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• Locals stunned, saddened by Michael Jackson's death at 50

• Lodi group to study ghosts

• Sacramento group doesn't always look for ghosts

• San Joaquin County supervisors restore partial funding for 8 deputy district attorneys

• Former auto shop owner Blaine DeJong arraigned

• Galt Joint Elementary votes to approve budget with cuts

• Regional Roundup

February 9th, 2010

• Middle College High School rated one of the best — and a bargain, to boot

• Lodi decathlon boasts top team in county

• Man who sparked counterfeit case pleads guilty

• Local businessman will visit Haiti to look for family

• Man who claimed to be Yosemite Sam pleads guilty to meth charge

• David Harmer seeks Republican congressional nod

• Lack of evidence in case against suspect in 'drug deal' stabbing

• Regional Roundup

February 8th, 2010

• Public Meetings

• Locals pick best, most memorable Super Bowl commercials

• Regional Roundup

February 6th, 2010

• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch

• Meet Larry, Curly and Moe

• Baboon business

• Regional Roundup

• Several Lodi venues let you watch the Super Bowl in style

• Lodi Library celebrates 100 years of serving the community

• Culinary craft

February 5th, 2010

• Kids, teachers help Haiti by collecting pennies for Learning Link

• Lodi, Galt students reach out to help Haiti earthquake survivors

• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam

• Hours of sweat and work go into putting on crab feeds

• Things looking up for state's real estate

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• Stray bullet strikes Lodi home; police suspect gang activity may be factor

February 4th, 2010

• Managers at Geweke Toyota answer questions about recall

• Lodi City Council votes to replace play structure at Century Park

• Lodi extends ban on pot shops for another year

• Mokelumne River triathlon set for June

• Family, friends to run half-marathon in memory of Galt family

February 3rd, 2010

• Correction

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

• Lodi-area senators Dave Cox, Lois Wolk admit to gifts; Tom Berryhill case pending

• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts

• Galt City Council avoids budget cuts — for now

• New Lodi Memorial Hospital emergency room opens to the public without a hitch

• Regional Roundup

February 2nd, 2010

• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future

• Correction

• Former Lodian Erica Davis is first paraplegic woman to summit Kilimanjaro

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

• Big rig plows 7 cars

• Jumpers across California

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

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• President Obama's first year (45)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (44)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (34)
• We need to conduct respectful conversations (30)
• Tasered suspect claims he is Yosemite Sam (25)

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Galt discus thrower Stephanie Brown Trafton adds U.S. championship to Olympic title

Every athlete has their own form of motivation.

Stephanie Brown Trafton's might be a little unusual, but it helped the Galt resident win the women's national discus title on Thursday in Eugene, Ore., with a throw of 210 feet, 9 inches.

"You know, my favorite food is corn dogs and my family said I wasn't allowed to eat them until I won the U.S. Championship," Brown Trafton said in a statement after her win at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. "So today I was picturing corn dogs at 210 and just trying to knock them down. Some people win a title and say they're going to Disneyland — I'm going to a hot dog stand."

Brown Trafton, the 2008 Olympic discus gold medalist, who despite several attempts had yet to win a national title prior to Thursday, won by a landslide on what she called a "bad day." Her throw was 5 feet and 8 inches farther than runner-up Aretha Thurmond's best mark. She was one of only three athletes in the 17-thrower field to break the 200-foot mark.

"My goal is to throw 210 on a bad day every single time. If I can do that on a bad day, I can medal on a good day," she said. "If I don't feel quite right or the wind is strong like today, it doesn't matter. If anything is making it a bad day I still want to throw 210."

The accomplishment is not only a first for the two-time Olympian, it also sets Brown Trafton up for another first. By finishing in the top three, she is now headed to the IAAF World Championships in Berlin Aug. 15-23. Thurmond will join her, as will third-place finisher Rebecca Breisch, to represent the United States against the best discus throwers in the world.

The World Championships will be the first major international track and field event to be held at Olympic Stadium since the 1936 Olympic Games — when Jesse Owens won four gold medals in one of the most legendary Olympic performances in history.

Brown Trafton, who stands at 6-foot-4, entered Thursday's meet with the top ranking in the country (217-2) and the top mark in the world in women's discus.

The former Cal Poly star fouled on her first throw before hitting 199-13/4 with her second toss. Her third toss was the best of the night and no one else could touch it. She closed out with a throw of 197-5, another foul and a final toss of 196-2, but they were just a formality.