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Last 7 Days

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• Space shuttle blasts off, finally flying on try 3

• City of Lodi teams with organization to provide jobs for people with disabilities

• More than 4,000 students on waiting list at San Joaquin Delta College

• Lodi teacher Andrew Krienke arraigned on 3 counts of statutory rape

• Lodi fire captains Jim Miller, Mike Lair working their final shifts

• 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

• Regional Roundup

• Delta College trustees again collide over stipend committee

• 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

• Bad bugs, weeds are hot topics at Grape Day

February 2nd, 2010

• Big rig plows 7 cars

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

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

• Jumpers across California

• Correction

• Regional Roundup

• No snow leopards, otters for Micke Grove

• McNerney leads in campaign cash

• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen

February 1st, 2010

• Find cuddly alpacas not too far from Lodi

• Public Meetings

• Patients can expect faster, better service when Lodi Memorial Hospital's new emergency room opens

• Man killed by Amtrak train in Lodi

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

• Will terrorists be given Miranda warnings? (75)
• President Obama's first year (67)
• Lodi Unified School District president issues warning to speakers over cuts (64)
• Local business leaders say tourism, Costco, Home Depot may play roles in city's future (60)
• Islamic symbol in mosaic — what is all the fuss? (49)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (43)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (31)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (31)

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Regional Roundup

University Public School celebrates outrageous score

University Public School Principal Carla Fachner got a bit muddy Friday, but it was all for a good cause.

Fachner and her students were celebrating their near-perfect score on an annual examination. They earned a 939 for the Academic Performance Index, which is one of the highest scores in the state.

API scores are released twice a year to rank schools and track growth at a statewide level. The first, released in the spring, is a base figure, while the ones released in the fall reveal if the school is improving and has met its growth targets. Those make up the Annual Yearly Progress scores.

Both are calculated by the California Department of Education, and help determine how much state funding a campus can receive based on what goals each school has met.

Last year, students at University Public School earned a 887 base API score — one of the highest in Lodi Unified School District — and were aiming for a 900 this year.

When the goal was set, students got to choose what the reward would be if they were successful. They opted to celebrate with mud, which included dumping it on the heads of their teachers.

On Friday, they also enjoyed slipping and sliding along a muddy plastic plume and jumped into a mud-filled swimming pool.

Last year, the principal took two pies in her face and dyed her hair purple when the annual score went up.

API scores will be made public for all schools on Thursday. For more information, visit www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar.

— Jennifer Bonnett

Lodi Unified School District among winners of construction bond lottery

Lodi Unified School District is among the 43 school districts in California that have been selected by lottery as recipients of $700 million in Qualified School Construction Bond tax credits.

Lodi will receive $5.5 million, according to a press release Friday. It is the only San Joaquin County school to qualify.

"This tax credit program will jump start new school construction and modernization projects throughout the state that, in turn, will stimulate the economy and create jobs," state Superintendent Jack O'Connell said in a written statement.

"The Qualified School Construction Bond program will not infuse communities with new money but will help school districts use their local bond dollars more efficiently. Finding new ways to save money is especially welcome by school districts in these tight budgetary times," he said.

The new QSCB tax credit program is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that was signed into law by the president in February.

ARRA allows tax credits on $22 billion nationwide to QSCB for this year and next. California's share is an estimated $2.7 billion over the same two-year period. Of this sum, $582 million already has been directly allocated to the state's 11 largest school districts; $700 million was available through the lottery to qualifying school districts; and $73 million is available to allocate this year to qualifying charter schools.

The remaining estimated $1.3 billion will be allocated in 2010.

The California Department of Education awarded the $700 million in tax credit bond authorizations to 43 qualifying school districts and county offices of education during a drawing that was held Friday morning at department headquarters in Sacramento. More than 230 applications were received totaling more than $3.7 billion in requests.

— News-Sentinel staff