Most city of Lodi offices will be closed today for a staff furlough day. The two exceptions are all emergency services and Hutchins Street Square.

City offices that will be closed include the Finance Department, City Hall, Lodi Public Library, Parks and Recreation, Lodi Animal Shelter, code enforcement, police records and property divisions.

Court proceedings at the Lodi branch of the San Joaquin County Superior Court will continue to take place because the county operates the court.

— Maggie Creamer

Lodi Unified School District honors longtime employees

The Lodi Unified School District held an Employee Service Awards reception Thursday to honor employees who have worked with the district for 25, 30 or 35 years.

Honored employees include certificated employees with 25 years of service: Janice Alexander; Janis Christy; Linda Davis; Kathryn Dufour; Karen Federico; Brenda Huiras; Ted King; Wendy Leibrandt; Thomas Linn; Andrew Lopez; Steven Sacchetti; Cynthia Schmierer; and Kristy Zane. Classified, 25 years: Robert Balesteri; Larry Buthenuth; Sandra Catario; Barbara Darby; Tammy Foley; Daniel Hensel; Dianna Miller; Teri Scott; Louie Schiaffino; and Carol Wells. Management, 25 years: Bob Gire.

Certificated, 30 years: Rhonda Baumgartner; Barbara Cecchetti; Rodney Gaines; Rosa Garcia; Robert Harmon; Susan Heberle; Karen Kashiwagi; and Sue Kenmotsu. Classified, 30 years: Carol Azevedo; Theresa Bettenhausen; Steven Miller; Brian Plines; John Ruby; and Gayleen Stock.

Certificated, 35 years: Anthony Moles; Catherine Ricketts; Donald Rostomily; Linda Watt; and Jerome Young.

— News-Sentinel staff.

Galt man indicted on child porn charges

A Galt man was indicted Thursday on federal charges of possessing child pornography.

Juan Jose Mancilla, 41, is not in custody and is wanted on a no-bail warrant.

A federal grand jury handed down the indictment in U.S. Eastern District court in Sacramento, charging Mancilla with one count of possessing child pornography and one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.

The pornography included photos of minors engaging in sexual activity, according to a press release issued by U.S. Attorney Lawrence Brown's office.

The charges relate to actions between Dec. 21, 2008, and April 1, according to the indictment.

Mancilla could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Brown's spokeswoman, Lauren Horwood, said she could not comment on whether any other suspects were being sought.

No arraignment date has been set, she said.

— Layla Bohm

Superintendent selection moves forward

The Galt Joint Union High School District will interview five superintendent candidates at a closed session meeting next month, bringing them one step closer to choosing a new district leader.

The decision was made Monday during a special meeting between an outside head-hunting firm and trustees, according to Interim Superintendent Audrey Kilpatrick.

She has temporarily taken on the leadership role following former Superintendent Tom Gemma's resignation. His last day was June 30.

The district held its first round of interviews in July, but due to community input and a dissatisfaction with the four semi-final candidates, trustees decided to restart the search process and hire an outside firm to vet the process. Leadership Associates, Inc. was chosen the following month to handle the process.

Kilpatrick said Tuesday that the board is scheduled to interview five semi-finalists on Nov. 11. Soon after that, there will be site visits, a final selection and offer of employment.

— Jennifer Bonnett

Middle East expert to speak at Pacific

Author and Middle East expert Juan Cole will discuss diplomatic relationships between the West and the Muslim world in a speech Wednesday in the Pacific Theatre, at the University of the Pacific. The event is free and open to the public.

Cole, a history professor at University of Michigan, is considered to be one of the leading experts in the United States on Middle Eastern politics. He is a frequent guest on "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" and a regular contributor to Salon.com.

He also writes the blog "Informed Comment" at www.juancole.com, which was awarded the 2003 Koufax Award for Best Expert Blog for its news analysis about the Middle East.

Cole is appearing on campus at the invitation of the School of International Studies, one of only six undergraduate schools of international studies in the United States. It is the only international studies school in the country that requires all of its students to study abroad while earning their undergraduate degree.

The Pacific Theatre is located in the McCaffrey Center in the center of the Stockton campus, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton. The event begins at 6 p.m.

— News-Sentinel staff.

Bill would require fiscal analysis of canal

Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-El Dorado Hills, and State Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, joined forces on a bill that would prohibit construction of a peripheral canal around the Delta without a full fiscal analysis and a vote of the Legislature.

Assemblymen Bill Beryhill, R-Ceres, and Wes Chesbro, D-Arcata, also signed on as co-authors.

— Ross Farrow

Check Before You Burn kicks off Sunday

The annual residential fireplace program that dramatically reduces harmful airborne particulates kicks off its new season Sunday.

Check Before You Burn, which runs from November through February each year, determines when residential wood burning will add dangerous levels of particulate matter — tiny pieces of soot, ash, dust and other materials — to the San Joaquin Valley's air and prohibits the use of residential wood-burning devices. Wood-burning forecasts are issued by county each day.

There are two forecast levels — "Wood Burning Prohibited" and "Please Burn Cleanly" — depending on expected air quality. When a prohibition is declared, burning any solid fuel in a residential fireplace or wood-burning device is not permitted and violations may result in fines. Backyard chimineas and fire pits are also subject to the prohibitions.

There are two exceptions, however: