Outlook 2013

Outlook2013 February 24, 2013

Special Section

growth LODI

solution

planning STOCKTON

MANTECA

strategy

marketing

Nonprofits feeling the pinch

School of real world experiences

Cautiously eyeing the year ahead

Charitable organizations have seen a downturn in donations because of the economy and are getting creative to survive.

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One school helps students learn to build legal cases. Another helps students learn to build houses.

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Retail took a big hit in the wallet when the economy tanked. Now, local outlets are looking ahead to brighter days.

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Businessmen eye downtown Stockton

Stockton’s ship has come in — again

It’s still a growing concern

A restaurateur believes in downtown enough that he’s moving there. A historical building nearby, meanwhile, is in for a redo.

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With the Marine Highway and good road and rail connections, the Port of Stockton has plenty of wind in its sails.

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Agriculture is still blossoming in San Joaquin County, although some crops are doing better these days than others.

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City plots emergence from bankruptcy

By Scott Smith Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — Beforehand, city officials avoided saying it directly, calling it “the B-word.”

And then Stockton dove in and filed Chapter 9. There’s no denying now that the city is in bankruptcy mode.

But officials, along with local movers and shakers, are already plotting Stockton’s rebound. The city will pull out of bankruptcy — officials hope sooner rather than later — and the economy, too, will turn around.

Stockton’s brighter days lie ahead.

Councilman Elbert Holman, for one, said he is optimistic about the city’s future.

“We’re not just sitting there wallowing in what I call bankruptcy misery,” he said. “We’re going to get there, and then all of a sudden people are going to say, ‘What happened?’ ” Stockton filed for bankruptcy on June 28, giving it the dubious distinction of becoming the nation’s largest city to seek Chapter 9 protection.

Officials who made the difficult call blamed years of sloppy bookkeeping at City Hall, overstretched borrowing for capital projects, high pay and benefits for city employees, and an un-

CLIFFORD OTO/Record File 2012

A year ago, Stockton City Manager Bob Deis discussed Stockton’s perilous financial situation before an army of cameras. Now, the city, which filed for bankruptcy in June, is making plans for the rebound ahead. sustainable retiree health care program.

Led by City Manager Bob Deis, Stockton filed Chapter 9 and began restructuring its finances. Officials phased out paying the health care for former city employees and stopping payment on some debt.

Stockton ended 2012 with a meager budget surplus of about

$6 million.

A fight has come from the Wall Street investors, who stand to lose millions of dollars invested into the city. Those firms, which insured the bonds Stockton issued, are now challenging Stockton.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein is overseeing the Chapter 9 case and has yet to

rule on the creditors’ objections.

He is expected to hold a trial to decide if Stockton is eligible for bankruptcy protection.

As that high-profile case plays out, Stockton is retooling, setting the stage for its rebound. Part of that has been recruiting and hiring an enthusiastic staff leading City Hall, Holman said.

“I think we have a good team,”

Holman said. “We’ve got a good strategy. We’re going to have a good recovery plan.”

A key — yet little talked about — part of the city’s recovery is revamping its permits center.

That’s where residents go for simple household jobs, such as replacing a water heater, or big developers must apply to build multimillion dollar factories.

Steve Chase, director of Stockton’s Community Development Department, is charged with retooling the permits center, which for years drew complaints for being a bureaucratic black hole.

He’s planning to ask the city to buy the department updated computer software, and on one Friday a month, he will close the doors to train his staff and find new ways to do business for more efficiency.

He calls it a cultural makeover.

With his department running smoothly, Chase said he will complement the work done by his counterpart, Wendy Saunders, director of Stockton’s Economic Development Department, whose goal is to bring in businesses and jobs.

Chase, who also cited his focus as getting downtown Stockton humming, said he considers coming to work here the ultimate career challenge.

“I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,” he said. “It’s kind of cool to be part of this management team.”

Douglass Wilhoit, CEO of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, said he urges city leaders to stay the course in bankruptcy by taking it slowly and remaining focused on an exit.

