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• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

• Regional Roundup

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

November 19th, 2009

• Logbook

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

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

• Operation: Christmas

• Corrections

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

• Chase ends in crash

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

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

November 18th, 2009

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

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

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

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

November 17th, 2009

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

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Regional Roundup

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Clarification

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

November 16th, 2009

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

• Regional Roundup

• Correction

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

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

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

• Public Meetings

November 14th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• 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

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

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

November 13th, 2009

• What to expect with new homebuyer tax credit

• Lodi Muslim: Local mosque not involved

• Regional Roundup

• Burglary suspects are under arrest

• Lodi veteran recounts close calls in Vietnam

• Mayor Larry Hansen points out Lodi's economic progress

• First phase of Lockeford park by 2011?

November 12th, 2009

• Logbook

• Correction

• Robotics team at Jim Elliot invited to compete in Israel

• City of Lodi begins annual leaf removal program Monday

• Liberty Ranch construction at standstill as state pulls funds

• Will Lodi adopt a program that will allow volunteers to work at parks?

• With song and speech, veterans are recognized in Lodi

• 20 years later, Acampo man remembers the fall of the Berlin Wall

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

• The country's mess is our fault (130)
• Obama is not a moderate (129)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (60)
• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise (49)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (45)
• Lodi Flames slim playoff chances vanish in setback to Tracy Bulldogs (25)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• The haves should help the have-nots (25)
• Tokay Tigers blow late 27-point lead in loss to Wolf Pack (22)
• Nightmares about America's future (21)

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San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, Stockton City Council and Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce have voted to sue two state agencies over a hospital for prison inmates planned for south Stockton.

The prison hospital, for medical and mental health patients, is designed for 1,734 beds and 3,000 employees at Arch and Austin Roads, about two miles east of Highway 99. The hospital is expected to have 75 to 100 people visiting inmates daily. It will have a 12-foot-high electrical fence to secure the area along with 11 45-foot-high guard towers every 700 feet, according to the state.

State officials announced their plans to build the hospital on state-owned property in Stockton on Oct. 20. Construction of the $1.1 billion project is expected to begin in 2010 and last two years.

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday morning to sue the state, and the Stockton City Council voted that afternoon to sue.

The county claims that two agencies — the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and California Prison Health Care Services — failed to adequately address several issues in its environmental impact report, according to Deputy County Counsel Mark Myles.

"The question is whether or not the state of California and the California Prison and Health Care Services have sufficiently complied with (the California Environmental Quality Act)," Myles said. "That's the issue."

The EIR does not address topics like traffic, how the hospital would affect surrounding areas and other county services, and how it would affect air quality, Myles said.

"It's a broad perspective," he added.

Luis Patino Jr., spokesman for California Prison Health Care Services, said in a written statement that the economically depressed county would get a jump-start on needed jobs.

"The people of the Central Valley need jobs, not more lawsuits," Patino said. "The project can pump hundreds of millions of dollars worth of jobs and economic activity into the Stockton area, both during construction beginning in 2010 and for many years thereafter. Lawsuits will only delay needed relief from the recession."

The Stockton hospital is one of up to seven prison hospitals planned throughout California, with 5,000 beds to be available for medical patients and another 5,000 for mental health patients, according to the EIR.

State officials are ready to work with elected local elected officials and business leaders about their concerns, Patino said. The lawsuits are bound to interfere with productive dialogue, he added.

The 144.2-acre site includes about 70 acres designated as "important farmland," which state officials consider to be "a significant and unavoidable impact," according to the EIR.

The report says that there will be significant environmental impacts, but they are in conjunction to major growth planned in Stockton. The hospital, along with planned residential growth, will have significant effects on traffic, air quality, possible climate change caused by greenhouse gases, increase in demand for local hospital services resulting in decreased service and increased waiting time, according to the EIR.

The document also reports that the hospital would adversely effect local businesses, property values, urban decay and potential shortages in qualified employees to work at the prison hospital and existing county medical centers.

Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com.