David Diskin, founder of Lodi United, gave the first invocation or Call to Responsibility since the council approved its new policy allowing anyone to participate.
Below is a copy of the Call to Civic Responsibilty he gave before the meeting:
Thank you for giving me the honor of offering our city’s first secular invocation. What I hope to “invoke” tonight is the sense of community that ties us all together — the brotherhood or fellowship that allows individuals to look beyond their personal gain, beyond their beliefs, beyond their past, and to take action that supports the greater good.
This evening, our elected officials have assembled to govern our livable, lovable city. And we, the public, have assembled to give them our wisdom, guidance, passion, and support.
But our commitment to Lodi should not stop at the adjournment of tonight’s meeting.
Tonight I challenge all those here — myself included — to ask ourselves: What can we do to support the greater good? I challenge us all to put aside our differences, our religions, our ethnicities, our genders, and to work together to improve the standard of living that the people of Lodi deserve.
Over the last decade-and-a-half I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of non-profit organizations, and I know you all have, too. What I ask of you now is to reaffirm your commitment to find time. Lend — not just your wallet — but your talent. Plant a tree. Adopt a cat. Teach someone to read. Build something. And inspire others to do the same.
For the next few hours, let us give our council the respect and support they need to fulfill their elected duty. And when we return home tonight, may we give our community the respect and support it needs, to make it the most livable, lovable city we possibly can.
In case you missed it…
In today’s paper, Councilman Bob Johnson wrote a guest column about all the projects the council is working on. Johnson was firing back after our columnist John Johnson wrote a column Oct. 26 saying the council has a “simply keep the ship afloat” mentality. I’m sure this won’t be the end of the debate and wonder if there will be a discussion at tonight Lodi City Council meeting. (Note: The two are not related despite the shared last name).
Speaking of tonight’s meeting, here are some of the things on the agenda:
• Prayer: Tonight will be the first invocation given under the council’s new policy. (In the story, scroll down the prayer policy at a glance to read what the new policy is).
Here’s what it says at the top of the agenda:
6:55 p.m. Invocation/Call to Civic Responsibility. Invocations may be offered by any of the various religious and non-religious organizations within and around the City of Lodi. Invocations are voluntary offerings of private citizens, to and for the benefit of the Council. The views or beliefs expressed by the Invocation Speaker have not been previously reviewed or approved by the Council, and the Council does not endorse the beliefs or views of any speaker.
It does not list who will give the invocation, but I will blog it or include it in one of my stories about the council in Thursday’s News-Sentinel.
• Transit cuts: See past blog or today’s story.
• Cable ordinance: The Lodi City Council will consider a cable ordinance to raise money to repair and replace as needed the video system in Carnegie Forum or do other improvements to expand public access capabilities. The 1 percent fee to cable uses would generate $80,000 a year for the city that can only be spent on video-related equipment and technology.
For a customer subscribing to Comcast’s 100-channel “Digital Starter” service, they would see $0.58 a month added to their bill. (Previously, the city estimated it would be $0.51). This comes on the heels of Comcast raising rates on Oct. 15. The average entry customers started paying an additional $2 per month.
• Interstate 5 widening: The council will receive a report tonight on an environmental impact report for a freeway interchange on Interstate 5 that could signal substantial growth toward Lodi from North Stockton. The proposed project is part of a plan to widen I-5 from Stockton to the southern limits of Lodi’s White Slough Water Pollution Control Facility.
City planners are concerned because they say the project’s environmental reports appear to be grossly incomplete. The proposed expansion is within Stockton’s city limits, but very close to the White Slough Wastewater Treatment Facility.
In the 253-page California Department of Transportation report, there is no mention of the White Slough wastewater treatment plant. The Lodi Energy Center, a 280-megawatt natural gas power plant planned to be built next to White Slough, is absent from the Caltrans report as well.