Other California communities struggling financially admire Stockton’s leaders for making the bold move to restructure its finances in dramatic fashion with a federal court’s oversight, Wilhoit said.

Like Holman, Wilhoit said he predicts that Stockton will emerge with the economic upswing taking hold in California and the nation.

He cited the city’s assets, such as the ever-thriving Port of Stockton and the local highways, railways and airport. This transportation hub will inevitably play a significant role in the city’s recovery.

“We have a lot of things people would give their eye teeth for that we will build on as we come out of the dark ages,” Wilhoit said. “But it has to be done the right way.”

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@ recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/smithblog.

With many people squeezed, nonprofits get creative

By Scott Linesburgh Record Staff Writer

Operating in economically difficult times has meant adjusting expectations and methods for local nonprofit organizations.

Since the economy slowed in 2008, nonprofits have had to cut staff, combine jobs and come up with new ways to raise money.

Some groups have merged to continue to provide quality services to the community.

“We have absolutely seen the difference since 2008, and everyone has been affected by the economy,” said Tracy Williams, president and chief executive officer of LOEL Center and Gardens, which provides services to seniors in Lodi. “We have changed how we do things, and you are always looking for new ways to improve.”

According to a number of nonprofit officials, the main issue their organizations are facing is a decline in donations due to the economy.

People still want to give but can’t afford it, said Andy Prokop, president and CEO of the United Way of San Joaquin County.

“Many people who used to say yes to our nonprofits had to say they couldn’t,” Prokop said. “People who were great supporters started saying that right now we can’t but we hope to get back to you in the future.

And they mean what they say; it’s just very tough to get back to that point.”

CALIXTRO ROMIAS/Record File 2012

Joelle Gomez, longtime director of the Women’s Center, oversaw a merger last summer of her agency and Youth and Family Services. “We recognized our two agencies had very complementary services, not necessarily duplication,” Gomez said.

“We basically married two strong nonprofits.”

CLIFFORD OTO/The Record

Seniors eat lunch Jan. 22 at the LOEL Center in Lodi. The down economy has forced nonprofit groups, such as LOEL, to make adjustments. The senior center uses events such as crab feeds to raise money.

LOEL Center holds several events such as crab feeds, which are a traditional fundraiser for many nonprofits. But Williams said trying to draw major sponsors to these fundraisers has become very difficult.

“That’s where we’re hurting.

We used to see major sponsorship of major events,” he said.

“We used to have 10, 12, 15 sponsors from some events, but now we have zero at most events. So we’re trying to make our money off ticket sales, raffles, auctions,

things like that.”

While some organizations dealt with tightening budgets and more efficient ways to allocate funds, some merged to try to make one stronger group.

The Stockton Women’s Center and Youth and Family Services formally merged July 1, a process that took eight months.

Joelle Gomez, the executive director of Women’s Center/ Youth and Family Services, said the nonprofit now boasts a staff of 76 and a yearly budget of

nearly $4 million with eight locations in San Joaquin County.

“It was a tremendous opportunity and unique in our case,” Gomez said. “We recognized our two agencies had very complementary services, not necessarily duplication. We basically married two strong nonprofits. We knew we could be a lot stronger organization and do more outreach for our community, which is hurting so much.”

With sponsorships down and government grants harder to

obtain, organizations are trying to find new, inventive ways to draw and allocate funds. Prokop said when it gets tough to get big donations, think small.

“What we did to make up for that was go to a different strategy,” Prokop said.

“We talked to people about giving a little, and to feel great about it. People who donate a dollar are very important to us.

We found a whole bunch of people who could donate that $1 or $5 and still stay involved. And we make sure they realize how much we appreciate whatever they can do.”

Losing staff is another concern, but Prokop has only had to lay off one person since 2008.

Williams said the LOEL Center, which serves lunch to 50-80 seniors daily for free or for a max-

imum donation of $2, hasn’t had to resort to layoffs. Aside from Williams, the center has eight employees, two of whom are full time.

The one thing that hasn’t seemed to change is many people will help in some way if they can.

