Regional Roundup

Public Art in Lodi

From the Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Jesus statue at Corcovado Mountain in Rio De Janiero, art helps build a city's identity.

Lodi has some of it's own public art: the Wall Dogs murals, the water tower, the crane fountain at the train station, the School Street gateway arch, the bus shelter near the LOEL Center and the mural wall that welcomes Highway 12 travelers into Lodi.

The Art Advisory Board is looking to add more public art to Lodi.

What kind of art do you think Lodi needs? Do you want to see paintings, architecture, sculptures, street design, etc.? Do you have an example of art that you think would fit in Lodi?

Submit your ideas, along with your name, e-mail address and phone number to writer Lauren Nelson at laurenn@lodinews.com or call 369-7035.

You can also fill out a survey online at http://www.lodinews.com.

Man stabbed atQuick Stop Market

A man was stabbed while entering the Quick Stop Market at Fourth and F streets in Galt on Friday evening at about 5:30 p.m., according to Galt police. The victim, a 29-year-old Hispanic male, was reportedly attacked with an unidentified weapon by four to six men, who witnesses say fled in a mid- to late-'80s Oldsmobile sedan.

After being stabbed once in the mid-right side chest area and receiving a 1 1/2-in laceration, the victim was transported to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where he is also being treated for blunt trauma to the back of the head. The injuries are not life-threatening, according to Galt police. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Galt Police Department.

Activists upset at McNerney's Iraq vote

TRACY — Fury over an Iraq war vote has turned some online activists against the congressman they helped install in place of former Tracy Rep. Richard Pombo.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, voted Thursday against a bill that would have brought troops and contractors home from Iraq within nine months.

Two Republicans and nearly three-quarters of House Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, supported the bill, but it failed 171 votes to 255. McNerney was one of 52 Democrats who this year sponsored a different stalled bill that would pull the troops and contractors home within six months.

"A lot of us, myself and many of the readers of this blog," wrote prolific blogger Babaloo at The Progressive Connection Web site early Friday, "got involved in politics relatively recently, inspired by the people-powered movement of Howard Dean.

"We believed fervently that if we did the hard work to support our ideals, we could effect change in our country. … I think it's fair to say that for a lot of us, that dream ended yesterday afternoon, with Rep. McNerney's vote against bringing our troops home."

The article was one of many such comments posted by bloggers at several Web sites. McNerney replied online.

"I could not, in good conscience, vote for legislation," he wrote late Thursday, "that included neither specific provisions to bring about a diplomatic solution, nor funding for the needs of this newly created generation of veterans.