Lodi

For a writing project, I am seeking information about the city of Lodi--its history, its idiosyncrasies, its people--and particularly information about the city's minor league baseball history. JIM ALEXANDER 947 Paularino Ave. Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626

2009 Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon Remove the price tag before you pour this wine: Nobody is going to believe this isn't a Cabernet in the high $20s or $30s, instead of one for $10. OK, that's a bit more than Two-Buck Chuck. But taste this one. It has the requisite deep garnet color and a lovely scent of cherries, blackberries and coffee. It's smooth and round in the mouth, tannins tucked in and soft, a lilting acidity. Leese-Fitch is a label named for the 1836 Leese-Fitch adobe in Sonoma.

Small cities in California are facing high unemployment, drained treasuries and now what some residents see as an assault on the only sacred moment in municipal affairs: the invocation at the start of city council meetings. Turlock, Tracy, Tehachapi, Lancaster -- all have been threatened in the last few months with lawsuits claiming that prayer at meetings breaches the wall between church and state. Nowhere has the ensuing debate played out more dramatically than in Lodi, where, after a tumultuous five-hour meeting this week, the City Council voted not only to continue invocations but also to allow phrases such as "in Jesus' name."

While preparing for a busy Friday-night dinner service, Ruben Larrazolo, owner of Alebrijes Mexican Bistro in Lodi, told his Facebook friends to guess what the evening's special would be. He updated with hints as the dish came together, posting photos online of shucked corn, tomatoes, jalapenos and radishes. By the time the pan-seared red snapper fillet over corn cream sauce emerged, several customers were hooked, announcing on the social networking site that they planned to eventually dine at Alebrijes.

2009 Leese-Fitch Cabernet Sauvignon Remove the price tag before you pour this wine: Nobody is going to believe this isn't a Cabernet in the high $20s or $30s, instead of one for $10. OK, that's a bit more than Two-Buck Chuck. But taste this one. It has the requisite deep garnet color and a lovely scent of cherries, blackberries and coffee. It's smooth and round in the mouth, tannins tucked in and soft, a lilting acidity. Leese-Fitch is a label named for the 1836 Leese-Fitch adobe in Sonoma.

Re "Sighting of Terrorist in Lodi Questioned," March 15 The terrorism trial in Lodi, Calif., is a textbook lesson on why secret and indefinite detention by the Bush administration is an affront to justice. Officials may lock up a person in the honest belief that the accused is a threat. However, as the Lodi case shows, that belief may be based on information provided through malice, greed or simple error. Only a public trial with adequate counsel can guarantee justice is done and only actual threats to our country are dealt with.

Re "Wedge Out Immigrant-Bashing," Commentary, March 20: I am offended by the suggestion that immigrant-bashing goes on in America. Of course, in a nation of 290 million, isolated incidents are possible. In my adult education ESL classroom in Lodi, we have students from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. They are treated by teachers and school administrators as graciously today as they were prior to 9/11. Joe Guzzardi Lodi, Calif.

Fountain Valley's Batbusters lost two games and finished in fifth place in the Amateur Softball Assn. national 18-and-under girls' softball tournament Sunday in Lodi. Sunday morning in a winners'-bracket quarterfinal game, the Ball Hawks of Northridge defeated the Batbusters, 3-2. Later, in the semifinals of the losers' bracket, the Twin Creeks (Calif.) Diamonds beat the Batbusters, 3-2.

A former police chief in Placerville and Willits has been convicted of misdemeanor manslaughter in connection with the traffic death of a Stockton woman nearly six years ago. A San Joaquin County Superior Court jury found George W. Koehler guilty of the death of Jolletta Ann Bryant, 28, along California 99 at Lodi on Nov. 22, 1980. Koehler had been charged with felony counts of manslaughter and hit-run driving. The jury found him innocent of the hit-run count.

Frieda Folsoms had pretty much forgotten about the $500 she lost when her purse was stolen in 1963. At least until last week, when an envelope apparently sent by the thief arrived at her door. "I'm just happy to get the money back," said Folsoms, 78. "Now, I'm going shopping. " The money was sent in a Pacific Gas & Electric payment envelope addressed to Folsoms, but because it was imprinted with a mailing bar code, it was automatically routed to the company's payment office in West Sacramento.

