Latest news with #News-Sentinel
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lodi Unified to discuss potential new school
May 3—After years of parents and teachers calling for a new campus to be built in Lodi, a new school has been proposed on the western side of town. The Lodi Unified School District Board of Education will get its first glimpse of the proposed Samuel M. Gantner Elementary School at Vine Street and Westgate Drive on Tuesday. The school, named after the first Lodian killed in World War II, will be located on an 11.5-acre site west of GracePoint Church. According to Tuesday's staff report, the campus will focus primarily on kindergarten-sixth grades, with the possibility of accommodating seventh- and eighth-grade students, if necessary. The school's capacity would be 850 students. Preschool through third-grade classes would have about 24 students each, while grades 4-6 would have 30 students in each class. Last year, district officials told the News-Sentinel that the district's student population had dropped around 10% — from 30,000 to less than 27,000 — in recent years. At that time officials said there were two new school sites ready to develop. One was Gantner and the other site was in North Stockton, west of I-5 in the Spanos Park neighborhood. Superintendent Neil Young said the district works with both county and city officials to anticipate new developments within the district. He says the growth numbers are used to develop the district's long-range plans and to project future student population. Behind the name Gantner was a Lodi High graduate and a young father who was stationed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor when Japanese forces attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. As planes approached, Gantner raced to his battle station, a 5-inch anti-aircraft gun on the deck. He fired at the attacking planes but was wounded and taken to the ship's hospital. Soon after arriving, medics noticed he was no longer in the treatment area. He was later seen back at his battle station with his crew, firing at the enemy. An official citation read, in part: "He maintained an effective fire with his gun, in local control, despite heavy casualties on his gun, bomb hits, exploding ammunition on deck, and serious fires, and was killed at his station." He was 21. His remains were buried at the Punch Bowl military cemetery in Hawaii. The board unanimously approved naming the campus after Gantner in 2012. A destroyer-class escort named in his honor was launched at the Boston Navy Yard on July 23, 1943. The ship was later decommissioned and sold to China. Tuesday's meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the James Areida Education Support Center, 1305 E. Vine St. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the district's YouTube channel.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sentinel recognizes the Best of Lodi honorees
Apr. 26—Dozens of local businesses ended their work week taking home plaques recognizing how important they were to the Lodi community. The Lodi News-Sentinel hosted its annual Best of Lodi awards program at El Paczifico Thursday, where more than 125 businesses won top honors in a variety of categories including beauty and wellness, community services, health services, food and drink and real estate, among others. "What a fantastic afternoon," News-Sentinel director of sales and marketing Dora Sieber said. "It was such a joy to celebrate our amazing local businesses — there's nothing better than coming together to support the people who make our community so special." With 25 years in business, Rachel Sauseda's Farmer's Insurance branch at 112 S. Church St. won the award for Best Insurance Agency. Sauseda prides herself on helping her clients identify the coverage that best fits their needs, whether it's automobile, homeowners, renters or business insurance. "I feel very honored," Sauseda said. "This is coming from the people, and I'm very humbled to serve the people of this community. I was extremely surprised when Monica (LoBue, News-Sentinel advertising representative) came to the office and let me know." California Al's has been in business for 12 years and owner Al Gamaz said he's been nominated before, but this was his first time winning a Best of Lodi award. The restaurant, located at 601 W. Lockeford St., won for Best Breakfast Spot. Gamaz serves mostly organic, non-GMO dishes, and shops locally for all his ingredients. "I appreciate being nominated and accepted, and then getting this recognition, being where we've been for as long as we have," he said. "Lodi is a very tight-knit community, it's warm and welcoming, and just feels good to know people love us." Revel Lodi was one of the younger businesses to be honored Thursday, winning the top spot in the Best Independent Living category. Located at 2923 Reynolds Ranch Parkway, Revel opened in 2020. The retirement community features 142 rooms for active seniors 55 and older, and offers resort-style services including a 24-hour concierge, housekeeping, maintenance and complimentary transportation. "I was honored when Jon (Rooff, News-Sentinel advertising representative) came in and said we were the winners," sales director Mary Gilbert said. "Being open for five years, and Revel being the number one independent living community was amazing and just a shock. Thanks to everyone who voted for us. We really appreciate it and let's move forward and try to make our community number one in the future."