In the wake of cuts to the city’s bus system, the Lodi City Council will discuss at its meeting Wednesday a proposal that would increase fares to restore some of the city’s weekend service.
To deal with a $373,000 shortfall in state funding, the council made cuts to the transit system that included decreasing the hours of service Saturday and eliminating all service Sunday. The cuts started Nov. 2.
With the fare increase, the city would be able to restore service Sunday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and extend Saturday service from 9:15 a.m. to 3:09 p.m. to an earlier start of 7:45 a.m. to 3:09 p.m, according to a city staff report.
Under the city’s proposal, here are the rate increases:
Fixed routes:
• Tickets for the general public will increase from $1 to $1.25.
• Tickets for seniors, people with disabilities and people on Medicare will increase from $0.50 to $0.65.
Dial-a-Ride and VineLine (which is the equivalent of Dial-a-Ride for people with disabilities):
• Tickets for the general public will increase from $5 to $7.
• Tickets for seniors, people with disabilities and people on Medicare will increase from $1.50 to $2.
The council will not be deciding Wednesday night whether or not to increase fares/expand hours. But they will discuss it and tell staff whether they want to consider the matter further at a future council meeting.
Read more in Wednesday’s paper.
November 3rd, 2009 in
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Transit by
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It’s a busy week in both of the cities, so here is a brief rundown of what I’ll be covering at tonight’s Galt meeting. (I’ll update later tonight on what’s happening at Lodi’s meeting).
GALT
• Jason Behrmann is almost guaranteed to become Galt’s new city manager tonight. The council already decided in closed session to not do a search because it could promote Behrmann, who has been the city’s assistant city manager since 2006. Behrmann will replace Ted Anderson, who will be done with work at the end of December. The Galt City Council meeting is 7 p.m. at Galt City Hall, 380 Civic Drive.
• The Galt City Council is scheduled to adopt a list of policies that in part are an attempt to rein-in decorum at the council’s meeting.
• Councilman Andrew Meredith will propose an ordinance at tonight’s meeting to require city contractors to hire Galt residents.
To read more on tonight’s meeting, go to http://www.ci.galt.ca.us.
• Furlough Friday in full swing
Those who need to start or restart utility service or pay a bill should do it today, because most city of Lodi offices will be closed on Friday 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.
• You won’t be taking the bus to Sunday brunch (in the future)
CORRECTION: The cuts to transit service do not start until Monday, Nov. 2.
This Monday will begin the new cuts for the transit system.
Lodi slashed its transit schedule to deal with $373,000 in cuts. When the state legislature passed its budget, it included 20 percent less in transportation funding.
Here is the new schedule starting Sunday:
• Monday through Friday, fixed routes, Dial-a-Ride and VineLine will operate from 7:45 a.m. to 6:10 p.m. Express routes will continue from 6:10 a.m. to 7:40 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• On Saturdays, fixed routes, Dial-a-Ride and VineLine will run from 9:15 a.m. to 3:08 p.m.
• All service on Sundays will be eliminated.
• Service on nine holidays will be eliminated. The holidays include New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Christmas Eve and Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
It is indeed windy outside. I woke up this morning at 3:30 a.m. from a deep sleep briefly thinking someone was trying to knock on my door as my screen door rattled and slammed open and shut.
A story in today’s paper discussed not only the wind but also the city’s plan to ramp up tree trimming around power lines. What are your thoughts? Is this needed?
in other news, the Lodi Planning Commission will have another update on the General Plan. I’m working on a story highlighting some aspects of the General Plan that might be of widespread interests. If you have happened to look through the document and have any suggestions on topics to cover, let me know. Comment, e-mail at maggiec@lodinews.com or 369-7035.
Also, make sure to check out the library’s new Web site here.
Here’s the story I wrote on prayer for today’s paper. I figured I’d add some links if you want more information:
The Freedom From Religion Foundation is currently working on another lawsuit in California relating to tax code benefits for ministers.The foundation and 21 of its California members, including Karen Buchanan, filed suit Friday, and the news release describe the case as “nationally-significant.” Here’s the press release the foundation sent out on the case.
