Regional Roundup

Former Lodi Unified School District board of trustees president Ken Davis is among the 11 Stockton City Council applicants scheduled to be interviewed at a public meeting tonight.

Davis, who still serves on the local school board, has applied to fill the mid-term vacancy created when Steve Bestolarides was seated this week on the county Board of Supervisors.

At tonight's meeting, the other six City Council members are expected to approve a voting procedure for the vacancy before conducting the interviews, according to the agenda posted on the Stockton city Web site.

A selection could be made following the interviews. The special City Council meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at city hall, 425 N. El Dorado St.

City of Lodi tweeting

Lodi's technologically-inclined residents can sign-up for city of Lodi Twitter updates to stay informed on the latest happenings.

A couple of times each week, city spokesman Jeff Hood sends out messages, or tweets, through Twitter, a social networking site. The messages update on the Twitter pages of people who subscribe to the city's newsfeed, and it is also possible to receive the updates by text message.

Hood said he is mainly using the site for important or interesting events, like power outages or the Wal-Mart vote at the last council meeting.

"I try not to harass people with too much stuff, like what I'm having for lunch," Hood said.

He believes Lodi is the first California city on Twitter, but he has heard of police and fire departments using the service.

To view the city's Twitter, go to www.twitter.com/CityofLodi, or those who already have accounts, can follow the feed at "CityofLodi."

Contract awarded to make zoo improvements

Micke Grove Zoo in south Lodi will soon have a new concession stand and better mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors awarded a $41,642 contract on Tuesday to Lodi-based Diede Construction to make the improvements to the zoo.

The concession stand will have a new color scheme and a new acoustical ceiling, appliances, casework, plumbing fixtures, tables and umbrellas, according to a county staff report.

County Facilities Director Craig Ogata hopes the county will be reimbursed from a California Zoo and Aquarium Facilities grant. Renewed agreement for intramural basketball

San Joaquin County will continue to use the Lodi Boys and Girls Club gymnasium for a countywide intramural basketball league.

The Board of Supervisors renewed a memorandum of understanding with the Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday to use the gym at no charge. In exchange, the Boys and Girls Club will field a team in the intramural league, operated by the county Human Services Agency.

The county and the Boys and Girls Club have teamed up for the basketball program the past five or six years, according to club Executive Director Richard Jones. The agreement will expire on April 1, 2011.

Gunshot fired at Thornton gas station

A cloud of debris fell from the ceiling near the front counter from a gunshot fired at the Chevron gas station on Walnut Grove Road off Interstate 5 at 1:14 a.m. Monday, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department.

A gas station employee locked himself inside the cooler and called the sheriff's department after hearing the gunshot, according to a sheriff's report. The employee told deputies he didn't see anyone inside or outside the gas station during the incident.

Deputies reviewed the surveillance video, and the incident remained under investigation Tuesday, according to the report.

Fire board to review financial audit

The Mokelumne Rural Fire District board will review a draft copy of its financial audit for the 2007-08 fiscal year and discuss its discipline policy at tonight's board meeting.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. at the Mokelumne fire station, 13157 E. Brandt Road, Lockeford.

Two county Planning Commissioners removed

San Joaquin County Planning Commissioners Sandra Carter and Gregory Gibson were not reappointed to their seats Tuesday, even though they both applied to continue on the commission.

The Board of Supervisors replaced Carter with Miguel Villapudua of Stockton, and Peter Johnson of Stockton will replace Gibson. Stan Morri of Tracy was also reappointed. Villapudua is a cousin of newly-elected Supervisor Carlos Villapudua, the supervisor said after Tuesday's board meeting.

In other action Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors reappointed Marc Warmerdam of Lodi, Michael Manna of Acampo and Frank DeBenedetti of Linden to seats on the San Joaquin County Mosquito & Vector Control District board.

Reader Feedback

Jeff Hood wrote on Jan 7, 2009 6:37 PM:

" Thank you for the kind words, Loadeye. "

Report Abuse

loadeye wrote on Jan 7, 2009 12:32 PM:

" Jeff, I hope your releases are timelier than manager King's were on the city website, always seeming to be two weeks behind. Why not post them daily or as you release them in the Lodi News-Sentinel? By the way, I do still admire and respect you and you're one of the greatest assets to come to Lodi in the last 10 years. "

Report Abuse

Jeff Hood wrote on Jan 7, 2009 12:18 PM:

" Thanks for the note on Santa Clarita, but as I said, as far as I know, we're still the first (Aug. 22). Check press releases at www.lodi.gov. "

Report Abuse

Inquisitor wrote on Jan 7, 2009 11:14 AM:

" Sorry, at least Santa Clarita beat you to it last September. twitter.com/santa_clarita I'm sure there are others as well. "

Report Abuse

wtf wrote on Jan 7, 2009 9:34 AM:

" If using Twitter, be cautious of the following:

Twitter phishing scam may be spreading

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10130566-83.html "

Report Abuse

Comments on this story are now closed.