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Carney gets early vote of support: Councilwoman doesn't believe 'grounds exist' to dismiss Lodi city manager
Apr. 9—A day ahead of a special meeting to determine the city manager's future, a Lodi City Council member has announced they will not support his dismissal. Council woman Lisa Craig-Hensley said the statements Scott Carney made during an April 1 meeting reflected his ongoing frustration with obstacles that prohibited him from assessing the city's financial and internal operations. "I do not believe grounds exist to support the dismissal of Mr. Carney in bringing to light the discrepancies in our fiscal status, reporting and operations," she said. "These are challenges we face and must overcome to ensure transparency and more importantly, accountability to our taxpayers and our county and state funding partners. That is what Mr. Carney and the dedicated finance team he has assembled are working towards." The council on April 1 was set to receive a mid-year budget presentation, and Carney asked to make a statement before staff proceeded. Carney read a prepared statement alleging that City Attorney Katie Lucchessi and City Clerk Olivia Nashed edited staff reports without his knowledge or approval. Carney claimed the pair redacted parts of his approved reports protect some employees, and that internal reviews of purchasing activity revealed evidence of widespread misuse of public funds and city credit cards to purchase personal items. He said that there was resistance to his investigation among staff and that there was evidence the city had been failing as a steward of public trust. Mayor Cameron Bregman ordered Carney to stop speaking when the city manager began discussing ongoing personnel investigations regarding fraud. Bregman told the News-Sentinel last week that he stopped Carney from continuing because he may have released confidential information to the public, and that the city was exploring its options related to the matter. The Brown Act forbids city staff and elected officials from discussing personnel matters that are not placed on an agenda. An April 9 special meeting was called last Friday to evaluate the city manager's performance, as well as discuss whether to dismiss him. Craig-Hensley said her fellow councilmembers should support the forensic audit recommended on April 1. If the audit will not be led by Carney, she questioned who had the qualifications to replace him. "In the dozens of comments I've received from the public in support of Mr. Carney and the difficult task he's undertaken, I've learned our citizens want mostly to see the job done, to see council working together in support of that end, and to see Mr. Carney continuing to lead that effort," she said. Craig added that Lodi residents decide who serves on the council, which in turn hires the city manager to execute policies. "That chain of command needs to be respected by both the city council members and our staff," she said. "That is one of those professional standards to which we all must be held accountable. That is why I will continue to support the city manager in the difficult task we've given him and his team to execute. That is why I will not be supporting his dismissal." The council hired Carney last May to replace former city manager Steve Schwabauer, who retired in 2023. Prior to coming to Lodi, Carney served as the deputy director of administration for the California Department of Health Care Services for three years. He also served at Stockton City Hall from 2014 to 2020 before taking a sabbatical. Today's meeting begins at 2 p.m. at Carnegie Forum, 315 W. Pine St. It will also be livestreamed at
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lodi Council to discuss city manager's future a week after he made claims of widespread misuse of public funds
Apr. 5—The city's top administrator could be looking for a new job next week. The Lodi City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, April 9 at 2 p.m. to conduct a review of City Manager Scott Carney's performance during closed session. The council will also consider removing him from the position. The meeting comes a week after a special meeting to review Lodi's mid-year budget, where Carney read a prepared statement alleging that city attorney Katie Lucchessi and city clerk Olivia Nashed edited staff reports without his knowledge or approval. Carney claimed the pair redacted parts of his approved reports to protect some employees, and that internal reviews of purchasing activity revealed evidence of widespread misuse of public funds and city credit cards to purchase personal items. He said that there was resistance to his investigation among staff and that there was evidence the city had been failing as a steward of public trust. Mayor Cameron Bregman ordered Carney to stop speaking before he could finish his statement. On Friday, Bregman said he stopped Carney from continuing because he began speaking about ongoing personnel investigations and a non-agendized item. "The current city manager, without any attorney/client privilege may have released confidential information directly to the public at our April 1 meeting," Bregman said. "The City of Lodi wants transparency through this process, but never at the expense of breaking the law. No one is above the law, and we're exploring options related to this release of information." In speaking about personnel matters publicly, Bregman said Carney opened the city up to litigation that could cost "millions of taxpayer money." The Brown Act forbids city staff and elected officials from discussing personnel matters that are not placed on an agenda. An email to Carney seeking comment was not returned to the News-Sentinel Friday. Vice Mayor Ramon Yepez said he was saddened that Lodi residents had to witness what he called the "unprofessional conduct" Carney displayed on Tuesday, and stood behind the mayor's decision to stop his statement. Yepez added the council is committed to investigating all claims made in order to ensure Lodians have no reason to fear widespread fraud or cover-ups at city hall. "The city council is committed to investigating all claims to ensure Lodians have no reason to fear widespread fraud or any cover-up at city hall," he said. "The people of Lodi deserve a city manager who leads a healthy organization, not someone who creates disruption by intentionally disclosing confidential information and inserting accusations into an agenda item introduction. I'm confident that Carney's allegations will amount to nothing." Public works director Charles Swimley said Carney's statement was a "reckless and unprofessional" attempt to dishonor not only the staff positions he mentioned, but all of the city's employees. Swimley said he always had confidence in the ethical conduct of the former city manager and assistant city manager, and that he stands behind the current city attorney and city clerk. However, he said he had grown less confident in the conduct of the city's current administration. "This past Tuesday during the current interim assistant city manager's finance update to the council, I had to interject and question a slide that was presented as truth regarding solid waste billing deficiencies," he said. "The slide alleged the city was not in compliance with the solid waste contract and contained numbers that were grossly overestimated. If the administration is going to allege non-compliance, they should at least do their homework by actually reading the contract, or better yet, ask the department that is responsible to avoid the spread of inaccurate information. The public and our employees deserve better." Councilwoman Lisa Craig-Hensley told the News-Sentinel Tuesday night that she was relieved problems within the city had come out and supported Carney's efforts. Craig-Hensley said she also didn't agree with how Carney was shut down before he could complete his comments, stating a community member has a right to spend five minutes at the podium under public comment. The council hired Carney last May to replace former city manager Steve Schwabauer, who retired in 2023. Prior to coming to Lodi, Carney served as the deputy director of administration for the California Department of Health Care Services for three years. He also served at Stockton City Hall from 2014 to 2020 before taking a sabbatical. Wednesday's meeting begins at 2 p.m. at Carnegie Forum, 315 W. Pine St. It will also be livestreamed at
