Recognitions and proclamations

By Zachary Johnson | Published: May 1, 2013 | 2 Comments

Tuesday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors started with a blitz of presentations.

May 8 was declared the “Day of the Teacher,” and May 10 was “Child Care Provider Appreciation Day.” The week started on May 19 w was declared “Delta Appreciation Week.” The whole month of April was “Autism Awareness Month” and May is “Water Awareness Month.” The proclamations drew some of the child-care providers, teachers,  Delta advocates and those working with people with autism to the Board Chambers to be recognized, as well.

Also there was Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, who recognized three top officials who said “goodbye” to the county this year. They are former Supervisor Leroy Ornellas, former County Administrator Manuel Lopez and former Clerk of the Board Lois Sahyoun.

Here’s a photo with Denham, the honorees and the board:

Posted in Supervisors | Leave a comment

Ads and updates

By Zachary Johnson | Published: May 1, 2013 | 2 Comments

The county is in contract talks, again, this year with various labor groups, including Service Employees International Union Local 1021. It represents the largest bargaining group of county employees.

Last week, the union put out notice that local businesses could get some free ad space in the weekly updates on those talks. Here’s the announcement:

Stockton, CA — Local 1021 of the Service Employees International Union has begun offering free coupon advertising to local small businesses in its weekly email newsletter to SEIU members throughout San Joaquin County. You read that correctly: free advertising for small businesses.

The e-newsletter, entitled “CAT Calls,” is published every Monday and contains bargaining updates and other information useful to members. Local 1021 represents more than 5,000 San Joaquin County employees, who are currently in contract negotiations with the county. (CAT is an acronym for Contract Action Team.)

“The purpose of the coupons is to support our local shopkeepers and show that we appreciate their support too,” said Bill Petrone, field director for Local 1021 in Stockton. “It’s one way that we can help build our community in both spirit and substance during these economically tough times.”

A new coupon appears each week in CAT Calls. Coupons are valid for 60 days unless a business requests otherwise. A typical coupon offers a discount or something free with a purchase.

To advertise in CAT Calls, contact:

Bill Petrone, 209-663-7087 or bill.petrone@seiu1021.org

Posted in Employees, SEIU | Leave a comment

Marijuana at supes meeting?

By Zachary Johnson | Published: April 16, 2013 | 2 Comments

Larry Teunissen has been a regular at the public comment period at meetings of the Board of Supervisors. His friend has been missing for more than 30 years, and Teunissen has some theories about what has happened to him.

Today, Teunissen tried a different approach to try and get the supervisors’ attention, starting out with giving them pointers on how to relax. “What I do before I go to bed at night, I take me a couple puffs off my cigarette,” he said. “It helps me sleep.”

Then he raised his hand and said: “I brought you a little pot. I hope that’s okay”

From my vantage point, I couldn’t see exactly what he had in his hand.

“I’m just here to liven things up. Loosen up a little bit,” he said. “You guys are sitting on a hot plate, not me.” He kept whatever he had when he left. “That pot thing got you, didn’t it.”

Antics aside, Teunissen’s friend is really missing. His name is Steve Mark Dadasovich. He’s considered a missing person by both the state Department of Justice and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office. A photo and his description can be found here and here.

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Woodbridge Wilderness Area back on agenda

By Zachary Johnson | Published: March 10, 2013 | 1 Comment

The San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a proposal that would keep the Woodbridge Wilderness Area open to the public two weekends a month.
The park is currently opened the first and third weekends of the month with help from volunteers from the Friends of the Woodbridge Wilderness areas.
Volunteers have pushed to open the park more often, and some neighbors are concerned that would cause problems.
In January, the county parks advisory board endorsed the idea of keeping the wilderness area open every weekend. Here’s a link to the story.
The Board of Supervisors will consider the twice-a-month staff recommendation at its regular meeting Tuesday, Board Chambers, Sixth Floor, County Administration Building, 44 N. San Joaquin Street, Stockton.

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More context for San Joaquin General future

By Zachary Johnson | Published: February 25, 2013 | 2 Comments

San Joaquin General Hospital has been under a slow transformation over the past few years, and this year will be the time for significant developments set in motion when the transformation started.

But all this is not happening in a vacuum. The county hospital is just one piece of the network of health care in San Joaquin County. The local impact of national health-care reform is still being determined. But there will be tens of thousands of poor and low-income county residents without health insurance who could find themselves insured.

And there are changes unique to San Joaquin County, starting with the opening of a prison hospital later this year to plans to build new medical facilities for veterans. Record health care reporter Joe Goldeen provides a snapshot of the changes in the local health-care industry in this story that ran over the weekend.

 

 

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Councilwoman considering run for supes

By Zachary Johnson | Published: February 4, 2013 | 3 Comments

City Hall reporter Scott Smith reported today that Councilwoman Kathy Miller is exploring a run for the District 2 seat on the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors.

Former council members do often run for the board.  The seat is currently held by Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller, himself a former City Council member, elected in 1996 and 2000. Supervisor Steve Bestolarides was elected to the District 3 seat of the Board of Supervisors midway through his second term on the council. He replaced another former council member, Victor Mow. Current Supervisor Bob Elliott was elected to Tracy City Council in 2010 before running for supervisor last year.

Ruhstaller and board Chairman Ken Vogel both term out in two years. Attorney Doug Goss has said he planned to run for Vogel’s seat. He represents District 4, which includes Lodi and much of the county’s rural area.

Posted in Bestolarides, District 2, District 4, Elections, Elliott, Ruhstaller, Supervisors, Vogel | Leave a comment

More on the year to come

By Zachary Johnson | Published: January 28, 2013 | 2 Comments

San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ken Vogel was on Comcast Newsmakers, talking about the year to come in the county. You can watch the video here.

Vogel talks about the ongoing challenges of jail capacity, new county responsibilities handling criminals and the county’s perspective on the state of the Delta. He also said that even an increase in revenue won’t mean the county won’t face challenges this years. More money doesn’t necessarily mean fewer problems, he said.

 

Posted in Budget, Crime and justice, Delta, Supervisors, Vogel, Water | Leave a comment

Record’s editorial board on benefits

By Zachary Johnson | Published: January 23, 2013 | 2 Comments

The Record’s editorial board weighed on the the health benefits received by the San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District. The trustees reaffirmed the benefits at their last meeting.

The San Joaquin County Taxpayer’s Association has had a vector in its bonnet about the benefits since last year. The district has defended the benefits, pointing to other government bodies where board receive benefits and noting that responsibilities and duties of the Mosquito Control District board can go well beyond attending the once-a-month meetings.

Posted in Mosquito and Vector Control, Special Districts | Leave a comment

Blog: I-5 widening not worth the money

By Zachary Johnson | Published: January 22, 2013 | 3 Comments

Stockton City Limits has a post today about the on going construction on Interstate 5 through Stockton. Though the blog’s author David Garcia supports improving the surfaces, he says the congestion relief provided by the new lane would eventually be lost because of something called “induced demand.”

He writes:

“The concept of induced demand is simple: when you supply more of a good, more people will consume it. There may be no better example of induced demand than traffic. As more lanes open up on a highway, more people start using those lanes, meaning more people overall are driving, eventually leading to even more congestion. This specific phenomenon is known as ‘induced traffic.’”

He goes on to site research looking at induced traffic.

Posted in Transportation | Leave a comment

Plea for documents in recovery of serial-killers’ victims’ remains

By Zachary Johnson | Published: January 16, 2013 | 3 Comments

A crew from CBS13 were at the Tuesday meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Reporter Laura Cole talked to board members during the public comment portion of the meeting, asking for them to push for the release of documents related to the case of killers Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog. With them was Michelle Loftis, sister of victim JoAnn Hobson. Hobson’s remains were removed from a well in Linden last year.

Hobson’s family has been critical of the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office’s handling of the recovery effort. Tests of the skeletal remains returned to Hobson’s family found there were mingled with remains from other victims. On Tuesday, Cole was asking for the release of information from the Sheriff’s Office, including emails and an anthropologist’s report on the remains.

Here’s a link to the CBS report.

Posted in Crime and justice, Supervisors, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

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    Zachary Johnson

    Zachary Johnson has been with The Record since 2005, when he began as an intern fresh out of grad school. He stayed on at the paper and covered education for the next two years. Now he covers, among other things, San Joaquin County Government and ... Read Full
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