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Making a point

About Town – FRIDAY, 2/20/26

Councilman Mikey Hothi was participating in a recent all-day meeting at Hutchins Street Square. Attendees included city staff, council members, and members of the business community. About an hour-and-a-half into the session a delivery guy shows up with a red bag. He scans the crowd of about 30 and says he has a delivery for Hothi. What? This never happens. Hothi accepts the delivery and opens it in front of everybody. This was no pizza. Inside the bag is $73 worth of THC edibles. Cannabis. Marijuana. Hothi placed the order while he was there and had it delivered to the meeting for a reason. He wanted to show that people who consume cannabis products can easily get it delivered to them in Lodi, a city which has banned dispensaries. Hothi says it was his way of demonstrating “how ridiculous it is not to have dispensaries in Lodi.” He flashes the receipt and the $6 sales tax, proving the city is missing out on a potential sales tax bonanza, possibly up to $1 million a year. Hothi has been a staunch advocate of allowing dispensaries to open in Lodi. In 2001 he proposed ending the moratorium, but the motion failed on a 3-2 council vote. He adds that crime has not increased in areas where dispensaries have opened in other cities, and says he plans to have the moratorium reconsidered at some point in the future.

UPDATE: The Sunset Theater auditorium is all but demolished, having come down one cement slab at a time. Next up, a crane will start taking down the old theater’s vertical sign, according to demo expert Marty Thorpe, whose company is doing the job. He says a crane will soon be deployed to lift the historic tower onto a flatbed truck to be hauled away for disposal. The recent rains have complicated the schedule, but when things dry out demolition will continue. Thorpe says he told nearby neighbors that if they heard a loud “bang” not to worry, they were safe. Some apparently misunderstood. When they heard the thunder of a wall coming down they thought Thorpe said to evacuate. A few called the city to ask where they should go.

LODI, FRANCE: This year’s Vinexpo Paris was held last week, and Lodi was there. Dave Phillips of Michael David Winery says, “Lodi vintners are hard at work selling our grapes to the world. Vinexpo Paris is the largest wine show in the world with 6,000 wineries from 55 nations. We held three master classes featuring Lodi wines and met with buyers from dozens of countries around the world.” Other local wineries represented include Klinker Brick, Oak Ridge, LangeTwins, St. Amant, and Ironstone. All this is good news in the midst of one of the deepest contractions the wine and grape industry has ever seen. Everywhere you look vineyards have been torn out, and some Lodi growers say there’s more set to come out. The wine glut is an international problem, with growers and wineries all adjusting supply to meet falling demand. Phillips said recently that he believes the industry has “turned the corner.”

SHOW BIZ: Social media accounts are reporting that Food Network star Guy Fieri was in Galt last week taping a segment of his show, “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.” Fans of the show say Fieri was at Spaan’s Cookie bakery in downtown Galt. Someone posted a snap of Fieri and his signature red Mustang outside the store as proof. Fieri was also said to be filming a segment at StreetZlan in Elk Grove last week. Several social media posters confirmed the reports, adding that Fieri was also doing a meet-and-greet in Elk Grove. The network star is best known for highlighting “mom and pop” restaurants and their specialties on his show. He’s reportedly built a culinary empire licensing his name to restaurants around the world in addition to co-owning several restaurants in California.

STILL TIME: You still have time to vote for Lodi in Parade Magazine’s “America’s Favorite Small Town” competition. As of this writing, Lodi is still at the top of the list, but that could change any day in this popularity contest, according to an email sent out by Visit Lodi. But who cares if Lodi is ranked #1? “If Lodi wins, it’s a huge national spotlight moment,” says the local tourist-promoting organization. “That kind of recognition helps more people discover Lodi, which supports local businesses, local jobs, and community pride. Think of it as a simple daily action with real ripple effects,” their email says. If you want to vote between now and Feb. 28, here’s the link: americasfavoritesmalltowns.parade.com.

FLASHBACK: When she was 10, Cindy Enze (Griffin) won four first place gold medals in swimming. When she was just 12, Cindy qualified for the Olympic Trials. She also won an all-expense-paid ticket to the National Junior Olympics that year. In 1972 she was a prospect for the 1972 U.S. Olympic team. Former Lodi Swim Club coach Gordon Collet spoke at the 1976 Lodi Sports Hall of Fame, saying, “I couldn’t help but have success with swimmers like Cindy,” who was one of the inductees that year. He called her “One of Lodi’s best distance swimmers.” Cindy narrowly missed a chance to qualify for the 1976 Summer Olympics. She undoubtedly spent countless hours swimming and training in Blakely Park’s Enze Pool, named after her swimming coach dad Mel Enze. Coach Collet also helped train another Lodi swimmer: Dan Christy, who got his feet wet at age 8. He started at Robby’s Olympic Club (now Twin Arbor), like many Lodi kids. At 14, Christy competed in the National Junior Olympics. He set a national record in the 100-meter butterfly, the first in his age group to break the one-minute barrier. At the Junior Olympics Christy earned a gold medal in the butterfly event. He earned All-American honors as a freshman at Lodi High. He also won a full-ride scholarship to UOP, where he continued his championship swimming. He was often compared to Olympic champion swimmer Mark Spitz. Christy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. At 68, Christy continues to swim competitively. He won gold in the 2019 and 2023 World Aquatics (Waterpolo) Masters Championships as a member of the Santa Barbara Silver Surfers team. Cindy and her husband John have been swim coaches since 1982. Christy coached Lodi High’s championship water polo team from 2018 – 2022. Lodi High’s new pool and aquatics center will soon be named after the Griffin and Christy families in a ceremony to be held next month.

LAST LAUGH: Someone posted, “The waitress asked a lady, ‘Would you like a drink?’ The lady said, ‘What are my options?’ The waitress replied, ‘Yes or no.’”

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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.