STEVE MANN MOVED
Due to space issues, Steve Mann’s column has been moved to
The city council may be close to announcing their pick for a new city clerk. The second round of interviews was scheduled for yesterday, and Mayor Doug Kuehne said he hoped that a selection would be made immediately following their deliberations.
The list was pared down to three people and, according to Kuehne, there were “a couple really good” candidates among them. You’ll recall the council threw the net out again after kicking the compensation up to $120k for the position. An announcement should be coming soon. … Speaking of the mayor, where has he been during all of the civil unrest that’s swept the nation and the protests that have been held? That’s what many on social media have been asking. Mayor Kuehne broke his silence at last Wednesday’s city council meeting, saying, “George Floyd’s senseless death, under the knee of someone who is sworn to protect our liberty and ensure equal justice, was yet another reminder that we have not lived up to the promise of America. People are rightfully dismayed by this horrific display of racial inequality on the streets of Minneapolis. We are gratified to see that the officers involved were terminated and criminally charged.” He also said, “Those who (protest) peacefully will receive our attention and respect. Those who may use (a) protest as a cover for violence and property destruction are not welcome.”
SHOWTIME: Did you watch Meggie Kuwait (nee O’Dell) on the TV show “Jeopardy!” last Friday night? She placed second in the competition and won $50,000 for her efforts. The Lodi native is now an elementary school teacher living in New York and she was one of three finalists on the show’s Teachers Tournament.
Sitting in the audience cheering her on was Joanne Gavin, Meggie’s sophomore English teacher at Lodi High in 2003. Gavin said the show was taped Feb. 24 and 25 in Los Angeles. Perhaps the most exciting part for her was “just being there, watching it unfold” as her former student went head-to-head with two other brainiacs. “People were watching Alex Trebeck like a hawk,” she said. Trebeck is the show’s MC, who has been battling pancreatic cancer, but is still doing the shows. Gavin said contestants stay in the same hotel next to the studio, and five shows a day are taped on Mondays and Tuesdays. What does she remember of her former student? “The woman is brilliant,” she says. “She has personality-plus. She knows all the answers,” Gavin says.
LUNCH BUNCH: Rob and Vera Salas, who live in Morada, must have a large lunch budget. They’ve been so impressed with the quality of service at Adventist Health Lodi Memorial Hospital that they recently bought lunch for all the hospital employees. All 320 of them. Everyone, from the doctors to the janitors. The tab was $600. Rob said afterwards, “That really felt good.” So, they decided they would do the same for the Morada Fire Department. Lunch for everyone. Now he’s hooked. “I’ve got to keep going,” Rob says to himself. Next stop is the San Joaquin County Sheriff ’s Department. Lunch for all 500 employees. That was a few weeks ago and they’re not stopping there. The couple plans on doing another lunch drop in the near future, but declined to name the recipient. Rob used to work at the prison in Tracy but is now retired.
THEY’RE BACK: Ace Hardware is open again in the Lakewood Mall, under new ownership. The new store is owned by the Young family of Lockeford. It’s the same Youngs who own Payless Market IGA and the Ace Hardware there. … L & L Travel is “going home based” after 23 years in the Hotel Lodi building, according to owner Robert Litts. Robert is a native Lodian and his father was attorney Robert Litts of Litts, Mullen, & Perovich Law Offices. … Just before midnight on March 31 vandals threw something at the Walgreen’s (corner of Ham and Elm) glass drive-up window, partially shattering it. That’s why it’s all boarded up.
COMING SOON: Work on the new Papapavlo’s Bistro & Bar on the corner of School and Lockeford is almost done. The restaurant will open in mid-August, according to owners Andy and Jennifer Papas. Their other restaurant in Stockton’s Lincoln Center is a wellknown landmark, serving Mediterranean bistro fare. … The GK Mongolian BBQ in the Sunwest Plaza Shopping Center (think Food 4 Less) should be open soon, according to an employee at their Stockton store. If you’ve never tried Mongolian BBQ before, it’s a unique way to cook and serve. Diners cram as much meat, vegetables and noodles as they can into a bowl, and the grill master cooks everything on a huge round flat-iron grill. It’s something to see, and it tastes good too. … Renovation work should be completed in the next week or so at the Lodi Beer Company in downtown Lodi, according to employees there. The project moves the entrance to the corner of School and Oak and adds a few more tables of seating. There are also additional brewing tanks being added so they won’t run out of suds, something that reportedly happens occasionally. The restaurant has continued to operate, albeit with take-out only, in the middle of the construction zone and during the pandemic.
UPDATES: The Lakehouse
project on the corner of Turner and Lower Sacramento Road, across from the old General Mills plant, is in the final stages of its environmental impact report preparation, according to architect John Vierra. The developer is working with the city and the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA) to iron out some noise issues, says Vierra. “It’s in the city’s hands,” he said. “The noise study looks really good. Now it’s just politics,” Vierra says. The project will include a high-end hotel, residential apartments, retail space and a restaurant. The property is adjacent to the McLane electric substation and the Hughes peaking plant there, which generates noise along with electricity when it operates. … The new bowling alley at Lockeford and Sacramento streets is still progressing, albeit slowly. The new building should be “closed up” with all its exterior walls in place within a couple months, a project spokesperson said. At the current pace, the place should be open by fall, 2021.
REMEMBERING WHEN: How many longtime Lodians out there remember when the town’s Western Union office was tucked away among the storefronts in the Hotel Lodi building on School Street, next to the barber shop? Just outside the front door was a bike rack with one bike in it. It was a man’s bike and had something like a saddlebag on the rear of it. When a “wire” would arrive at the office, a middle-aged gentleman would mount his bike and go deliver the message to its recipient, then return to wait for another one. That’s back in the days when the Hotel Lodi was actually a hotel and communications were much lower tech. Have things ever changed!