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• City sends water truck to douse dust at DeBenedetti Park

• San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation Commission takes a first look at suggested changes to Woodbridge Wilderness Area

• Lodi City Council members, Michael Freedman discuss Downtown's future

• Abuse victim testifies at Charles Peck trial

• Only one shows up for truck ordinance meeting in Thornton

• Regional Roundup

• Parents of slain U.S. soldier Kyle Coumas, of Lockeford, release statement

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)
• Writer comments on Neely column (42)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (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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San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame adds six members

The six men to be inducted into the San Joaquin County Agricultural Hall of Fame later this month have been involved in many parts of the region's farm industry.

They include pioneers in grape harvesting mechanization, field crops research, sustainable farming, asparagus production and packaging. And all have given generously of their time and talents to efforts to benefit and advance the region's agricultural community.

This 2009 recipients are Paul Burkner, William "Mick" Canevari, Bradford Lange, Randall Lange, Angelo Marchini (posthumously) and Les Schmid.

Paul Burkner: A pioneer in the mechanization of grape harvesting, Burkner in 1972 helped form Cal-Grape Equipment, the first company to offer custom mechanical harvesting of grapes in the Stockton-Lodi area.

"We thought we found a niche for a real easy business," Burkner said Friday. "We were pretty naive."

He recalled receiving his first two harvesters from Mooresville, Ind., and realizing the machines could hardly get out of the rail yard, to say nothing of getting into a vineyard and bringing in a crop.

"We knew we were in trouble right away," Burkner said.

Still, he persevered, laboring to keep those harvesters running and improving their design. In 1979, he helped form Ag Industrial Manufacturing, which developed an improved picking mechanism. By 1990, AIM Inc. was producing its own mechanical harvesters.

Those original two harvesters, he recalled, picked 80 acres of vineyards in their first season. Today, a single AIM machine might easily cover 800 to 1,000 acres of grapes during harvest.

Burkner said his success might come from being in the right place at the right time.

"We were able to get involved in the industry at its infancy, in terms of mechanical harvesting."

William "Mick" Canevari: Canevari served San Joaquin County agriculture for 38 years with the University of California Cooperative Extension before retiring earlier this year as the agency's San Joaquin County director.

He became an extension technician in 1971 shortly after graduating from college and discovered it was "an agency that really wanted to help solve problems and make a better industry of agriculture. I just knew it was something I wanted to do," he said.

He served for a time as the extension's 4-H youth adviser and in 1979 became the specialist for researching field crops and weed control issues. In 2002, Canevari also assumed the duties of county director.

Through his career, he has received numerous awards and recognition. But of the Hall of Fame, Canevari said, "This by far is the most humbling and means more to me than any of them."

Bradford Lange: Together with his twin brother, Randall, Lange has built one of the county's largest winegrape growing and winemaking operations.

Fourth-generation farmers, the pair began farming 200 acres of their own land in the late 1970s and today own or manage about 7,000 acres of winegrape vineyards. In 2005, they invested $12 million to $14 million to build a massive new winery in Acampo. The intent was to secure a future for fifth-generation and beyond family members in LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards.

But they have also long pursued conservation goals, efforts recognized in 2006 with the award of first California Leopold Conservation Award.

Bradford Lange was the first chairman of the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission and has served on the boards of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce, Lodi Memorial Hospital, Woodbridge Cooperative, and Pierces Disease/Glassy Winged Sharpshooter Task Force.

"It's an honor," Lange said of being asked to join the hall of fame.

"We go about our business and jump in and help out where we can," he said. "You like to think you're making a contribution, and to be honored this way says maybe you have, so it feels good."

Randall Lange: It's hard to separate the careers and contributions of Randy Lange and that of his brother, but they do split some of the duties. For his part, Randy is a past president of both the Lodi District Grape Growers Association and California Association of Winegrape Growers, and also served as a director of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation.

"You don't do it by yourself," he said this week. "We've got families that have stood behind us in our work and we've had loyal employees ... who have helped immeasurably in the successes that we've been having."

Angelo Marchini: Marchini, who died in 1990, was long a leader in the cultivation and processing of San Joaquin County asparagus for the fresh market, which for much of the 20th century was a leading cash crop in the region.

He began farming in San Joaquin County with his father, Marco Marchini, and brother, Bruno, in the late 1930s, producing asparagus, alfalfa, wheat and barley. After their father retired, the brothers formed a new partnership. Bruno tended to the field crops, while Angelo took charge of the asparagus operation. His son, Marc Marchini, recalled Angelo's passion for the spring vegetable.

"The biggest thing about my dad was he really loved the asparagus industry," Marc Marchini said. "He thought it was the best crop you can grow."

Les Schmid: Schmid, after 52 years in farming still grows barley, wheat, safflower, corn and other field crops in San Joaquin County.

He has also long been active in the agricultural community, serving as a director and former president of the Roberts Union Farm Center and helped plan the annual Stockton Ag Expo farm show until the event was discontinued after 2008. Schmid is particularly active the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation, which he now serves as a director at large.

"If you're connected with agriculture, you've got to be part of the Farm Bureau, because that's the only representation we have, and we need a lot of it now," Schmid said. "If you don't have a healthy agriculture, you don't have a healthy country."