Car Stop Stats
LPD stops in line with population
About Town – FRIDAY, 6/5/26
Nearly half of all traffic stops made by Lodi Police officers in 2025 involved Hispanic or Latino drivers, according to Cpt. Kevin Kent. That group accounted for 46.7% of stops, followed by White drivers at 36.6%, Middle Eastern/South Asian at 8.3%, Black or African American at 4.7%, Asian at 3.1%, Pacific Islander at 0.5%, Multiracial at 0.4%, and Native American at 0.0%. Kent says the numbers hold up when measured against the city’s actual demographics. “We are within 6% of our city’s ethnic distribution,” he noted. For context, Lodi’s population is approximately 42.3% White, 41.3% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 4.2% Multiracial, 1.1% Black or African American, and 1.0% Native American and other. Kent also pointed to a couple of notable findings within the arrest data. Asian residents were stopped and arrested at a rate about 10% below their share of the total population, while White residents were arrested on warrants at a rate roughly 11% above their population share. The data is part of ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies statewide to track and report traffic stop demographics — a requirement under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act, which mandates transparency around how officers are stopping people on the road.
NEW OWNERS: After nearly 46 years behind the counter, Rick and Sue Calder have passed the torch at Rick’s Pizza — and they didn’t have to look far for the right hands to take it. The couple, who opened the Lakewood Mall pizzeria on December 4, 1980, have handed the business over to two of their children, Michelle and Nick, who say they are honored to carry on what their parents built over nearly half a century. And what Rick and Sue built, by most accounts, was something well beyond a restaurant. The family’s social media announcement put it this way: over 45 years, the couple created a second home for the community — a place filled with love, laughter, celebrations, fundraisers, late nights, and friendships that lasted a lifetime. Employees became family. Customers became friends. “Thank you to every customer, employee, friend, and family member who made Rick’s Pizza what it is today,” the announcement read. “Your support and shared memories made this dream possible.” For a lot of Lodi residents, Rick’s Pizza isn’t just a place to eat. It’s a place that’s been there for birthdays, graduations, little league parties, and everything in between. Now it’s Michelle and Nick’s turn to keep that going.
CELEBRATION: Aubrey Murray has officially entered her teenage years, and her grandparents couldn’t be more excited about it. Grandma Judy had been wracking her brain trying to come up with the perfect birthday gift for the newly minted 13-year-old. Then it hit her. Whenever Aubrey visits, she always picks up the News-Sentinel and digs right in. So the answer was right there all along. Aubrey is now the proud owner of a one-year subscription to the Lodi News-Sentinel, a gift from Grammie and Pop. We’re glad to have you as a reader — and we’re a little curious which column is your favorite?
COURT REPORT: With former city manager Scott Carney now suing the city to get requested financial documents, it echoes the trouble others, including the News-Sentinel, have had getting records under the Public Records Act. Initial requests were made shortly after Carney was sent home on paid leave a year ago. So far, the city has only dribbled out selected documents in response to legal requests. It’s unclear if the city’s slow fulfillment of legitimate documents requests will extend the time Carney has to sue the city over “whistleblower” claims. A claimant normally has six months after the rejection of a claim to file suit, and it has been longer than that. You’ll recall Carney made claims of credit card fraud by city employees, including allegations against former city attorney Katie Lucchesi, who is now employed by the city of Turlock. At least two audits have found no fraud or attempted fraud. The latest regular certified audit conducted by outside auditors gave the city a clean bill of health.
QUESTION: Whatever happened to the new medical center that was planned for West Lane between Armstrong and Eight Mile? The proposal was made about seven years ago but nary a shovel of dirt has yet been turned. The Board of Supervisors approved the site development agreement and environmental impact report in 2022. Gill Women’s Medical Center would be a 42.4-acre health complex built on the east side of West Lane and 450 feet north of Eight Mile Road. Calls to Drs. Param and Jasbir Gill have not been returned. Doctors Gill argued the need for more medical facilities in the area, especially for women’s services. But some farmers in the area were opposed to the idea. Liz Nicolini told the Board of Supes in 2024, “The majority of residents in this neighborhood don’t want this project,” she said. “We voted you in to represent us, and that’s what we expect you to do. Not one of you approached us and asked us what we wanted. We never received a survey or opinion poll.” The project was supposed to begin in 2024. If it ever happens, the project would be built in two phases, with the first to include a 36,000-square-foot single story hospital with 12 beds, an emergency room, labor and delivery units, emergent medicine department and outpatient surgery services, according to News-Sentinel archives.
LOOKIN’ GOOD: Budget season is underway in Lodi, and the city has been taking notes. The city invited residents to weigh in on the upcoming fiscal year budget — which kicks off July 1 — through its official website. The response was modest but telling: 2,236 people visited the page, and 130 took the time to submit comments or work through a simulated budget exercise. The results showed some clear priorities. Residents who participated favored cutting the police budget by $1.5 million while directing more money toward the fire department and street repair. The Internal Services and Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services departments were also tagged for reductions in the citizen-submitted plans. The individual comments were equally candid. One resident proposed capping retirement benefit payouts for employees earning over $100,000, limiting those benefits to what a $100,000-a-year employee would receive. Another called for a real-time information center for the Lodi Police Department, noting that even Galt has one. A third kept it simple: “Our streets look terrible. Please fix them.” Not everyone wanted to gouge the police budget. One commenter pushed for hiring more officers using Measure L funds. Others raised questions about continued spending on downtown redevelopment, and one resident suggested the city consider contracting out park maintenance during staff shortages rather than leaving work undone. Whether any of it moves the needle remains to be seen, but city leaders now have a clearer picture of where at least some residents stand.
LAST LAUGH: Someone posted, “My therapist suggested I get a support animal. So I got a chicken. Deep fried, with a milkshake. Feeling better now.”
---------------------------------
Steve is a former newspaper publisher and lifelong Lodian whose column appears most Tuesdays and Fridays in the News-Sentinel and at stevemann.substack.com. Write to Steve at aboutlodi@gmail.com.