Stabbing victim Shana Castillo lays in pain on a gurney in Hale Park on Tuesday afternoon as paramedics prepare to take her to Lodi memorial Hospital for treatment. (Jake Armstrong/News-Sentinel)

Regional Roundup

One woman stabbed, one woman sought

One woman was stabbed and police were searching for another woman Tuesday afternoon after an ongoing feud between one man's former and current girlfriends boiled over in Hale Park, Lodi police said.

Twenty-four-year-old Shana Castillo, of Lodi, and her boyfriend Manuel Fuentes, 31, also of Lodi, were in the park with their infant child around 2:45 p.m. when Juana Blanco approached Castillo, allegedly produced a roughly 5-inch knife and stabbed Castillo, Lodi police Officer Dale Eubanks said.

The knife punctured Castillo's torso under her upper left arm and she was taken by ambulance to Lodi Memorial Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Blanco, a 35-year-old Lodi resident, left the park on foot heading east on East Locust Street. Police checked into several locations to which she may have fled but did not find her. Eubanks said she would be arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon if she is found.

Blue Shield evacuated due to bomb threat

Some 200 employees were evacuated late Monday morning at the Blue Shield offices at 129 N. Guild Ave., according to Lodi police Lt. Bill Barry.

Police and fire were called to the Blue Shield call center at 11:26 a.m. after someone called the business and said there was a bomb in the building, police said.

But police officers found nothing suspicious after walking through the building with management, Barry said.

About 99 percent of bomb threats end up being unfounded, he added.

Water district to hold public hearing

The North San Joaquin Water Conservation District will conduct a public hearing at 5 p.m. Thursday to continue its $1-per-acre tax to support efforts to replenish the area's parched groundwater system.

The tax has been in effect since 2003 throughout the district, except for 100,000 acres annexed into the district in 2004. The area affected would be Victor, parts of Lockeford and Acampo, and the portion of Lodi west to about Ham Lane.

Thursday's meeting will be held in the Bud Sullivan Community Room at the Lodi Public Library, 201 W. Locust St.

Clare announces second bid for council

Galt Mayor Darryl Clare will seek re-election to the Galt City Council in November, hoping to see to fruition some of the goals he set out to achieve in his first term.

Galt has obtained millions in federal, state and county funding for the Central Galt interchange project, which was one of the areas Clare pledged to work on in running for his first term.

Other projects in the city have brought jobs through commercial development, a new police station and planning has begun on a new San Joaquin Delta College satellite campus.

Clare said being elected to the council for the first time was like "going off to college." Now he's asking voters if they'll allow him to continue to use what he's learned.

"In 2002, I was a freshman city council member. Now, four years later, you could say I have earned my degree in public administration. It would be a shame not to use my increased knowledge and experience to work for the city for another four years," Clare said in a written statement.

BB gun shooting spree hits Galt neighborhoods

Someone apparently went on a shooting spree, breaking vehicle windows with a BB gun early Friday and Saturday morning, according to Galt police.

Windows were broken in neighborhoods just east of Highway 99, and in the Emerald Oak Drive area on the west side, between Elm Avenue and A Street. Police received 52 calls regarding the widespread vandalism.

Some of the streets hit were Lake Canyon Avenue, Adare Way, Ayers Lane and Lake Park Avenue on the east side. Areas west of Highway 99 that were hit included Oak Avenue, Emerald Oak Drive and Sparrow Drive.

Sgt. Ed Arlt said that police have no leads on who may have committed the vandalism.

Mosquito pools test positive for West Nile

Two mosquito pools, one each in Sacramento and Yolo counties, have tested positive for the West Nile Virus, according to the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District.

This year, Sacramento County has reported three dead birds that have tested positive for West Nile Virus, said mosquito district spokeswoman Jennifer Benito.

This is the first confirmation of the presence of the virus in mosquito populations to date, said Benito.

District officials may begin ground or aerial spraying to kill mosquitoes, Benito said.

People are advised to drain standing water, avoid being out at dawn and dusk, wear long-sleeved shirts and full-length pants and use mosquito repellent that has DEET, Picardin or oil of lemon eucalyptus.

To report a dead bird, call (877) WNV-BIRD ((877) 968-2473) or visit the California Department of Health Services online at http://www.westnile.ca.gov.

For more information, call (800) 429-1022 or visit the Web site, http://www.FIGHTtheBITE.net.

Military retirees to hear about space program

Military retirees, their spouses and widows are invited to hear Gil Frelly from Travis Air Force Base discuss the space flight program at the July 12 meeting of the McClellan Military Retiree program.

The meeting will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Terrace Room at the Garden Pavilion, which was the enlisted club at the former McClellan Air Force Base in North Highlands.

For more information, call (916) 561-7476.

Firefighters free nude burglary suspect

MERCED — A suspected burglar was caught with his pants down as he tried to wiggle out of a rooftop air vent above a smoking accessory shop.

It took firefighters two hours to cut Leland Thomas Nicholson, 52, from the vent Friday at Smoking Jay's before police could arrest him, Sgt. Roger McIntyre said. His pants were around his knees.

Nicholson was arrested on suspicion of burglary, possession of burglary tools and trespassing.

Police were called to the store after a neighbor reported that a trash bin had been pushed up against the building.

Nicholson was being held Monday in the Merced County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.

Ione company to destroy fireworks for state

SACRAMENTO — State fire officials have reached a novel court settlement with a special effects company charged with violating hazardous waste laws.

MP Associates of Ione, which helped make "Star Wars" and "Ghostbusters" movies, has agreed to make four portable devices for police to safely dispose of tons of illegal fireworks.

The company says it doesn't yet know how it will build the devices but is confident it can. The chambers will replace the state's current system of storing fireworks at various locations and then occasionally transporting them to an incinerator that doesn't meet clean-air standards.

Under the settlement, MP Associates must make the devices capable of destroying at least 170 pounds of fireworks an hour, for at least eight consecutive hours everyday.

The devices must also work without violating pollution standards — or burning up. Company officials say the challenge will be making the devices capable of withstanding temperatures of burning fireworks — up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

MP Associates had been cited for burning contaminated gloves, paper and faulty products that contained perchlorate, a component in rocket fuel that's known to cause thyroid disorders.

First published: Wednesday, July 5, 2006