick, president and CEO of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.

Areas of large growth stand out when a retailer looks to open a new location, and that could prompt some to choose Lodi, Patrick said.

On the other hand, a growth limit could dissuade retailers from locating here when the surrounding areas are booming, he added. That could mean fewer retail choices and tax dollar revenues, as residents travel to areas of with a greater selection of merchants.

"The challenge for Lodi, being in this fast-growing area, is that we're a 2 percent growth community in a double-digit growth valley," Patrick said. "That means that our surrounding cities will have more retail choices than we do."

Lodi City Manager Blair King said Lodi has grown far differently than its neighbor Stockton to the south and Elk Grove to the north.

"My unified theory is I think Lodi has done a really good job maintaining a distinct identity," he said.

King added the city is "concerned about explosive growth" because that is not how Lodi defines itself.

But he said it could have some benefits for the city's retail tax base.

The Census Bureau defines a metropolitan area as a region containing at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more people. The report released Thursday focused on growth estimates from 2000 to 2003, the most recent information available.

In the report, Greeley ranked just ahead of two other Western communities -- St. George, Utah, and Las Vegas.

Greeley City Manager Roy Otto said the area has grown because it's a reasonable commute to Denver and has relatively inexpensive homes.

Other Valley cities that ranked in the top 20 included Modesto and Merced which each grew 10.1 percent and Sacramento-Roseville with 9.9 percent.

The annual Census estimates of urban population growth show the New York-northern New Jersey-Long Island area with a population of 18.6 million. The number of people in the region, the nation's largest metropolitan area, was up 1.7 percent from three years earlier.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana population hit 12.8 million and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet was 9.33 million.

Americans have been moving south and west for decades, with a big jump in population in the South, starting in the 1970s. Still, the West continues to outpace all other regions.

According to the 2000 Census, population in the western United States grew by 19.7 percent in the 1990s, followed by the South with 17.3 percent more people. The Midwest and the Northeast posted single-digit increases in population.