Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Lodi saving millions from refinancing bonds in July

• Top 10 stories of 2008

• Oddest stories of 2008

• No lights in fog means a ticket; refuse to sign ticket, go to jail

• Medical pot cards to be available

• Regional Roundup

• Two arrested in Lodi road rage

• Correction

• Area holiday closure list

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

• 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

• Chase ends in crash

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

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

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

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

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

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

November 17th, 2009

• Clarification

• 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

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• Regional Roundup

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

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

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

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

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

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

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

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

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

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

November 13th, 2009

• What to expect with new homebuyer tax credit

• Lodi Muslim: Local mosque not involved

• Regional Roundup

• Mayor Larry Hansen points out Lodi's economic progress

• First phase of Lockeford park by 2011?

• Lodi veteran recounts close calls in Vietnam

• Burglary suspects are under arrest

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

• The country's mess is our fault (155)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (67)
• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise (58)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (48)
• The haves should help the have-nots (30)
• Public health care is a Christian option (27)
• Lodi Flames slim playoff chances vanish in setback to Tracy Bulldogs (25)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Nightmares about America's future (23)

ADVERTISEMENT

Oddest stories of 2008

Newspapers often prove that the truth is indeed stranger than fiction, and the Lodi and Galt areas had their share of odd and unusual stories. The following are a half dozen of the more curious stories reported in the News-Sentinel.

50 guns, 2,000 rounds stolen, Jan. 8

Kenneth Warren had thought his extensive collection of firearms would be safe in a double-walled, fireproof safe that weighed 1,300 pounds and was located in a metal and concrete storage unit at a Lodi storage businesses. Thieves, however, somehow managed to break into the storage unit and dragged the full safe out of the building.

"I had it in the biggest, most secure safe the company makes," Warren said at the time. "I thought I had done everything short of putting them in Fort Knox."

The collection was valued at around $70,000 and included pistols, rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition.

Read the story.

15 cats found dead at abandoned home, March 11

An Acampo teenager was cited for animal cruelty after admitting to killing cats at an abandoned home north of Lodi. Volunteers rescued 37 cats in all from the home that had been abandoned after a foreclosure.

The owners of the animals said they had tried for weeks to find homes for the cats but ultimately had to leave them after staff at several animal shelters said they had no room for the animals.

"We did everything we could to find them homes," the owner said. "I cried for days, knowing we had to leave them."

The cats were just one example of animals suffering in the past year because their owners had been caught up in the foreclosure crisis.

Read the story.

Did he throw up a T?, May 2

Lodi High School was thrown into a tizzy after two seniors used their hands to flash a "t" sign in their prom portrait.

The teens said they made the sign to reference the prom's theme, which was "Techno City." School officials said the sign was a reference to "thizz," which is slang for the drug ecstasy.

The couple was suspended for three days, although the girl's suspension was eventually lifted.

Read the story.

Lodi Mosque member says leaves are a "sign" from God, Aug. 2

In one of three miracles bestowed upon Lodi, mosque members claimed veins on squash leaves spelled out the name "Mohammed" and "Allah."

"This is a very good masterpiece of God," Malik Ahmad said. "A lot of people want to bring it home."

The area's other miracles included one that occurred a few years ago when a fish was cut open and its entrails formed the words "Allah" and "Mohammed." The other miracle occurred in August 2007 when a Lodi woman claimed a knot in her wooden fence was shaped like the silhouette of Jesus.

Read the story.

Lodi police arrest two in bizarre double DUI, Nov. 15

At around 2 a.m. on a Friday morning, Lodi Police Sgt. Fernando Martinez was heading to the police station to help book five teens from an earlier arrest.

A Chevrolet pickup truck passed Martinez at a high rate of speed and Martinez made a U-turn to stop the truck. As he attempted to pull over the driver, the driver of a red Saturn tried to block the officer from pulling the Chevy over to the side of the road.

Martinez avoided the Saturn and was able to pull over the truck, but the driver of the Saturn then started spinning doughnuts in his vehicle to further distract the officer.

Unperturbed, Martinez just called in backup officers. The additional officers chased the Saturn to an apartment building where the driver ran into an apartment, stripped to his boxers and pretended to be asleep.

Police arrested both the 27-year-old driver of the truck and the 22-year-old driver of the Saturn on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Read the story.

Big rig hits, kills sea lion on Interstate 5 west of Lodi, Dec. 9

The truck driver thought he had hit a cow. Instead, it turned out he had struck a sea lion. The marine mammal had somehow wandered onto Interstate 5 in the early morning hours and was trying to cross the road when it was hit.

It wasn't the first time a sea lion had found its way into San Joaquin County, but it appeared to have been the first time one became roadkill.

Read the story.