When I wrote this little piece about Gerlach, the remote Nevada town named for a Stockton man, I wondered if any of Louis Gerlach’s descendants still live hereabouts. They do. “Louis Gerlach’s was my great-great grandfather,” writes Fred Sanderson. “Just wanted you to know that two of his descendants (me and my dad) still live in [...]
Douglas Voyer comments on the column about the fatal bank heist: “Bank policy when a robbery takes place is to sound the alarm after the robbers have left, thereby protecting customers and employees from being taken as hostage. The guard at the bank didn’t do this. He sounded the alarm in panic while the robbers were still [...]
A street person rummages in a garbage can in this multimedia work by Jeff Ryan. A former city parks worker, Ryan saw and got to know a lot of street people. He’s turned his observations into art. Ryan will exhibit his works at the San Joaquin County Administration Building, 44 N. San Joaquin Street, from [...]
The re-do by San Joaquin Supervisors to affirm they will pass over Supervisor Carlos Villapudua for board chair in favor of Kathy Miller, although it was Villapudua’s turn in the rotation, is an unfortunate lapse in the board’s collegiality — but what do you expect? Villapudua brought it on himself. And political consultant N. Allen [...]
A case going through the courts in Arizona may spell doom for California’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission, KQED reports. That’s bad news for Stockton. When politicians drew political maps, Stockton and San Joaquin County were so badly gerrymandered for a decade or more than they literally were the poster child for gerrymandering. You looked up [...]
You read it here first — if, that is, you can read the “confession” on a football left for me in the newspaper’s lobby. “To Mike,” it says. “It was Me! I confess I let the air & the dog out!! “HaHa LOL Andy.”
Having quaffed the bitter vetch of bankruptcy, some Stocktonians, like me, take a morbid interest in other cities sinking deeper into debt. Today’s poster child: Sacramento. The largest unfunded liability sending Stockton into Chapter 9, retiree healthy care, was $545 million. As the Sacramento Bee editorializes here, Sacramento’s unfunded liabilities are $2.3 billion. Naturally, “More [...]
When deciphering the notes on John Muir’s journal #50, one that took some guesswork was a reference to the “B.O. Stage Wed Fri & Sunday.” I guessed — and a couple historians agreed — “the B.O. Stage” was the Big Oak Flat stage. Here’s a Yardley drawing of it. Of course, “The B.O. Stage” could [...]
This weekend story perfectly captures downtown Stockton circa early 2015 — and the fate of urban pioneers. An attorney who moved his offices downtown has suffered thieves, burglars, taggers, substance-abusing street gamblers and urinators. “It’s never easy for the earliest pioneers,” Cindi Fargo, the head of the Downtown Alliance, is quoted saying. “They’re beyond the [...]
Bill Wadsworth writes: “My cousin Neil Lark, a retired UOP professor in Stockton, forwarded me your column about transcribing a page of Muir’s journal. It describes perfectly the fun of doing this. I’ve transcribed all of journal 58 which was the first of three for his trip with many famous scientists, naturalists, and others on [...]
Related Content