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• Elderly woman dies in Galt house fire

• Stores, shoppers prepare for Black Friday

• Man arrested after allegedly selling stolen jewelry in front of police

• San Joaquin County supervisors to lay off district attorney workers to aid budget

• Lodi Police hand out tickets and ... turkeys?

• Regional Roundup

• Thanksgiving services held tonight, Thursday

• Thanksgiving closures

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)
• Many reject the politics of 'no' (45)
• Writer comments on Neely column (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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Lodi Police hand out tickets and ... turkeys?

Program looks to reward drivers caught obeying the law, catch more speeders

When Mike Tarnowski was driving down Kettleman Lane and saw a Lodi police motorcycle pull out behind him Tuesday morning, he didn't have to slow down.

"My wife said, 'Is that cop following you?' I said, 'Yeah, but I'm going the speed limit,'" the Lockeford resident said.

By obeying the 35 mph speed limit, Tarnowski earned himself a Safeway gift certificate, handed to him by Motor Officer Brian Freeman. Tarnowski and his wife, Kelly, laughed and he shook the officer's hand in thanks.

Tarnowski was one of 28 drivers who received gift cards or free Thanksgiving turkeys Tuesday during a police operation aimed at targeting speed enforcement from two opposite angles: Good drivers got prizes, while bad drivers got tickets.

The hope is that people will talk about their experiences, both good and bad, and thus spread the word about traffic safety, Freeman said.

One driver actually saw both sides of the deal. Freeman and Officer Larry Vietz stopped a 62-year-old woman for making an illegal turn. An hour later, Sgt. Chris Jacobson unknowingly stopped the same woman and gave her a gift certificate.

One well-behaving motorist was Ray Long, a Stockton resident who went with his wife to the Social Security Office in Lodi. He was surprised to see Freeman standing near his Toyota as he stepped out, but his free turkey voucher was welcome, and he planned to donate it to his church.

Not all drivers were rewarded, though. Moments after arriving at Kettleman Lane and Mills Avenue, Jacobson was off again, pulling over a motorist who was driving 48 mph in the 35 mph zone. That driver got a ticket.

"Most collisions are caused by speed, failure to yield and turning in front of someone," Jacobson said. "People get upset when we write them tickets for speeding, but day in and day out we see crashes caused by speed."

One driver had gotten wind of the operation and was surprised to be pulled over for speeding. The driver told Officer Erika Urrea, "I thought you guys were supposed to be nice to people today."

Tuesday's operation came three days before Black Friday, the day known for its mass amount of shoppers, who don't stop until Christmas.

Officers will increase enforcement because they typically see more tailgating and speeding near shopping areas, Freeman said. Additionally, he reminded drivers to pay attention at stoplights and make sure they can clear the intersection before moving into it.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.