Steve Mann: Should Ding exercise his freedom not to speak? – Lodi News-Sentinel

From our Understatement Department: Tonights (Friday) Freedom Fest, being held at Hutchins Street Square, has created a bit of a stir among villagers. Some have been so aghast at the speakers list (Kari Lake, Kevin Crye, Dr. Doug Frank, and Steve Ding) that theyve fired off letters to the editor and begun circulating a petition demanding that Supervisor Steve Ding not take the stage, as planned. Were also told there may be a well organized protest against the whole thing lined up for tonight. And local TV stations have been alerted, so there could be something for everybody. In our mailbag this week was a note from Mike Hartung, who wrote, I get freedom of speech, but come on, this is just awful, and Steve Ding showing is reprehensible.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Lodi Police Chief Sierra Brucia announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of this year after three years at the departments helm and 30 years in law enforcement. Brucia took over as chief on May 1, 2020 and much of the time has been a trial by fire. Just a month or so into the job there were anti-police marches on the streets of Lodi protesting police brutality in Minneapoliss George Floyd case. Brucia also had to find a way to manage $2 million in budget cuts. Brucias last official day will be Dec. 30. He says he may also move out of state after he retires.

FOR THE GOLD: Lodis Dan Christy and his Santa Barbara Silver Surfers water polo teammates are in Kumamoto, Japan to compete in the world championships. Their first heat is tomorrow (Saturday). Theyll competing in the 65-plus division and Christy says it will be difficult. Its gonna be a definite challenge; these are some real good teams we are playing, he cautions. In June Christy and his team won gold at the Masters National Championships. Four years ago, they won gold at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea. Makin us proud.

CONSTRUCTION ZONE: The police department has been laying plans for a new training complex for at least 10 years. The vision is to build the new facility at White Slough, along I-5 near Highway 12 on city-owned property. The city council appears solidly behind the project, earmarking $1,152,439 in surplus operating funds for it at its meeting two weeks ago. Chief Brucia is thrilled, but concedes there is a lot ahead. At the top of the list is securing a partner for the project, one who will contribute capital funds to build it and possibly help run it. Brucia says his department has been working with San Joaquin Delta College at the staff level for quite some time, and he believes there is an agreement in principle on co-oping the project. However, the colleges board of trustees first has to ratify any agreement and commit funds to it, says Brucia. He hopes something like that will happen at the trustee meeting this month. When its built, Brucia says the new training center will reduce the citys training costs and generate revenue from its emergency vehicle operation course (EVOC), and possibly the firing ranges included in the plan. At this point, all eyes are on Delta College, which conducts Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) programs, and has its own police force.

UPDATE: We recently reported on the local real estate market, which said the market is still tight in Lodi, resulting in some interesting feedback on social media. Jaime Stirm said Lodi is circling the drain. Anna Disch wrote that there remains a real need for starter homes for first-time buyers. Price tag on large homes is unrealistic for families, she says. Gerardo Garcia wrote, If prices get high enough those homes are gonna sit empty. And then youll have a bubble on your hands. Then itll be a great time for us millennials. Realtor Roxanne Rocha, who was quoted in the piece, says shes a capitalist at heart, until she hears of large real estate investment trusts buying up single family homes and entire subdivisions for their portfolios. She says they shouldnt be allowed to buy anything smaller than a 100-unit complex, and politicians should fix this. Rocha said during the financial crisis of 2008 large corporations bought up many single-family houses in Lodi, some of them on the courthouse steps during foreclosure. She says the corporate practice, which is much more prevalent in other parts of the country, deprives first-time homebuyers the opportunity to buy a home they can afford. To put things in perspective, Californias average home price is $743,362. The median California home price for May, 2023 was $836,110, according to the real estate website Zillow. The average (typical) home in Lodi sells for about $470,000, the company says.

LOOKING BACK: A week or so ago we wrote about the sudden and untimely death of local farmer Frank Mills. He died three days after his 61st birthday. He came from a pioneering family. His great-great-great-grandparents Freeman and Minerva (Grace) Mills braved the plains from Illinois and settled in Woodbridge in 1857. His great-grandfather Freeman B. Mills married Carrie C. Ellis Mills on August 11, 1885. Mrs. Mills was the daughter of Ralph Ellis, one-time owner of the Lodi Sentinel and former sheriff of Napa County. His grandfather Everts Mills built the white mansion on Lower Sacramento Road, near Elm Street.

PICKERS: The History Channels American Pickers is coming to California (maybe Lodi) and you might have something they want. The program producers are looking for large, rare collections and things the producers have never seen before. They also want to know the backstory of items they feature. American Pickers is a documentary series broadcast on the History Channel, which explores the fascinating world of antique picking. So, theyre looking for leads. Collectors interested in being considered for the show can call (646) 493-2184 or email at AmericanPickers@cineflix.com.

FLASHBACK: A blaze broke out in the early evening hours of April 15, 1955 at the Shewan-Jones Winery at the intersection of Turner Rd. and Sacramento St. The fire was reported by winery night watchman Gottlieb Zahn at 8:40 p.m. Both Lodi and Woodbridge fire departments responded to the call. The fire consumed the winerys cold storage plant, which had been undergoing some renovations. A cutting torch was blamed for the fire, which caused an estimated $100,000 in damage. The blaze injured winery worker Edward Rodacker, who was working inside the cold storage warehouse when the fire broke out. Assistant Fire Chief Forrest Eproson and volunteer firemen Riney Bender and Rudy Vaccarezza narrowly escaped serious injury when the roof of the warehouse started to collapse while they were cutting a ventilation hole. Firefighting efforts were hampered by thick smoke and the inability of the winery sewers to drain the huge amount of water being poured on the blaze.

Rodacker was rushed to Buchanan Hospital on East Pine Street for emergency treatment of first degree burns to his face and neck and undetermined damage to his lungs due to smoke inhalation. The winery, which was located where the River Pointe subdivision is today, produced the popular Italian Swiss Colony wine.

Steve is a former newspaper publisher and lifelong Lodian whose column appears most Tuesdays and Fridays in the News-Sentinel and at stevemann.substack.com. Write to Steve at aboutlodi@gmail.com.

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Steve Mann: Should Ding exercise his freedom not to speak? - Lodi News-Sentinel