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• Man hit by train

• Valley Springs pastor brings 'cowboy church' to Clements Stampede grounds

• Dennis Baskin and Rich O'Hara aren't your typical ministers

• Lodi City Council to decide on water meters

• Council applauds staff for cost-cutting, efficient projects

• Motorcyclists struck in 3 recent Lodi crashes

• Regional Roundup

• Candidates speak to Lodi Republican Women

• $1 ticket fee added to Grape Bowl events

• Grape Festival starts today!

• Lodi winemakers recognized for work with city of San Francisco

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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Candidates speak to Lodi Republican Women

Del Arroz, Goehring look to unseat McNerney

Two Republicans seeking Jerry McNerney's congressional seat believe they have a good chance to win the majority in the 2010 election.

Brad Goehring, of Clements, and Jon Del Arroz, of Danville, hope to be part of a Republican wave they believe is sweeping the nation.

"We are sick of the people in Washington," Del Arroz said at Wednesday's luncheon meeting of the Lodi Republican Women at the Woodbridge Golf & Country Club. "Are you sick of the people in Washington?"

Goehring and Del Arroz are seeking the Republican nomination in the 11th Congressional District. Del Arroz describes McNerney as vulnerable for defeat after two campaign victories.

"Brad and I are definitely going to take him out," Del Arroz said.

Goehring repeatedly stated his platform of following the Constitution and what the Founding Fathers intended.

"I'm a conservative first and then a Republican," Goehring said. "I'm not going to be swayed by lobbyists. I'm not going to be swayed by my own party if they violate conservative principles."

The key to succeeding, whether the Republicans are the majority or minority party in Congress, is to have positive relationships with people from both parties, Goehring said.

Although Goehring believes he is the best candidate to serve the 11th District, it won't be the end of the world if he loses the election.

"I don't need the job," he said, "The consolation prize is to be home with my family."

McNerney, a Pleasanton Democrat, wasn't invited to the Lodi Republican Women luncheon, but if publicity chairwoman Arlene Farley had her way, McNerney would be welcome there to state his case as well. However, the National Federation of Republican Women forbids Democrats from being a guest speaker, Farley said.

Here are the candidates' views, based on their statements, questions from the audience and questions from the News-Sentinel:

HEALTH CARE: Both Republican candidates strongly oppose the White House's health care reform proposal. Del Arroz doesn't want government taking over the system. He added that 80 percent of the health care system is well-run, but the 20 percent that isn't needs to be addressed. Goehring said that decisions shouldn't be dictated by people with non-medical backgrounds, and pushed for tort reform reducing doctors' liability.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY: Both urged repealing the stimulus package, stop trying to redistribute wealth or issue regulations.

IMMIGRATION: Both want immigration laws more strictly enforced. Goehring said that immigrants must learn the Constitution, speak English and get a job before being allowed to live in the United States permanently. Del Arroz said that existing laws need to be enforced.

NATIONAL DEFENSE: Both said that the United States needs to do whatever is necessary to defend the country. However, Goehring opposes invading other countries because the Founding Fathers didn't believe in it.

TELEPHONE TOWN HALLS: Both Republicans criticized McNerney for utilizing two town hall meetings on health care reform by phone rather than appearing in a public location. Del Arroz criticized the "almost no notice" that the town hall meetings were coming up, while Goehring said it's all right to have meetings by phone when the congressman is in Washington, D.C., but in-person town hall meetings should take place during long congressional recesses.

CZARS: Both criticized President Obama for appointing "czars" with regulatory powers. Goehring said it's all right if the appointee is merely and adviser and doesn't have extra powers, but Obama's appointees have been given too much authority. Del Arroz said that the Democratic Congress hasn't investigated the appointees' background.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.