The Lodi News-Sentinel won seven awards, including three first-place honors, in the annual Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Dear Lodinews.com reader:

On April 29, we will begin a new way of offering news on Lodinews.com. It’s called “metered content.”

In real life, Thomas Sanchez directs new business prospects for Waste Management in Lodi. In fiction, he is a police lieutenant called in to assist the FBI on an investigation.

Thank you to the 45-plus representatives and business owners who attended our Health Care Reform seminar last week at Oak Ridge Winery. My grandfather, Max, would be very proud that the small agency he started 66 years ago has blossomed, and is still serving and helping the Lodi community.

©2013 Lodi News-Sentinel. All rights reserved. The information contained in this book is provided in good faith and the Lodi News-Sentinel assumes no liability for error, omissions or for services rendered. Additional copies of the Lodi News-Sentinel's Sentinel Silver can be obtained at several locations in San Joaquin County. Call 209-369-2761 for a complete list of pick-up locations.

With good planning, regular exercise and some luck many of us can look forward to an active and leisurely retirement. But our annual Sentinel Silver Directory also helps seniors face the sad truth that health issues haunt us as we age.

The Lodi Association of Realtors installed Sheri Aguilar of Grupe Real Estate’s Lodi office as its 2013 president.

Check the ads. Make your list. Ready the team. Black Friday is coming more quickly than ever, with many stores starting their sales on Thursday night. Eager shoppers looking to score a great deal may leave the Thanksgiving table for a quick nap before heading to the stores.

Ever suffered "introductophobia"?

Leon Croce’s restaurant hasn’t served a meal in years. But legions of Lodians still remember the quality food, extensive menu, and the man whose passion for the work fueled each dinner service.

As Hurricane Sandy hurls devastating winds toward the East Coast, three young Lodi natives wait expectantly in a second-story Manhattan apartment, six blocks from an evacuation zone.

Each year, the Lodi News-Sentinel sponsors a “Classroom Hero” contest to honor extraordinary teachers in Lodi. Last year, we received 155 nomination forms selecting 49secondary teachers and 452 nomination forms selecting 133 primary teachers!

By the Lodi News-Sentinel

The Lodi News-Sentinel is hosting a Lodi City Council candidate forum tonight at Lodi Public Library.

Due to an oversight, nominees for this year's Lodi Community Hall of Fame were not assigned a specific area of service when they were approved for induction by the Lodi Boys & Girls Club board on Aug. 15.

I was disappointed in your failure to publish a paper Monday. I think it showed poor business acumen on your part.

In the past week, I have been confronted by at least three people a day berating me about the fact this column has not appeared in the News-Sentinel of late. It isn't funny, but I have been telling people that I am being published only on Mondays. They nod and walk on. The paper isn't published that day during the week as an austerity matter, and it will go back to normal as soon as everything else does.