Is Google tracking student data without parents’ permission?

Here’s looking at you, kid. The giant tech company Google may be spying on your kids through the Chromebooks they use for school. That’s the allegation in a lawsuit filed against Google by the New Mexico state attorney general. They are the same allegations made by the Washington Post newspaper in an article published several years ago. New Mexico says Google is tracking student data without parental knowledge or consent, which is a federal crime, they say.

If this is happening in New Mexico, could it be happening here in Lodi?

I asked Lodi Unified School District spokeswoman Chelsea Vongehr. In response I received a copy of a legal analysis of the Google contract with the district, a document that would take an attorney to decipher. I asked the district if Google tracks Lodi Unified students’ activities, but they declined to comment.

The document claims the district’s contract with Google meets state guidelines, but it also seems to confirm that Google gleans certain data from users of their educational G Suite applications. Those are the programs kids use every day in school while on their Chromebooks. Google claims they do not use the data to sell targeted advertising to kids, but they apparently don’t say if they use it for any other commercial purpose.

The sticking point seems to be if parents know about this and gave their consent. Did you know? Did you give your consent? Lodi Unified isn’t saying.

The big time

Jerry Hugo saw this in the Wall Street Journal: former Lodian Bob Sternfels was recently selected to become the global managing partner of consulting firm McKinsey & Co. The company is huge and advises on strategic management to corporations, governments, and other organizations.

Sternfels, 51, grew up in Lodi. His father, also named Bob, was a local attorney who died in 2017. Young Sternfels studied at

Stanford University and at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. Local boy makes good.

Scrub-a-dub

Here’s something you don’t see every day. Larry and Sally Skelton were walking their dog in Downtown Lodi the other early morning when they came upon a naked lady taking a bath in front of the Chamber of Commerce, using the building’s water faucet on the corner of School and Oak. The woman apparently thought nothing of it. But Sally fumed, “It was disgusting!”

Looking back

Man, what a year it’s been. Exactly 12 months ago, as the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning to become apparent, people everywhere were quietly in panic mode. Shoppers cleared the shelves of staples like toilet paper, paper towels, every cleaning product you could think of, especially Clorox wipes, and bottled water.

Food aisles were scraped clean. Bread was gone within 30 minutes of being restocked. Customers found out when the bread man would arrive and hang out there, waiting for him. Other shelves throughout most grocery stores were empty or picked over.

A trip to Costco was particularly bizarre. As The Great Shopping Panic of 2020 took hold, people would start arriving at Costco around 6 a.m. even though the store didn’t officially open until 10. People arriving at 10 found no parking stalls and no shopping carts. Hundreds of shoppers lined up with their carts, waiting to get in. Lines snaked around the building and into the parking lots.

Costco began opening up around 8 a.m. to accommodate senior shoppers, with strict limits on paper goods, water and cleaning supplies. The mood was somber, all business. Other stores followed suit.

Social media became a hub of information and tips on where to score TP and other prized commodities.

A year later, the panic has mostly subsided. The stores are fully stocked again, though it took months. Many people have at least a year’s supply of toilet paper and other essentials safely tucked away.

In a sense, the pandemic was the best thing to happen to certain retailers in town. For others, not so much.

But it has otherwise been a tragic year. About 6,500 people have caught the disease here in Lodi, 163 of whom lost their lives, according to the San Joaquin County Health Department. Like a sudden tornado, the pandemic ripped through households, snatching family members. Nobody has been unaffected.

Most businesses were forced to close during the year, at least temporarily. Some are just beginning to reopen. Some have remained closed. Some have gone out of business. For many, finances were devastated as unemployment rolls swelled.

Students haven’t been on campus for a year now. Online instruction has received mixed reviews — mostly bad. Many parents are demanding that schools reopen — now!

As COVID vaccines are rolled out and hope begins to blossom with the spring, we can look back and see more clearly how life has changed forever.

Good eats

The reviews are in and Papapavlo’s new restaurant at School and Lockeford streets receives high marks. The dining area is small and quaint right now, with seating in the bar area and in an enclosed patio. There is also outside seating. The service was prompt and professional. The menu is extensive with lots of appetizers, salads, entries and desserts.

One of the house specialties is lemon chicken soup, which is delicious. The portions are very generous, supported by an ample supply of freshbaked pita bread. If you go, try the Mediterranean chicken pasta. It comes with a heaping bowl of linguine, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes, olives and lots of other good stuff.

While the restaurant area is currently small, owner Andy Pappas says additional seating will be added in phase two. Reservations are recommended as the place has been super busy . ...

Habañero Hots’ famous corned beef tacos won’t be happening in time for St. Paddy’s Day, says owner John DeNegris. Their new kitchen won’t be done in time, he says. But John says his special tacos will be top of menu for the first couple weeks when they reopen for business in about a month.

The restaurant has been closed for repairs since late last year when the kitchen had an electrical fire. Delays in getting city permits has pushed their reopening date into early April.

BOBS

The city recently renegotiated their arrangement with the Boosters of Boys and Girls Sports (BOBS) organization. The new Memorandum of Understanding offloads many of the tasks and responsibilities previously done by city staff to the BOBS organization.

BOBS is a nonprofit youth sports organization that has been an integral part of the city since 1960. Under the new agreement, BOBS will relieve the city from such functions as program registration, roster coordination, volunteer coach screening and management, and sports officials oversight, among other tasks.

The main reason for the change is that Lodi Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services no longer has the staff to perform these tasks, according to department Deputy Director Cathy DeGroot. She says the city has to shift resources to park maintenance and away from activity management.