'Big' News

The latest weights and measures

About Town – FRIDAY, 3/27/26

An Ozempic moment: a recently-released report by online personal finance platform WalletHub claims, “Americans are some of the most overweight people in the world,” offering a list of the top 100 most obese cities in the U.S. Fortunately, Lodi wasn’t on the list. But before you celebrate with pizza, check this out: almost 35% of Lodians are considered obese, according to Google’s open-knowledge repository Data Commons. As shocking as this statistic may be, Lodi is not considered one of the “top” obese cities in California, according to the data. Then, who, pray tell, is the fattest of them all? Riverside takes home the carrot cake, ranking first in California and 38^th nationally for obese cities, according to WalletHub. On the other hand, San Joaquin County tips the scale at 33% obesity, making it the 15^th most obese among California’s 58 counties—comfortably above average but not quite Olympic-level. And it’s not just the grown-ups—about 43% of kids in grades 5, 7, and 9 in San Joaquin County are also carrying a little extra “homework,” according to a 2022 published report.

LET THERE BE LIGHT: The Lodi Electric Utility Streetlight Division saved the day recently when Lodi Police were notified of damage and theft at the softball complex on North Stockton Street. Electricians Wade Hufford and Norm Cassin came to the rescue, assessed the damage, and sprang into action. Repairs were done quickly as games were scheduled to be played in the complex that evening. Hufford and Cassin got the lights working in time for the games to begin on time.

LIGHT YEARS AHEAD: There has always been a heated debate about which power company has higher rates: PG%E or Lodi Electric? Well, the data is in and