Steve Mann on the statistics of living in Lodi
Yes, it’s true. You’re almost twice as likely to die at the hands of another in Lodi than in Stockton — statistically, that is. When you include the tragic doublehomicide a week ago, for which an arrest was made last Friday, Lodi’s murder rate is now considerably worse than Stockton’s. Here’s the sad math: with eight murders in Lodi so far in 2018, there is one Lodi murder per 8,235 people. Stockton’s is 13,350.
While the “thin blue line” is stretched pretty thin, I’ll still take my chances here in Lodi.
SOLD: The old Weigum’s Lodi Nursery property on Ham Lane was purchased by David Shaw, who also owns California Rock & Ready Mix, for about $450,000. The property is a jumble of three different zonings, including commercial and high and low-density residential. The spot could possibly end up with a house and some apartments.
BEAR BUMMER: Are ya sit’n down? The Black Bear Diner won’t be coming to town this November, as they previously said. “Sometimes things fall through,” says Suzanne at Bear headquarters. She went on to say that their franchise partner was still looking for a location. So, it’s not that they will never come, just not as soon as they’d anticipated. This news is not gonna sit well with many Bear lovers.
CHANGES: Here are some closures to report, sadly. The King Tsin Chinese restaurant on Kettleman Lane has closed. The much-loved eatery was originally opened in 1984 by owners Bill and Teresa Ju. They closed their downtown location and eventually re-opened on Kettleman Lane in 2013. Lois Finch will especially miss their Mo Shu pork, as will many others. … Across town, the Fenix restaurant has reportedly also been shuttered. Opened just a couple years ago by Chef Richard Hyman, the place offered upscale (for Lodi) fare at 117 W. Elm, where Scooter’s used to be. Customer reviews seemed positive, but the restaurant business can be brutal, in more ways than one.
SIGN HERE: An online petition entitled, “Citizens of Lodi Against City of Lodi Utility Company,” is seeking signers to have the city utility “investigated.” According to the website (www.thepetitionsite.com), “This Petition is for the Citizens of Lodi, Ca who are ready for the City of Lodi Utility Company to be investigated! … We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge our leaders to act now to investigate City of Lodi Utility Company!” City Manager Steve Schwabauer, who is aware of the petition, welcomes any “investigation” and goes on to invite petitioners to discuss their accounts with him, if they are so inclined. When compared to PG&E, the City of Lodi’s rates are anywhere from 39 to 47 percent cheaper, according to documents provided by the city.
GETTING HIGH: You may want to hold on to something while you read this. When something breaks on the Walnut Grove TV towers, who do they call? When you need microwave dishes installed on the Bay Area bridges, who ya gonna call? When you simply need to replace the light beacon on top of your radio tower, who do you call? Lodi native David Field, owner of Field Tower Systems.
He and his crew are the guys who climb the towers — including the 2,000-plus-foot TV towers in Walnut Grove — to replace beacons and adjust antennas for Sacramento TV stations. One of his current projects is placing microwave dishes atop all of the Bay Area bridges, except the Golden Gate, for CalTrans. Semi-retired and in his 60s, Dave has done this kind of daredevil work for 30 years. Does he ever get scared?
“There are days when you get uncomfortable,” he confesses, but he just “zones into what’s in front” of him at the time. Sounds like a prescription for incontinence for the rest of us mere mortals. In the way back, Dave was a freelance photographer for the Sentinel and took the only known photos of the Lodi Union High School fire in the early ‘70s. He’s also son of the late Wayne Field, beloved Lodi High School journalism teacher.
BATTER UP: It’s been a good year for Oakland Athletics super fan Cory Nuss, who appears to be batting a thousand. Earlier this year he won the A’s Authentic Fan Friday sweepstakes for which the prize was throwing out the first pitch at an actual game. Turns out he’s also a pretty good slugger. Cory’s name was picked in a drawing to participate in a batting contest at the Oakland Coliseum. He hit the ball farther than anyone else, 375 feet, which earned him a special season ticket package for next year. We’re talking 24 home games. Free. Cory is a teacher for Lodi Unified School District and, needless to say, an avid A’s fan. The Giants probably could have used him this year.
GOING PAPERLESS :In an era when many of the country’s newspapers are just hanging on, the Stockton Record recently announced that they are closing their press facilities in Stockton, and laying off about 40 employees in the process. This will bring to an end a 123-year era where the paper was produced and printed in Stockton. No word on who will be printing it. The News-Sentinel still proudly prints this paper at its facility on Church Street. At least for now.
SEEING RED: Here’s the answer to one of life’s most pressing questions, why are fire engines red? Greg Soligan found the answer on his Apple smartphone by asking Siri, the phone’s artificial intelligent personality. Siri said: “because they have eight wheels and four people on them, and four plus eight is twelve, and there are twelve inches in a foot, and one foot is a ruler, and Queen Elizabeth was also a ship, and the ship sailed the seas, and in the seas are fish, and fish have fins, and the Finns fought the Russians and the Russians are red, and fire trucks are always “russian” around.” A little artificial humor there.