“Thankfully, we have great community support,” Williams said. “So we may not have sponsorships we’ve had in the past, but in turn we have a larger number of people attending our events and helping, and that helps to offset that nonsponsorship.”

Contact reporter Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesburgh@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet.com/ sportsblog.

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Downtown is a gem waiting to be polished W

hile Stockton’s downtown is generally safe — you might say its bark is worse than its blight — it is light years from an economic boon, or even a healthy neighborhood.

What are its prospects for 2013?

“Right now it’s all about setting the stage,” said Wendy Saunders, Stockton’s economic development director.

“Our challenge is to lay the groundwork for creating an environment that is inviting so that when the market comes back, we’ve created a place that has promise,” Saunders said.

That’s a handful. Stockton has barely begun to recover from the Great Recession; the stony-broke city has filed for bankruptcy; Gov. Jerry Brown eliminated redevelopment agencies in 2011.

Yet there is good news.

Local restaurateur Bruce Davies, anticipating a downtown comeback, plans to close Le Bistro and open a Cajun restaurant in the Paragary’s space in the Hotel Stockton in April.

A successful restaurant would further revive downtown’s northwest corner. Especially since Davies has plans to link to boaters and fans at the arena and ballpark.

“Stockton’s downtown is right on the verge of exploding,” Davies said in January. “That’s why we’re here.”

Next door, urban developer Dan Cort has plans to transform the historic B&M Building into a cafe, wine bar and specialty grocery store. He envisions tables outside on Janet Leigh Plaza.

In central downtown, Cort’s son, Zac Cort, is remaking the old Newberry building at 331 E. Weber Ave. into offices, a restaurant and day care.

“I believe we need to truly develop infill with retail, restaurants — we need to have

Michael Fitzgerald a walkable community down here,” Zac Cort said. He has bought up other downtown properties, as well.

Specialists from The Urban Land Institute suggested last year to rejuvenate Miner Avenue, so as to build on the success of the Cabral ACE station, before tackling downtown’s core.

Consequently, the city drafted a $10 million plan to gussy up Miner. Leaders will ask Uncle Sam for the money on their annual One Voice trip to Washington this spring.

A sea change in Stockton city government promises results, too. City Manager Bob Deis replaced the red tape mongers in the Community Development Department with businessfriendly people.

In another change, the Downtown Stockton Alliance replaced a do-nothing leader with a go-getter. The Alliance also funded two Stockton Police bicycle cops to patrol downtown.

The next step for downtown is housing for neighborhood residents.

“Until there’s bodies down here 24 hours a day that are doing productive things, these venues that are here and set up to receive activity are not going to thrive,” said the Downtown Alliance’s Emily Baime.

But in the tough economy, few private investors are willing to invest in big downtown housing projects.

Worse, when Gov. Brown eliminated redevelopment, he not only took away the city’s

CLIFFORD OTO/Record File 2013

Bruce Davies, owner of Le Bistro in Stockton, stands in the kitchen of the former Paragary’s restaurant in the Hotel Stockton downtown. Davies will close Le Bistro, on Benjamin Holt Drive, and move downtown to open a Cajun restaurant.

Zac Cort: “Can Stockton be a great city again?

I think downtown could be the catalyst. I truly, truly believe that.” ability to partner with private investors, the draconian law requires Stockton to sell off redevelopment assets.

For example, the city must sell 8.8 acres of land on the south bank of the channel. On that land the city hoped to build homes, perhaps even a hotel. It still hopes to.

“We’ve lost all of our powers to be partners in private development, our monetary powers,” Saunders said. But, “we still have the ability to make the land use approval process easier. That’s very meaningful.”

Though circumstances are far from ideal, there remain people who love the downtown and recognize its importance and potential.

Zac Cort: “You’ve got the history, you got the water, there’s all the resources we could offer.

Can Stockton be a great city again? I think downtown could be the catalyst. I truly, truly believe that.”

Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet.com/ fitzgeraldblog.

CRAIG SANDERS/Record File 2012

Dan Cort plans to turn the B&M Building, which sits behind Hotel Stockton, into a cafe, wine bar and grocery store.

