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• Jobless in Lodi

• More falling behind on utility bills in hard times; city sees write-offs rise to $784,000

• Local auto dealers are relieved by bailout news

• Future of Liberty Ranch construction uncertain

• Looking for different Christmas tress

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 (168)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (72)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (50)
• Public health care is a Christian option (33)
• 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 (19)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (17)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (16)

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Jobless in Lodi

Many left without work during the holidays

Daniel Kunkel isn't too thrilled about sleeping in his blue pick-up truck.

It's definitely not the same thing as a warm bed, and he doesn't exactly have a place to take a hot shower when he wakes up.

But then again, he doesn't have a job that requires he be showered, shaved and at work on time.

Kunkel would much rather have a job, though. As he kills time sitting by Lodi Lake. He goes through want ads in the newspaper, then starts on the phone book.

"I've been up and down through the phone books, calling every painting contractor, realtor, anybody I can think of," he said. "They all say, 'Sorry, I've got nothing.'"

Kunkel isn't alone: According to numbers released Friday, San Joaquin's unemployment rate in November was at 11.9 percent, up from 11.1 percent just one month earlier. And December's numbers will likely increase, said Mike Miller, deputy director for the county's WorkNet program, which helps those in need of work.

Statewide, California's unemployment rate went from 8.2 percent in October to 8.3 percent last month. It's the third-highest rate in the nation.

How it feels to be out of work

Editor's Note: Daniel Kunkel described his feelings about being out of work in a bleak economy and during the holidays in the following letter:

'Tis the season!

Here I sit at Lodi Lake. Homeless, living out of my truck with no place to go. It's cold, rainy and windy. While my windows fog up from my warm breath, condensation starts to trickle down, leaving nothing at all to see.

Daniel Kunkel shows how he used to sleep in his truck while homeless and looking for contracting work in Lodi. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

It's been months since I've found any work. Looking through a column-and-a-half of want ads, going through every number in the phone book related to any kind of construction, all to hear the same story: "Sorry, not hiring at this time!" Leads turning to dead ends over and over again. Ironic it is, a truck full of tools, an able body needing to work, sitting idle in a pool of misery, only to hear that things may not pick up 'til next summer, if even then. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, layoffs etc. Domino effect! Where does it end?

I think to myself, I can't possibly take another six to eight months of this. My truck tags expired. I'm hungry, cold and tired. I think, "Would I be better off dead?" My pride is gone, my self worth ... what self worth? I pray to God, seeming only to fall upon deaf ears, wondering what have I done to deserve this. I beg him to show me the way, and still there is nothing.

At night I sleep in the Wal-Mart parking lot. So many cars going in and out doing their Christmas thing. Parents telling their kids, "Christmas is going to be tight this year because mommy and daddy don't have as much money this year!" What is Christmas about? Presents, lights, big dinner! Where's the humanity? Have you ever stopped to think? Are you that busy not to notice the suffering of those around you? Have you ever been so desperate, cold and hungry, seeing no light at the end of the tunnel? Beg for food or water, coffee to keep the ice out of your veins? Then told no? 'Tis the season!

The county has typically been well above the statewide unemployment rate, Miller said, though at one point a couple of years ago San Joaquin County was down to the 7 percent range. But with the current state of the economy, unemployment rates aren't expected to dip below the double-digit range.

People like Kunkel don't need such numbers to tell them the job situation is bleak. One day this week, he said, he met a mother who had been laid off from her state job and was standing near Big 5 with a sign, looking for work.

"I've actually thought about suicide a few times; I can't go on like this for another six to eight months," Kunkel said. "With a new president in office, nobody's going to want to do anything until they see what he can do."

Kunkel, 43, has a truck full of tools and is willing to paint, repair and do just about any other kind of handyman job. His last job was months ago, and Kunkel hasn't found work since.

He does get disability from a 1994 motorcycle wreck that damaged his neck, but the $750 a month isn't enough to pay for rent, bills, food, insurance and gas for his truck.

He has eaten a few meals at the Lodi Salvation Army, which is always willing to serve a hot meal, but he doesn't feel comfortable doing that.

"I don't feel as worthy eating there as other people because I feel I'm taking away from people who need it more," he said. "And it makes me even more depressed being there."

At WorkNet, the goal is to help people become more independent. In the last six months, Miller said, the Lodi office has helped 1,100 people — whether it's with job searching, resume making or job retraining. Countywide, a little more than 8,000 have sought the services since July 1.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently released more money to help people look for work, and WorkNet received $348,404. The goal is to help people find a job that will pay a living wage, Miller said.

Kunkel is the independent type who doesn't want to take hand-outs.

He was born in Santa Anna but moved with his family to Kentucky, where he lived for 18 years. About seven or eight years ago, he met a California woman online and moved here.

Things didn't work out with her, he said, but he wasn't close to his Kentucky family and preferred California. At the time, the job market here was better, anyway.

A few days ago, just before the below-freezing temperatures struck, Kunkel ran into an old brother-in-law. The man said he could stay in his fifth-wheel trailer off Twin Cities Road near Interstate 5.

Kunkel isn't sure how long he can stay there, and what will happen next. Like other jobless people, he's not looking forward to Christmas with any great amount of joy.

"People out there need to know what's going on," he said. "They say, 'Yeah, the economy is bad,' but they have no idea how bad it is."

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.