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• National groups prepared to head to court on council's prayer policy

• A reminder: Fireworks illegal in Lodi, San Joaquin County

• Biggest Loser: Lodi

• Changing Faces: Chatting with the Cheshire Cat

• Officials: Number of county inmates with H1N1 virus now at 20

• Regional Roundup

• Forecast: Recession should 'bottom out' this year

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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A reminder: Fireworks illegal in Lodi, San Joaquin County

If you're going to set off your own fireworks today, do it at your own risk — they're illegal in Lodi and in unincorporated San Joaquin County.

Extra firefighters will be patrolling to look for illegal fireworks, and they are bracing for more calls. In Lodi alone, where firefighters typically handle 15-20 calls a day, they usually receive 100 additional calls on July 4, said Battalion Chief Jeff Larsen.

The county's fire chiefs issued a reminder earlier this week that people can be criminally prosecuted for possessing fireworks. Those caught using exploding, flying fireworks could be charged with using an explosive device.

And if those fireworks start a blaze, the fun could end on a note that not only includes damaged property, but having to pay for both the repairs and the efforts to extinguish the fire.

Of course, glittery fireworks are a temptation for many, especially since they're legal in Galt and can thus be purchased easily. So fire crews are going to have a few extra employees on duty just to be ready for any flames and mishaps.

Woodbridge Rural Fire Protection District will have an extra grass rig patrolling during peak fireworks hours, said Acting Capt. Ricardo Ramirez.

The fire district is also responsible for area waterways, and its boat will patrol for several hours in the Delta, especially during a large fireworks show on Venice Island. The show is private and sponsored by hotel magnate Barron Hilton, but thousands of boats gather to watch the show.

Woodbridge Fire will be assisted by boating teams from the Coast Guard and the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.

In Lodi city limits, an extra fire vehicle will be at Lodi Lake because of the crowds and the fireworks display there, Larsen said. Additionally, fire engines from each of the city's four stations will patrol in their areas, looking for fireworks.

While all fireworks involve intense heat and can injure people, the ones like bottle rockets, which aren't legal in California, cause the most worry.

"Those are the ones that are really dangerous, because they wind up on people's roofs," Larsen said.

Lodi hasn't had many problems with blazes caused by fireworks, but he noted that last year, Sacramento had several fires resulting in destroyed buildings.

Those caught using illegal fireworks are usually just warned, if nothing has been damaged.

Rural fire departments sometimes confiscate fireworks, and those are turned over to Sheriff's deputies, Ramirez said. Lodi firefighters also confiscate them, and the state fire marshal picks them up for disposal.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.