It’s become a three-way race for Lodi City Council District 2.
Summer Pennino and Sandra Vargas have added their names to the list of contenders for the seat that Mayor Mark Chandler is vacating this fall. The pair will join Lisa Craig, who has already indicated her intention to run.
Summer is the daughter of former mayor and councilman Phil Pennino, who served for three terms. She was a White House intern in 2003 for President George W. Bush, the administrative assistant to then-San Joaquin County Supervisor Carlos Villapudua (now a state Assembly member), a casting coordinator for “The Voice” TV show, and political affairs consultant for Electric Vehicles International, LLC.
Sandra Vargas will be appointed to the Lodi Improvement Committee tomorrow night, is a volunteer for the Breakthrough Project for Social Justice, a member of the Soroptimist Club, and works at Central Valley Arts and Culture, a multicultural performing dance club, according to her Facebook page.
Alan Nakanishi in District 1 and Doug Kuehne in District 3 are thus far unopposed. However, Kuehne is also vying for a seat on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. If he makes it into the General Election this fall, he will have to vacate his council seat, regardless of how he fares in November.
Filing period for Lodi City Council opens in July.
Congrats
Susan Tipton has received the 2022 Best Woman Winemaker award at the prestigious International Women’s Wine Competition. Susan is the owner and winemaker at Acquiesce Winery in Lockeford. The competition is judged by women in the wine industry. …
Jake Barngraff and his team, better known as Beards BBQ, won the seventh annual Rib Cook-off at Wilson Family Winery on Sunday. They took home the trophy last year, as well. The People’s Choice award went to John Grindrod and Perry Morris, better known as Lords of the Smoke Rings.
New holiday
Juneteenth may soon become a new paid holiday for Lodi city employees. The new holiday is part of a negotiated pay package for police officers being presented to the city council for approval tomorrow night.
There’s no guarantee other bargaining units will get the additional paid holiday, and city officials won’t comment on the matter while contract talks are ongoing.
Juneteenth, typically celebrated on June 19, is a new federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of African-American slaves.
Going up
Construction of the new Firefighter Memorial has started in front of Station 1 on Elm Street. Groundbreaking was May 17. The memorial will include a bronze statue, flagpole, and plaques memorializing firefighters.
Most of the cost for the memorial has been raised through donations, including a $25,000 gift from Bob and Anna Morgan. The Arts in Public Places fund also contributed $15k to the project.
Good deeds indeed
A while back, I wrote about the Fairy Yardmothers. It’s a free service to seniors that includes yard maintenance for those who are unable to do it themselves because of age, disability or illness, and who cannot afford to hire a professional. The work is done by volunteers.
Rick Freedman is the coordinator, and he says the program has already served some 15 to 20 clients, despite keeping a low profile. He says he has sufficient volunteers lined up and is ready to serve more qualified clients.
Additional info is on their website, yardmothers.wixsite.com/website.
Almost famous
Lodi Police School Resource Officer Brannon Haro loves his job, but his real passion is hunting. So much so that he started filming his hunts a few years back and now they’re being featured on “The Woodsman” program. The show is only available online and is similar to a YouTube channel. The program is hosted by Jeff Danker, who also hosts the TV show “Buckventures.”
Haro says he grew to love hunting, which he does mostly with a bow, on his parents’ property in Arkansas. He spends every October hunting and filming his hunts on property he owns there.
Haro says he uses GoPro cameras to capture the hunt and the kill. He then submits his footage to the program staff for editing.
“The Woodsman” is in its fourth season.
Haro says he’ll start filming for season 5 this October when he returns to the Arkansas woods. He says he doesn’t get paid in cash for his efforts, but he and the 100 other program “pro staff” receive deep discounts on sponsor products.
Haro has been with Lodi PD for 14 years and is currently a school resource officer at Lodi High.
Flashback
He’d hoped it would be the road to the White House, but it turned out to be a road to eternity for Robert Kennedy, who made a whistle stop in Lodi on May 29, 1968 — 54 years ago — on his way to Los Angeles. His wife Ethel was by his side as he addressed the cheering crowd of about 2,000 local citizens, who turned out that spring day to hear the young senator stump for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He spoke from the caboose of the train, telling people his views on the Vietnam War, his concern for farmworkers, and his desire to see the voting age cut to 18 years old. He also anticipated his upcoming debate with Sen. Eugene McCarthy, and, hopefully, Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
The enthusiastic crowd began gathering at 5 that evening and as Kennedy’s train pulled into the Lodi depot, men, women and children surged across the tracks to greet the famous candidate. A daring few were perched on the roof of the depot building, hoping for a better view.
A box of Lodi cherries was presented to Kennedy by Linda Ehrhardt, a member of the Delta College Democrats. Kennedy playfully chided his Republican opponents for not also making a campaign stop in Lodi.
“Obviously they haven’t heard about your Lodi brandy,” he said.
Someone from the crowd asked Kennedy if he supported guaranteed incomes (he did not); interestingly, a topic of discussion nowadays. As his train pulled slowly away from the station, Kennedy and his wife leaned from the platform, shaking hands and smiling as the band played and the crowd rushed after them.
Five days later Kennedy would be gunned down after claiming victory in the California primary.
Remembrance
We note the recent passing of well-known landscaper Dana Smith, who died last week at age 64. Smith was considered an artist by the many who employed his services. He transformed blah backyards into gorgeous works of art. Space was his canvas, and cement, vegetation, water features and color were his paints.
Smith was the son of Kris Cromwell, who together with her son Del, transformed the Alice Towne estate into the Wine and Roses hotel and spa. …
As Americans everywhere celebrated Memorial Day yesterday, visiting the gravesites of brave warriors who gave their lives for our country, it’s worth noting those who perished at sea. And were buried at sea. There’s no gravesite, no headstone, no memorial under which their bodies lie. But their losses are no less important or painful as we reflect upon our freedoms which cost them their lives.
Not funny
In my “Last Laugh” item last week I highlighted the cost to fill up a lawnmower with gasoline ($20).
Local doctor Jack Gilliland writes about remembering when gas cost 15 cents a gallon: “I remember 50 years ago. (I went) to fill my diesel tractor — 15 gallons at 15 cents/gallon, about $2.50. Five days ago, 15 gallons to fill the same tractor cost $93!! Times are a-changing.”
Yes, indeed.
Steve Mann is a former newspaper publisher and lifelong Lodian whose column appears most Tuesdays in the News-Sentinel. Write to Steve at aboutlodi@gmail.com.