Small cities in California are facing high unemployment, drained treasuries and now what some residents see as an assault on the only sacred moment in municipal affairs: the invocation at the start of city council meetings. Turlock, Tracy, Tehachapi, Lancaster -- all have been threatened in the last few months with lawsuits claiming that prayer at meetings breaches the wall between church and state. Nowhere has the ensuing debate played out more dramatically than in Lodi, where, after a tumultuous five-hour meeting this week, the City Council voted not only to continue invocations but also to allow phrases such as "in Jesus' name."

The FAA is investigating an accident that killed two sky divers near Lodi as they practiced a maneuver for a national competition next month. Robert Bigley, 32, of Redwood City, Calif., and Barbara Cuddy, 48, of Carson City, Nev., fell to their deaths Sunday, according to San Joaquin County authorities. Their parachutes became entangled at an altitude of about 6,000 feet as they worked with six other team members on a tight formation called "the wedge," said Bill Dause, owner of the Parachute Center in Acampo.

A Lodi woman pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that she assisted in the suicide of her brother, a blues guitarist who was well-known in the Central Valley. Jimmy Hartley, 45, had been crippled by a series of strokes and other health problems. In constant pain, he had pleaded with his sister for help in killing himself for nearly a year, according to Randy Thomas, June Hartley's attorney.

SACRAMENTO -- A federal judge here Monday sentenced Hamid Hayat to 24 years in prison for attending a terrorism training camp in Pakistan, returning to the U.S. to commit violent jihad and then lying about it to the FBI. U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell's ruling comes more than two years after FBI agents arrested Hayat, spawning a case prosecutors say has helped discourage would-be terrorists but that Muslim activists call a gross injustice against an innocent man.

Toxic mold growing in every classroom building at Tokay High School has forced the start of school to be delayed for several weeks and may cost millions to clean up. "Every classroom building has it in one shape or form," said Lodi Unified School District Supt. Bill Huyett. Huyett said he could not estimate how much the mold eradication will cost, but it was expected to add millions of dollars to a planned $8-million modernization project that had just begun when the mold was discovered.

James Cameron couldn't have scripted it better, the way 76-year-old Wanda Woock, grande dame of the Lodi wine country, pointed a finger at her gold brooch and then at a photograph of the very same brooch a hundred years back, glinting like pure Hollywood magic on a young woman's lace collar. Peering out from a gilt frame on the wall of the rustic tasting room at Jessie's Grove Winery, the young woman looked familiar. So I asked: "Is that you, by any chance?"

Greg Bishop, a University of Pacific tackle, became so bored watching the NFL draft at his parent's home in Lodi on Sunday, he fell asleep. Shortly after he woke up, he heard screaming coming from downstairs, where his father and sister were watching television. "Greg, get down here . . . you've just been drafted," shouted his father, Larry. Bishop's name had just flashed on the screen as the 93rd pick, to the New York Giants in the fourth round.

Reliever Mike Corral threw three shutout innings, allowing just two hits, and Camarillo defeated Lodi, 11-1, in eight innings on the 10-run mercy rule Sunday in a winner's bracket game of the American Legion state baseball championships at Yountville, Calif. Corral, who beat San Jose in relief Saturday, relieved starter Richard Soliz (11-0), who allowed four hits, walked three and struck out three. Meanwhile, Camarillo's offense was in full swing.

A Humboldt County woman was shot to death Tuesday, just days after police mistakenly believed she was taken hostage by her boyfriend. Jennifer Buschell, 30, of Redway was found with several gunshot wounds to her upper body around 1 a.m. at a gas station west of Lodi and was taken to the hospital, where she died, said San Joaquin County sheriff's spokesman Les Garcia.

Federal prosecutors Wednesday agreed to drop terrorism-related charges against Lodi ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat in exchange for a guilty plea in a 2003 customs case. Hayat, 48, who spent nearly a year in jail and under house arrest on the charges, was released for time served. Six weeks ago, a hopelessly split jury failed to reach a verdict in his case. "This outcome, of course, was not the one most desired by the government," said U.S. Atty. McGregor Scott.