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• Going green in Lodi

• Dog goes from stray to patrolling county jail

• Lodi teacher accused of possessing drugs arraigned on drug charges; Michael Phillips pleads not guilty

• Lodi residents’ sewer rates could go up by more than 70 percent

• New limits on vehicle searches won’t have big effect

• Regional Roundup

• Galt board to reduce layoffs

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 5th, 2009

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• Regional Roundup

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

November 4th, 2009

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

• Candle fire

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

November 3rd, 2009

• Correction

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Clarification

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

November 2nd, 2009

• Public Meetings

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Correction

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Regional Roundup

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

October 31st, 2009

• Lodi-area Halloween events

• Area schools have no plans of closing due to H1N1 virus

• In remembrance of Kyle Coumas

• Regional Roundup

• Finishing touches on Hill House replica

• Tokay High evacuation

• Izzy Laviola and Seth Siddle-Mitchell crowned Tokay homecoming queen and king

• Lodi a reflection of Halloween's retail emergence

• Gated communities in Lodi

• City of Lodi settles case of mistaken identity

October 30th, 2009

• Get an early start trick-or-treating in Downtown Lodi

• Stockton breaks ground on Delta Water Supply Project

• Officials hope new Highway 12 stoplight will make road safer

• Local reaction to economic growth

• When there's something strange ...

• Possible extention of first-time homebuyer tax credit?

• Red Ribbon Week

• Logbook

• Roundup of Lodi-area Halloween events

• Lockeford soldier Kyle Coumas' funeral set for Monday

• Lodi sales tax revenue less than expected

• Regional Roundup

October 29th, 2009

• A Delta College campus in Lodi: Idea not dead yet

• Bargain basement deals: City of Lodi to hold first big furniture sale

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Bradford Lange was misidentified in a photo caption on Page 5 of Tuesday's Lodi News-Sentinel. Lange is the vineyard general manager for LangeTwins Winery and was inducted into the San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame this month.

• Failed Wallace development site for sale — again

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

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• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy (41)
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Lodi teacher accused of possessing drugs arraigned on drug charges; Michael Phillips pleads not guilty

A Lodi second-grade teacher accused of having drugs in his car while on lunch break was arraigned Friday on two felony and two misdemeanor charges.

An attorney for Michael Scott Phillips, 37, entered not guilty pleas during the brief Lodi court appearance.

Phillips remains free on the $10,000 bail bond he posted after his April 3 arrest. Lodi police said he was on his lunch break from Beckman Elementary School when an officer saw him talking to a bicyclist on East Vine Street.

The bicyclist took off and the officer stopped Phillips for having a broken windshield. A consensual search of Phillips’ car turned up a syringe containing alleged heroin, as well as a bag of used syringes in the trunk, according to police. That led to a felony drug possession charge, as well as misdemeanor count of possessing a syringe.

In his second-grade classroom, police said they found a morphine pill sitting out on the desk, leading to the second felony drug possession charge, as well as a misdemeanor of cruelty to a child by endangering health.

The pill was prescribed, Phillips’ attorney Russell Humphrey said, adding that he has a copy of the doctor’s prescription. Additionally, he said, Phillips tried to call both school and district officials at the time of his arrest to ask them to secure his prescription drugs.

“At the time this occurred, the kids were out at lunch,” Humphrey said. “No second-grade student had the opportunity to even be around the pill.”

He said Department of Justice test results on the syringe contents have not been returned, so he did not comment on that allegation.

Phillips, who sat in court holding hands with his wife, did not comment after walking out of court, though he waited to hold the door open for a reporter.

Humphrey said Phillips, who attended high school in Lodi and now lives in Sacramento, has had no problems or complaints about his teaching.

“Now this comes up and it’s been really shocking. It’s not in character,” the attorney said.

Lodi Unified School District officials have not commented, as it is a personnel matter. Phillips is on administrative leave.

Humphrey said the allegations have upset Phillips’ family and that he welcomes the chance to fight the case.

“He’s anxious to get back to work. He’s always wanted to be a teacher, and he enjoys the job,” Humphrey said.

Phillips will return to court May 13, and a preliminary hearing has tentatively been set for May 20.

Prosecutors asked that Phillips be searchable for narcotics and paraphernalia, an order that Judge David Warner signed.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.