Partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.
Another year, another trophy. Lodi’s Kirk Wentland brought home the second place hardware for his 1948 Lincoln Continental at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance car show. It’s not only the third time Wentland’s been invited to display one of his cars at the exclusive event, but it’s the third time his car has won an award. Last year Wentland’s 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Brougham won 3rd place in its class. It also won the Federation International Vehicle Anciens (FIVA) Award for being the most well-preserved post-war vehicle at the show. Wentland and partner Larry Camuso own about 100 collector cars between them. … Lodi’s Wayne Craig runs the docent team during the show. He says of this year’s event, “Another year of unbelievably rare, beautiful and expensive classic, vintage” cars.
MOVING IN: It’s taken a loooong time, but the new “tiny homes” on Lodi Avenue at Washington Street will soon be occupied. “One family has already been approved, and there are three others in the queue,” says Community Development Director John Della Monica. He said he expects full occupancy within the next few weeks. These are the four small modular homes that were built to accommodate low-income individuals and families who qualify. The Harmony Homes project was the city’s first foray into tackling the growing homeless problem. It was funded by a $1.2 million state grant. The homes will house formerly homeless individuals who have been referred by local social service organizations. They will pay rent and be required to keep the property in “livable condition.” The program is intended to be transitional, giving people a place to stay as they get back on their feet, say city officials.
ON PATROL: The safety ambassadors, aka homeless patrol, have hit the streets and have begun patrolling the greater downtown area for about a month now. Their main purpose is to “keep the homeless from loitering in the downtown area and to make sure community members feel safe.” There are a total of nine paid ambassadors, plus a supervisor, who patrol the streets 24-by-7, according to Della Monica. He says the patrol is trained in CPR, pepper spray usage, and wayfinding—essentially a security escort for people who request it. Della Monica estimates the state-grant-funded program will cost about $200,000 per year, and the city has lined up two years’ worth of funding for it. The ambassadors work with Lodi police officers and attend their daily shift briefings, according to Della Monica. “It’s a really good marriage now” between police the ambassadors, he says.
UPDATES: Valvoline Instant Oil Change is going in next to the newly-opened America’s Tire store on Lower Sac in the Walmart center. The new shop will offer battery replacement, tire rotation, transmission service, and headlight and taillight replacement in addition to their drive-thru oil change service. … The Airport Café has reopened to rave reviews at Lodi Airport on Highway 99 at Jahant. … That’s the new Extended Stay Marriott Hotel going up in Reynolds Ranch, next to the Fairfield Inn, according to Reynolds Ranch developer Mike Carouba. Both hotels are owned by the Diede Construction folks. … The Bordeaux Inn, a bed and breakfast on Locust Street, is for sale for $1.2 million, according to a listing on the online real estate platform Zillow. The 4-bedroom, 5-bath house has been updated, restored and modernized over the years. For the past five years it has been a BnB owned and operated by Craig and Rebecca Forrest. An accomplished cook, Rebecca also gives cooking classes at the inn.
OPEN SOON?: It’s been months since Caltrans closed Victor Road over Highway 99 for major renovations. From the looks of it, the roadway may be ready to reopen soon. The Caltrans website is scant on detail as to when the work will be complete. Their original estimate was “spring 2022.”
The project called for raising the roadway over 99 to help prevent high profile vehicles from bonking the bridge, a common enough occurrence. Workers also removed the abandoned railroad bridge over the highway, next to Victor Road, which had become a landing pad for homeless campers. The project cost is $19.2 million, according to Caltrans. … The final burned-out building on Sacramento at Pine Streets has come down. Once the debris is cleared, the street should be completely reopened. That block of Sacramento Street has been down to one lane for months while crews finished tearing down the building that housed the tattoo parlor that was destroyed by fire two years ago.
ROUNDUP: Just like that, Alan Nakanishi will tie the record for longest-serving city councilman, even before one vote is cast. That’s the benefit of running unopposed. It was the same story four years ago. Both Nakanishi and Doug Kuehne ran unopposed in 2018. Mark Chandler had one opponent, Spencer Rhodes, whom he defeated, taking 63% of the votes. Nakanishi will tie the record held by James Pinkerton, who served five terms. If Nakanishi runs and wins again in four years, well, he’ll make history. … Candidate Lisa Craig has garnered the endorsement of Mayor Chandler, whose seat Craig wants to fill.
FLASHBACK: The drama began on a warm Wednesday morning in June, 1973 when 34-year-old plainclothes Lodi Police Officer John Martin knocked on the door of a house in the 700 block of South Pleasant Avenue. He was there to ask resident Karen Harper about checks that were involved in a burglary. Eventually, a young man answered the door. Harper soon joined him. While Martin was talking to her, the man left the room. Martin’s backup, Officer Larry Hansen, entered the house and Martin asked him to check on the male subject. Seconds later Martin heard someone yell, “Freeze! Freeze, or I’ll blow your head off!” Martin ran to the other room, gun drawn. The male subject had managed to take Hansen’s gun and was pointing it at Hansen’s chest, according to news reports at the time. The suspect got the upper hand and both Martin and Hansen were disarmed, handcuffed and forced to the floor by the male subject. By this time other officers were arriving, and the street was filling up with spectators. The suspect threatened to kill both Martin and Hansen if any “black-and-whites” came near, so they were called off. There was no SWAT Team in those days, so when the suspect and an accomplice took Martin hostage to ensure a safe escape, surrounding officers had to watch helplessly, according to press reports. “We went out, he had a gun to my head,” Martin later told reporters. The trio traveled north on Highway 99 to somewhere in Sacramento, where the vehicle pulled over and stopped. The suspects got out and left in another car, leaving Martin behind. Martin was able to get the blindfold partially off and crawl out of the car. The first person he saw was mailman Ed Pruitt, who helped Martin to a neighbor’s house where police were called. Martin was safe. Three suspects were apprehended later that day, including Louie Zairis, 20, Tommie Ray Johnson, 27, and Don Corder, 28. Zairis and Johnson were thought to be the ones who took Martin away as fellow officers looked on. After it was over, Hansen, who had been on the force for three years, remembered thinking, “This is it. I knew they were going to kill us.” Martin said he didn’t know why he and Hansen were attacked, saying, “I may have interrupted something. I don’t know.” Martin, now deceased, later retired as a captain and became chief of security for F&M Bank. Hansen would become Lodi Police Chief and, now retired, teaches college courses.
NO JOKE: Animal advocate Pat Sherman posted, “Extreme heat this weekend. If you’re walking your dog between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., please wear a fur coat and no shoes so you know how it feels.”
Steve is a former newspaper publisher and lifelong Lodian whose column appears most Tuesdays in the News-Sentinel. Write to Steve at aboutlodi@gmail.com.
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