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• Two sought by police

• Mayor Mounce: Redevelopment meeting 'waste of time, money'

• Lodi officer Chet Somera wraps up 30 years with department

• Deputy identified in shooting of parolee

• State office approves increased patrols for stretch of Highway 12

• Regional Roundup

• State universities deal with deadline requirements

• State grant will allow U.C. Davis smelt hatchery to expand

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

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

• The country's mess is our fault (170)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Public health care is a Christian option (60)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (24)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Why the state Capitol is like a vacuum cleaner — and other notes from our day in Sacramento

We enjoyed a field trip to Sacramento on Wednesday, attending Governmental Affairs day sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

This year, none other than Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared. He smiled, flexed and offered his take on matters of grave statewide import.

We always look forward to this day, with its political oratory, its keen insights on pivotal issues of the day — and the free drinks at the reception afterward.

We jotted a few notes throughout the day. They are stained with Cabernet now, but we think they are still worth sharing:

Why serving in the state legislature is like a certain household appliance: "You get elected, come to Sacramento, and you like it. You are treated well. You get sucked in. Its like getting pulled into a Eureka vacuum cleaner." — Assembly member Mike Duvall, on why legislators don't want to leave the Capitol — and why he supports term limits.

What you notice about Arnold when you see him in person: Great smile, high-amp energy and crowd appeal — and shorter than you expected. Arnold's official height is a a matter of some conjecture. He has officially listed his height at a substantial 6' 2". A number of pundits and gadflies have expressed open skepticism, though, and there is even a Web site devoted to the topic: http://www.arnoldheight.com.

A wit in the Assembly: Roger Niello, Assembly member from Sacramento (and yes, he is part of the VW and-other-car-dealing family) who offered this advice to journalists: "If you just take part of something, it is called plagiarism. If you take the whole thing, it is called research."

One way to help right the state's financial ship: Prohibit any measure from making the statewide ballot unless it includes a provision clearly stating how it will be paid for. — Assembly member John Laird, Santa Cruz.

More on why no one wants to leave when they get elected to state office: "When you get to the Capitol, somehow you become taller. You become skinnier. And people laugh at your jokes." — Assembly member Kevin De Leon, Los Angeles.

How politics in San Francisco compare to those in Sacramento: "In San Francisco, it is very intense. It is like swimming with sharks. In Sacramento, there is more respect. It is like swimming like dolphins." — Fiona Ma, Assembly member from San Francisco and a former supervisor there.

This was a field trip, not skipping school, so we dropped into the Senate's big hearing room to take in the serious side of politics. The Senate Health Committee was hearing testimony on Schwarzenegger's expanded health care bill.

On the dais, the 11 or so committee members faced a row of men and women in dark suits. Each was given two minutes to speak. When one of them finished, the witness left the stage and another one took the empty chair. It was well after 5 p.m. and there was no sign of the chairs emptying.

A labor lobbyist familiar with L.A. dock workers pleaded that truck drivers at the Port of San Pedro are not even employees and the bosses make them pay for insurance on trucks they don't own. He asked the senators: Don't you think the shippers are going force them to pay for the health insurance the state makes them buy?

A lobbyist for small businesses railed about the proposed payroll tax to pay for insurance. Even a small restaurant, he said, might have a payroll of a couple of million but make a profit of less than $250,000 a year. A six percent payroll tax eats up half the profit. After taxes, what's left? They're going to close the doors, and there will be more uninsured Californians.

A key Democrat withdrew his support for the bill before the hearing. One Republican we spoke to said the whole hearing was so much sound and fury. The Legislative Analyst's Office said the cost of the plan is underestimated by $1.5 billion. Even the governor noted that as far back as 1948 Gov. Earl Warren tried to push through universal health. He didn't get anywhere then.

So, observed one in our group, "that's how lobbyists make their money."

When will the legislature solve the problem of so many people being without health insurance? Judging by what we saw Wednesday, they'll be ice skating in Hades before the expanded health care bill returns to Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk.

— Lodi News-Sentinel