Also, click here if you want to hear Karen Buchanan talk about Lodi’s decision to continue prayer.
To read the proposed policy the council will consider, open the council agenda here. Click on item E-13.
I hope everyone had a good weekend. I know it was busy in Lodi with the School Street Stroll and the Roland Cheney statue revealing in front of the Chamber of Commerce.
This week some important decisions will be made in Lodi on some issues that I know our readers have been following closely.
• Prayer: Wednesday is the big night for the council to vote on what its policy will be on prayers before council meetings. The council voted on Sept. 30 to not censor anyone giving an invocation, so religious references will be allowed, including saying “Jesus Christ.” The council also added stipulations to make sure a wide variety of people are included.
• Transit: The city needs to cut $373,000 from its transit budget. This could result in a reduction or elimination of hours or services. Here’s the most recent story on forums the city held to discuss the proposed cuts.
• A senior community: The city will take the next step to move forward with purchasing property on Tienda Drive for an affordable senior housing project.
In Galt on Tuesday, the council will receive an update on the city budget, decide how to replace state cuts in property taxes and discuss park curfews.
Also, if you are out of a job or just want some financial information on staying afloat in this economy, Galt will be hosting a town hall meeting and career expo Wednesday. The meeting, organized by Councilman Andrew Meredith, will be called “When the Paycheck Stops.” It will focus on creating a post lay-off fianncial plan, dealing with creditors and advice on how to keep food on the table. There will also be information on the programs utility companies have to help residents.
Here’s a press release for more information. I will also have a small preview story in Tuesday or Wednesday’s paper.
Now I have some questions for you. I’d love to get some feedback on the story format I used this weekend. I did a main story on the possibility of rent stabilization for mobile home parks in Galt. Instead of one long story, I broke it into three other components. I had a mini-story on what proponents of a rent ordinance had to say, another on what opponents had to say and a story on Fairfield, where all the large mobile home parks are owned by the tenants. I did something similar with a Delta Greens story.
I know everyone out there is busy, so I thought this is a good way to break up a complex issue. Is it still too much information at once? Do you like this approach? Is there any other issues you think would benefit from this type of format?
Specifically, with rent stabilization, are there any questions that are unanswered? You can comment or send me an e-mail at maggiec@lodinews.com.
We have all hands on deck working to cover the storm!
But we need your help too. See limbs down? Is your power out? Having to take a detour to avoid an accident? Call us at 369-7035 or e-mail us at news@lodinews.com. You can also e-mail me at maggiec@lodinews.com.
Monday Moment of Happiness;
Today while checking police logs, I came across this item:
7:38 a.m. Sunday— A caller witnessed a male in his mid-30s in black shorts and a blue jacket take his neighbors paper in the 800 block of Lloyd Street. The caller yelled at him to put it back.
Some people really want to read the paper in the morning.
Hope everyone had a good weekend enjoying the weather before big storms come Tuesday.
So what is coming up this week, you eagerly ask?
• The General Plan! The Lodi Planning Commission will discuss the comprehensive document that will guide development decisions for the next 20 years.
Why should you care? It is one of the first steps in creating Lodi’s future. Want Lodi to have more mixed use neighborhoods? More bike paths? More industry east of 99? This is the document that will shape all of those decisions. Check out the paper Tuesday for information on how to get involved and let the city know what you think.
You can download a copy of the plan here.
Transit: There will be another meeting to hear from the public about possible transportation cuts because of a shortfall in state funding. City staff might also approach you on a bus to hear your opinions and fill out a survey. Here’s what happened at the last public input meeting.
Got any news? I’m always looking for new ideas! Leave a comment, call me at 369-7035 or e-mail me at maggiec@lodinews.com. If you prefer the challenge of 140-characters, you can tweet us: http://twitter.com/lodinews
