As a staff writer for the Lodi News-Sentinel and Earth.com, I write about history, entertainment, the environment, pets, and other topics. I also write speculative fiction.
"Go For Broke": The Story Behind the Most Decorated Military Unit in U.S. History
In 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain Steve Rogers single-handedly frees captured Allied soldiers from a Nazi base. "What, are we taking everybody?" one soldier asks, referring to another soldier who appears to be Japanese. "I’m from Fresno," the soldier retorts.
The scene was a hat tip to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Japanese-American regiment that, during World War II, became the most decorated unit in U.S. history—a distinction it still holds. Members of the 442...
Study peeks into the inner lives of Trinidad guppies
It sounds like a plot for the next sequel to “Finding Nemo” – scientists stressing out tropical fish to better analyze their inner lives.
It’s not the next Pixar project, though. Scientists from the University of Exeter have been studying guppies, and found that individual fish seem to have unique and complex personalities.
The finding wasn’t actually the initial goal of the study. Instead, they only wanted to see how risk-averse or risk-prone individual guppies were.
“The idea of a simple sp...
Lodi Ukulele Club brings happy music to Lodi
“It just makes me feel really good. It’s a happy instrument,” Roxane Willis said. That may be part of what draws about 20 players — including Willis — together for meetings of the Lodi Ukulele Club each month.
Hurricane Harvey slams Texas, with more rain on the way
Hurricane Harvey brought biblical rain and flooding to southeastern Texas this past weekend, and it seems to be settling in for a while. The catastrophic flooding is already the worst in the area’s recorded history, news outlets reported on Sunday.
Kansas carries on with Leftoverture Tour
A little over 40 years ago, Kansas released their album “Leftoverture,” and with it one of the most iconic songs in rock — “Carry On Wayward Son." Back then, Ronnie Platt hadn’t yet become the band’s lead singer — that came three years ago — but he was definitely a fan. “That was one of those albums that, when I bought it, the needle was never lifted off the record,” he said. “
Yes Featuring ARW to kick off North American tour in Stockton
When asked if the founders of Yes had expected the band to still be going strong almost 50 years after its formation in 1968, Jon Anderson was quick to answer. “Oh yeah,” he said casually — and then he laughed. “No! ... Any band you start, you give it a couple or three years.”
Lodi Rocks! group spreads kindness, inspiration one rock at a time
If you haven't seen one of the brightly painted rocks in Lodi yet, don't worry. The Lodi Rocks! group is hard at work to ensure there are plenty of the "kindness rocks" to go around.
Jazz artists Martinez, Hardiman bring collaboration to Wine and Roses
Rebecca Hardiman is known in Portland for her smooth vocals. Jim Martinez has played jazzy tunes on the piano in Sacramento and all over Northern California. Years ago, the two may never have stumbled across each other, but in the age of the Internet, they did - and it's spawned a collaboration that is coming to Lodi's Wine and Roses on Wednesday.
Lodi veteran returns To Vietnam
The first time Mel Potter went to Vietnam, he was a soldier in the U.S. Army. It was 1968, and like many young men, he was sent overseas to fight in the jungles and highlands of the Southeast Asian nation.
Eventually, he made it back home to Lodi. But 30 years later, Potter went back with a friend, just to visit the country he’d spent so much time fighting in. And now, he spends much of his time in the country, helping provide medical and dental care to those in need.
Love that lasts: Couples share advice for keeping marriages strong
Most couples who get married this month may be too focused on the happiness and festivities to worry about the future. As their relationship grows, however, keeping it strong and healthy will be important. Luckily, Lodi has a number of couples who have been married for decades, and three of them — Ray and Doris Shates, Lorraine and Richard Stanford, and Terry and Jeanette Quashnick — were willing to share how they’ve stayed in love for so long.
MakerFest brings tinkering trend to World of Wonders - Lodinews ...
Twice a year, tinkerers of all ages converge at the World of Wonders Science Museum for MakerFest. The maker-space mini-festival brings activities that will delight amateur engineers, whether new to the maker movement or old hands at tinkering.
How Tuberculosis Inspired the New England Vampire Panic
The vampire legend may have made its way into New England as an early version of the unproven “miracle cure” for tuberculosis. In 1784, a newspaper published a letter about a foreign “quack doctor” who had been spreading an unusual cure for consumption.
Retrobituary: Larry Itliong, Leader of One of the Nation’s Most Successful Strikes
On September 8, 1965, about 1500 Filipino workers walked off the wine and table grape fields of Delano, California. The Delano grape strike, as it would become known, has been heralded as one of the nation’s most important labor struggles, thrusting the fight for Latino civil rights into the national spotlight—but the Filipinos who started the strike, especially leader Larry Itliong, have long been overlooked.
Oak Ridge Boys bring their harmonies and hits to Stockton
“You can count on the fact that you’re going to hear ‘Elvira.’ That’s our signature song,” said Richard Sterban, the quartet’s bass. He provides the song’s famous “oom-pa-pa-mow-mow.”
Boston, Joan Jett will rock Ironstone Amphitheatre
“Every night is an adventure, because you never know what’s going to happen with the audience,” said guitarist Gary Pihl, who also provides backing vocals.