Steve Mann

If you pay your city utility bill by credit card, Mayor Ramon Yepez says you will soon begin paying a “convenience fee” to defray the transaction costs. Yepez says the city currently pays about $1.2 million in credit card processing fees. But there are alternatives. “Customers who wish to avoid this fee may continue to use alternative payment methods—such as cash, check, or bank transfer, which will remain available at no additional cost,” says Yepez. The city started accepting payments online via credit cards about 14 years ago when the fees were mostly incidental. The mayor says this is a common practice among municipalities and businesses to help offset the processing costs associated with credit card transactions.

A disturbing video has surfaced on the Internet purportedly showing the recent fatal attack by an elephant in Africa on local farmer Ernie Dosio. The clip shows people running in fear and an elephant pummeling a body, but in the age of AI, who knows if it's authentic. What is real are all the comments by animal rights people who have vehemently taken exception to Dosio's love of big game hunting. Most online comments expressed disapproval of shooting game for sport while offering their sympathy for the family. Others called out “all the hate” by some people. Many of Dosio's friends came to his defense saying he was actually a conservationist and only hunted game within the law. Dosio, 75, was trampled to death by a herd of elephants in Central Africa on April 17. He was owner of Pacific AgriLands in Modesto providing custom harvesting and farm management services. Understandably, the family has been too distraught to speak to the press.

The indoor pool at Hutchins Street Square is leaking, according to Siegfried Engineering, Inc. and Pacific Coast Leak Detection. An investigation found an “active seepage” at the deep end of the pool, which was once used by Lodi Union High Schoolers when the site was the East Campus. An inspection also found multiple stress fractures within the Gunite substrate, say city officials. So the city is going to fix the situation with a medium-term solution using a pressure epoxy injection to restore the integrity of the concrete shell and mitigate hydrostatic leakage. The cost is $40,000, but the Hutchins Street Square Foundation is paying for it with a donation to the city. “This project's proposed remediation serves as a medium-term structural solution until a comprehensive remodel and plaster resurfacing project can be phased into the Capital Improvement Plan,” says Christina Jaromay, parks, rec and cultural services chief. The indoor pool was built in about 1923 along with the school's science building, auto shop, and auditorium.

The painted pianos are back, which means downtown Lodi is once again one surprise singalong away from becoming an outdoor recital hall. You may have spotted a few of them around town in recent years. The project is a collaboration between the Lodi Arts Commission, Lodi Arts Foundation and Sayla Music Academy, pairing public art with the possibility that someone walking by suddenly decides they're this close to Carnegie Hall. City spokesperson Nancy Sarieh says the artists and locations change every year. Typically, four or five pianos are placed around town — one in front of the library, one downtown and the rest at various spots. The city is now establishing a Painted Pianos Capital Improvement Program with an initial cost of $6,000. Officially, it's a recurring public art initiative meant to enhance community spaces, support local artists and promote cultural engagement. Unofficially, it's a good way to make a sidewalk a lot more interesting. The Arts Commission has recommended formalizing the program through a dedicated capital improvement program.

There's electricity in the air, but it's not what you think. Lodi owns and operates its own electric utility. But should the city welcome an energy-hungry data center? That question is dividing the city council. Councilman Cameron Bregman says yes. Mayor Ramon Yepez and others say no. “A hyperscale data center is the wrong project for Lodi,” Yepez said. Residents have asked him the same question: Would it raise electric rates? “The honest answer is that it almost certainly would,” he said. Bregman argues the city is financially “at a crossroads” and should explore new revenue sources. He says he will not support a tax increase, but believes the city should at least study the feasibility of building a data center at White Slough. He says it could generate up to $20 million a year for Lodi's general fund, along with other benefits. Yepez, however, says a data center could consume as much electricity as the city produces and push rates even higher for residents. “That capacity belongs to Lodi's residents and to a diverse range of employers — not to a single tenant,” he said. Yepez does not want the city to spend any more resources studying the idea. Whatever happens, it promises to be controversial.

The results are in, and it’s Lodi by a mile. Two Lodi wines earned top honors at this year’s California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. Michael David Winery’s 2023 Inkblot

As Mai Vang seeks to unseat longtime U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, the Democratic challenger is facing criticism over her refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, a stance critics call

Many believe the city will be lighting a financial time bomb when the ribbon is cut for the new Lodi Access Center later this year. It will cost an estimated

Last week at Joe Serna Charter School (formerly Houston School) in Acampo, a scene straight out of a TV special played out in real life. Yessica Zorola, a service member deployed in Central America for the past nine months, hadn't seen her husband Joshua or their three kids in all that time — but that was about to change. Yessica slipped home late one evening and stayed hidden in a spare bedroom overnight so the kids wouldn't find out. The next morning, Joshua — also in the military — loaded the kids into the car and drove them to school as if it were any ordinary day. The school had an awards ceremony planned. The Zorola children were called to the front of the auditorium, unsuspecting. Then, right on cue, their mom stepped out from a back room. The reaction was everything you'd expect — hugs, tears, and the kind of joy that's hard to put into words. Family friend Shelby Tomek was there to capture every moment on video.

Nearly half of all traffic stops made by Lodi Police officers in 2025 involved Hispanic or Latino drivers, according to Cpt. Kevin Kent. That group accounted for 46.7% of stops,