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Nothing to do here? Balderdash

By Tony Sauro Record Staff Writer

Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber won’t be performing in Stockton anytime soon.

Still, while negative forces — crime, civic bankruptcy and housing foreclosures — haven’t helped, there remain more entertainment options than the stereotypical complaint that “there’s nothing to do here.”

“It’s a good town for all sorts of entertainment,” said Mike Cera, general manger of Stockton Arena and the Bob Hope Theatre.

“Great, diverse entertainment.

“There are challenges we all face — speaking now as a resident of the community — like, maybe, a slower economy and a little more difficulty in certain things.

“I hope people don’t take that as indicative. This is a very supportive market. The economy has been a little more difficult. As we get beyond that, artists will come back, and people will support them.”

While economic reality remains a troubling factor, choices don’t.

The Stockton Symphony (87 years), Stockton Chorale (61 years) and Stockton Civic Theatre (63 years) are firmly established institutions. So is the Friends of Chamber Music series (57 years).

“I wish I had the crystal ball,” said Jane Kenworthy, in her fifth year as the symphony’s executive director. “I’m a little bit puzzled right now, to be honest.

“The symphony enjoyed very nice business during the recession. Suddenly, this fall, things markedly (went) down.

We thought, after the elections and the ‘fiscal cliff,’ we’d see improvement. So we’re concerned.

We don’t know why, but things haven’t been what we expected.”

The city’s iconic Blackwater Cafe unexpectedly closed after 31 years in 2012, but venues such as the Valley Brewing Co. and Whirlow’s, among others, are helping

Michael McCollum/Record File 2010

Record File 2010

Carrie Underwood, top, and Vicente Fernandez have played Stockton Arena in the past and will do so again this year.

Michael McCollum/Record File 2012

Members of University of the Pacific’s Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony played Valley Brewing Co.’s new jazz club, Take 5 Jazz at the Brew, at the Miracle Mile alehouse last summer. The club hosts weekly open jams and shows. fill the live-music void.

“I think I can speak for the whole Miracle Mile,” said Kellie Craig-Jacobs, who’s operated Valley Brewing for 16 years. “We feel we’ve become a mecca for music.

“For us, (it) really has become a hub. There’s a tremendous number of things to do. People have to be open for (going to) different venues.”

Her business has become a veritable jazz center, with weekly open jams and shows.

Lodi’s Hutchins Street Square and Tracy’s Grand Theatre have busy schedules, while Stockton’s Empire Theatre hosts fewer regular music and comedy events.

Now in its fifth year, Stockton’s downtown Plea for Peace Center averages three shows a week —

from ska to punk and “screamometal.”

“It definitely slowed down (in 2012),” said Middagh Goodwin, who’s managed the nonprofit, noalcohol venue since it opened in 2008. “But it seems to be picking up. A lot of bands are doing fewer dates because gas is so expensive.”

New theater companies have been founded in Stockton, Tracy and Linden. During the school year, University of the Pacific and San Joaquin Delta College provide high-quality music and theater options.

Lack of awareness can create a deceptive impression.

“Maybe there’s more available than people know about,” said Jim Coleman, artistic director

of the Stockton Civic Theatre.

“People come to our theater and go, ‘Oh, my God, we never knew this was here.’ How many people know about Delta and UOP? We have to try and get a way for people to know.

“We’ve been doing very well over the last three years. We’ve built an audience — all by word of mouth. We still get lots of phone calls from people thinking we’re the movie theater.”

Social media — Facebook and Twitter — have worked effectively for Coleman’s theater and other groups.

Despite so many local options, the arena, with a capacity of 11,500, and Hope (2,000) tend to be the gauges of success.

There were 165 events in 2012

The Hope is chugging along. We have a couple of comedians coming in. They’re near sellouts every time.”

Modesto’s Bill Barr knows a lot about that.

