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• When there's something strange ...

• Local reaction to economic growth

• Officials hope new Highway 12 stoplight will make road safer

• Stockton breaks ground on Delta Water Supply Project

• Get an early start trick-or-treating in Downtown Lodi

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi sales tax revenue less than expected

• Lockeford soldier Kyle Coumas' funeral set for Monday

• Roundup of Lodi-area Halloween events

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

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

• The country's mess is our fault (172)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Public health care is a Christian option (86)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (53)
• The haves should help the have-nots (31)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (27)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (18)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)

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Officials hope new Highway 12 stoplight will make road safer

Federal, state and county officials were delighted to see the second stoplight erected in a year on Highway 12 west of Lodi.

In 2008, it was at the Davis Road intersection. On Thursday, state and county leaders officially turned on the switch for a traffic signal at DeVries Road.

"I grew up in this area, and this road was known as Blood Alley," San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel said.

Vogel said he wants to get rid of that reference, and he hopes the new traffic signal will cut down the fatal accidents.

"This road is just going to get busier" with increased agriculture and tourism, Vogel said.

Vogel attended the DeVries dedication on Thursday with representatives from the offices of Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, and State Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, along with officials from the San Joaquin County Public Works Department and the California Department of Transportation.

Patty Hayden, who owned Martini's Bait and Tackle on the northwest corner for some 11 years before selling the business two years ago, has seen more than her share of violent crashes at the Highway 12-DeVries Road intersection.

"I bitched at least once a week," said Hayden, who attended the dedication.

Hayden would call Caltrans at 9 a.m. each Monday to report any accidents or erratic driving going through the DeVries intersection. She says she witnessed at least four fatal crashes and numerous non-injury accidents in the time she owned the shop.

People would crash into one of the nearby vineyards, or they would knock over road signs and vineyard signs, Hayden said.

"One of the reasons we sold the place was, we couldn't put up with any more dead bodies," she said. "The fire department and CHP — it's bad when you know them by their first names because there were so many accidents."

Hayden thinks the traffic signal will make Highway 12 a much safer place.

"They would be going 80 mph by the time they got here," she said. "Now they have the light at Davis. Now they have to stop here (at DeVries)."

The $466,000 project was financed by the State Highway Operation and Protection Program. The state and county will share the cost of operating and maintaining the signal.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.