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• How to survive $2.9 million deficit?

• Goodbye, McDyver

• City Council to consider purchasing office

• Delta water fight

• Recycling bill waiting on governor, who's waiting on budget

• Regional Roundup

• North San Joaquin to ask Lodi for water

• Correction

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)
• Public health care is a Christian option (79)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (52)
• The haves should help the have-nots (31)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (25)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (17)

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Goodbye, McDyver

Beloved Micke Grove sea lion moving to Vallejo as part of plan to remodel zoo

If you want to see McDyver, Micke Grove Zoo's lovable sea lion, you have only three weeks to see him in Lodi.

The 21-year-old sea lion will be transported on Sept. 25 to Discovery Kingdom Six Flags in Vallejo, said Matt McKim, Micke Grove's zoo curator.

Finding McDyver a new home was part of a master plan to remodel the south Lodi zoo. The first step in the zoo's expansion began Tuesday, when a crew from Diede Construction demolished what used to be a circular aviary. A new area for otters and snow leopards is planned in its place, zoo manager Ken Nieland said.

The 20-year master plan calls for penguins, bald eagles, flamingoes, brown bears, mountain lions, river otters and other animals — as money is available.

Zoo officials decided earlier this year to find a new home for McDyver, once his father, Buster, died on Feb. 11, at the age of 26. McDyver has been living alone since Buster's death, which is a hardship because sea lions are social creatures, zoo officials said.

Getting McDyver another sea lion to keep him company wasn't in the cards, either, because San Joaquin County officials determined that the required sewer system upgrade would be cost-prohibitive.

The zoo operates on one large septic tank system that serves humans and animals. But federal authorities stipulate that sea lions need a special sewer system to dispose of their waste, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars for upgrades. At 21, McDyver is considered a senior citizen.

Statues of Buster and McDyver will be constructed in their memory.

In the sea lions' place, zoo officials plan a seasonal exhibit including exotic birds and a walk-through aviary where birds will actually land on visitors.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.

(Editor's Note: This story was updated at 5:10 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 3 to correct that Buster was McDyver's father and that he died this year.)

Diede Construction crews began tearing down an old exhibit at the Micke Grove Zoo on Tuesday as part of the zoo's expansion efforts. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Construction worker Marion Romero works on demolishing an animal exhibit at the Micke Grove Zoo. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)