Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• Tracking down the best eats at Lodi Grape Festival

• Lodi Grape Festival's manager reminisces about early years

• Times a-changin' at junior colleges

• Third Republican hopeful joins race to seize Jerry McNerney's post

• Lodi man pleads not guilty to threats, sexually abusing wife

• 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? (72)
• 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)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• The Home Depot hopes to join Costco at Reynolds Ranch (41)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (41)
• Police: Train victim was a Lodi teen (31)
• Time to shed the convenient sham of 'Don't ask, don't tell' policy (31)

ADVERTISEMENT

Regional Roundup

No plea from Lodi High School teacher

A Lodi High School teacher charged with having sex with a student three years ago made his second court appearance Thursday, where he did not enter a plea and multiple attorneys tried to coordinate their schedules.

Andrew Krienke, 35, remains free on $15,000 bail, which was posted shortly after his July 30 arrest. Prosecutors and Lodi police have said he started a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student who was in one of his social studies classes.

His Lodi attorney, Thomas Driscoll Jr., has denied that allegation and said they were consenting adults. The couple have a 7-month-old child.

On Thursday, Driscoll and Deputy District Attorney Elton Grau had agreed to postpone the case for a month while both sides conduct further investigation.

Then Walnut Creek attorney Darby Williams arrived, appearing on behalf of a colleague at Innocence Legal Team, a firm that focuses on sex crimes defense. The colleague, Patrick Clancy, has apparently been hired by a teachers union.

After a brief meeting with the judge about Clancy's schedule conflict, and more confusion as to who is actually representing Krienke, they agreed to an Oct. 27 court date.

Krienke remains on administrative leave from Lodi High School, where he teaches history and geography.

— Layla Bohm

Coastal Cleanup this Saturday

Volunteers are still needed on Saturday to help clean up, sort and record trash in Lodi Lake and the Mokelumne River.

The California Coastal Cleanup will from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

The location participants will meet has changed to the parking lot near the Lodi Lake boathouse and the Discovery Center off of Turner Road.

The city of Lodi will provide gloves, bags and grapplers, but volunteers must wear work clothes, closed-toe shoes, gloves, hats and sunblock. All volunteers are asked to sign a waiver of liability form, and volunteers under 18 must also have a signed permission slip from a parent/guardian.

Starbucks will provide coffee, Wal-Mart is donating canvas shopping bags, and San Joaquin County has shirts for the volunteers.

Statewide, there will be about 40,000 volunteers who will work at more than 400 cleanup sites.

For more information on how to volunteer, contact Kathy Grant at 339-8722 or e-mail kathygrant@sbcglobal.net.

— Maggie Creamer

Public forums on graduation requirements

The Lodi Unified Graduation Task Force has scheduled two pubic forums next week to provide opportunities for parents, teachers, principals, students, community members and other educational stakeholders to review and comment on the proposed changes to its graduation requirements.

In January 2008, the district formed the task force with the purpose of reviewing and revising the current LUSD graduation requirements to ensure that all Lodi Unified graduates are college and career ready.

The 24-member group worked reviewing graduation requirements and data; exploring and discussing requirements by academic and elective classes/programs; and identifying recommendations for graduation requirement revisions.

At the Aug. 18 school board study session, the task force presented a report of their progress and reviewed various options to alter current graduation requirements.

The first forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the multi-purpose room of Beckman School, 2201 Scarborough Drive, Lodi. The second will be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the multi-purpose room of Podesta Ranch School, 9950 Windmill Park Drive, Stockton.

— News-Sentinel staff

Lodi Unified School District board passes memorandum of understanding, table calendar

The Lodi Unified board of trustees adopted a memorandum of understanding between Joe Serna Jr. Charter School but tabled a budget development calendar at its regular meeting Tuesday.

The item will be heard again at the Oct. 6 meeting, according to Chief Business Official Doug Barge.

On Tuesday, board members also discussed its customer service manual and heard a report on recently released high school exit exam test scores.

— Jennifer Bonnett

Judges sought for countywide debate

The coach of Lodi High School's speech and debate team is seeking volunteers for an upcoming regional contest to be held at the school.

The league's first speech and debate tournament of the year includes participants from throughout the county and beyond, such as Johansen, Bear Creek and Stagg high schools.

Coach Cathryn Geyer needs volunteers to judge the competition. The only requirement is you must be 18 years or older and have a high school diploma.

The competition is Sept. 26 in the high school's theater, 3 S. Pacific Ave. It will run from about 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about becoming a judge, contact Geyer at the school at 331-7695.

— Jennifer Bonnett

Water board member to conduct workshop

Bryan Pilkington, a controversial board member with the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District, will conduct a workshop on the introduction to hydrology and watersheds on Monday.

The informational workshop, open to the public, will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Lodi Public Library community room, 201 W. Locust St. The workshop is not endorsed by the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District.

This item was updated at 7:15 a.m. Sept. 21, 2009, to correct the topic of the workshop.

— Ross Farrow

Man diagnosed with West Nile virus

A 57-year-old man living in central San Joaquin County has been diagnosed with West Nile virus, according to the county Public Health Services Department. He was in the hospital as of Thursday.

County officials also report an additional dead bird testing positive for West Nile, bringing the total to 22 for the year. Fourteen additional mosquito groups and eight test chickens tested positive in the past week.

— Ross Farrow

Schools urged to compete in contest

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell has announced the California Department of Education is collaborating with The Walt Disney Company and the K-12 Alliance of state and federal agencies on the Disney's Planet Challenge contest.

Disney launched the nationwide project-based environmental competition last week for fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms. The goal is to empower students to make a difference in school, at home, and in their local communities.

Disney developed the new competition in response to a growing demand across all 50 states. The entertainment company has more than 15 years experience running highly-acclaimed classroom environmental competitions in regional markets including California and Florida as the Disney's Environmentality Challenge.

Students are asked to identify an environmental issue for the project in their local community and come up with a solution that they manage and document from start to finish. Past examples range from implementing campus-wide water conservation programs and electronics recycling drives to protecting local habitats.

Classrooms will develop a portfolio that will be evaluated on environmental relevance; student learning; changes in practices and attitudes; community involvement; lasting benefits to students, school, and/or community; and originality. Participation in the program is free.

Prizes will be awarded to all students and teachers who submit a project regardless of their rankings. National, regional and state winners will receive a variety of Disney prizes including a class celebration at Disneyland for the national grand prize champion.

The deadline to enroll in the contest is Dec. 18 with the portfolio submission deadline Feb. 26, 2010. Winners will be announced in April.

For more information, visit www.Disney.com/planetchallenge.

— News-Sentinel staff

Jack Sieglock announces two new endorsements

Former Lodi mayor and San Joaquin County supervisor Jack Sieglock, who is running for Assemblywoman Alyson Huber's seat in the 10th Assembly District, has announced the endorsement of Stockton City Council members Dale Fritchen and Diana Lowery.

Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, narrowly defeated Sieglock for the Assembly seat in the 2008 election.

— Ross Farrow