“I’m optimistic of the outlook,” said Barr, a Modesto resident who’s been booking shows in Stockton since the late 1970s, including 2013 appearances by Bill Cosby and B.B. King (Wednesday) at the Hope. “To me, bar none, it’s the best concert venue in the whole Central Valley.

“There are two great venues and management (Cera’s SMG) that seems to understand things from both sides of the table. It’s more favorable now than I can recall.”

at the arena, which twice was ranked in the world’s top 200 in ticket sales by Pollstar, an industry publication.

Cera, in his second year in Stockton, remains encouraged.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said.

“We’re working on Carrie Underwood on a Tuesday (Feb. 26). For her to sell as many tickets as she has is great. That’s very optimistic to me. Vicente (Fernandez on April 13). I know that’s gonna do great. That’s very optimistic.”

Underwood (once) and Fernandez (three times) previously have done sellout business at the arena.

“We have another (arena) Contact reporter Tony Sauro show in the summer we’re very at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@ optimistic about. It’s for a diverse recordnet.com. crowd. We’re excited about that.

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Pacific makes outreach top priority Eibeck started ‘Beyond Our Gates’ in ’09

By Jagdip Dhillon Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — Pamela Eibeck made community outreach one of her chief platforms when she took over as University of the Pacific’s president in 2009 and has remained true to that vision.

Eibeck and the university held six public forums during her first year here, and she helped found a community council designed to address problems facing San Joaquin County that Pacific could assist with.

The council, which includes Stockton City Councilman Moses Zapien; Monsignor Robert Silva of the Diocese of Stockton; Donald Wiley, president of St. Joseph’s Medical Center; and 14 others, eventually decided on making literacy by the third

Pamela Eibeck Pacific president believes city will reap benefits of improving literacy among children. grade its mission, and the university has been working with schools, educators and nonprofit organizations in the area on the effort since. “(The Beyond Our Gates initiative) has achieved more then I anticipated or could have imagined,” Eibeck said. “We’re now focused on helping our young people get a better education. It’s not a quick fix, but the long-term economic health and vibrancy of this county hinges on a welleducated youth.”

Eibeck said the university doesn’t have a timeline for improvement, but she said the council firmly believes the region will eventually reap the benefits of improving youth literacy. Only 36 percent of third-

graders in San Joaquin County were at a proficient reading level in 2011, which is caused by a confluence of factors, according to Jennifer Torres Siders, the community relations manager for Beyond Our Gates.

The child’s health and environment and the parents’ educational levels all can contribute to a child’s likely proficiency, all of which the Reading by Third campaign hopes to address. Torres Siders said a child who falls behind reading level at a young age is unlikely to recover and make up lost educational ground.

Aware of the university’s icy relationship with the community prior to her arrival, Eibeck wanted Beyond Our Gates to highlight existing literacy programs around the community and help them succeed. The university has worked with the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library and the First 5 San Joaquin organization providing students, facilities and ideas to further programs.

Lani Schiff-Ross, the execu-

tive director of First 5 and a Pacific graduate, said her organization had worked with Pacific before Eibeck’s arrival, but there is a stark difference in the university’s commitment to the community.

“UOP always had so many great resources, but there had been a disconnect with the community, and President Eibeck is reconnecting, and we’re seeing the differences on our end,” Schiff-Ross said. “They now have a lot of people invested in this.”

The university and First 5 have already partnered to save the Reach Out and Read program that has students reading to adolescents at pediatricians’ offices around the area. The library has joined with the university to provide tutoring for young readers, and having the Pacific name attached to its programs has helped bring in more people, said Suzy Daveluy, the library’s youth services and literacy outreach coordinator.

“The university brings so many talents to the table and

(they) are able to lend us their expertise,” Daveluy said. “Having the connection with Pacific gives us credibility, and any time you can have a strong community partner with your cause, it raises awareness and causes more community buy-in.”

While the focus of Beyond Our Gates has shifted to early literacy, the program also features other educational and health efforts.

Lynn Beck, the dean of the Benerd School of Education, with the assistance of her students and engineering majors began a Reach for the Stars program in 2010. It was inspired by Pacific graduate and NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, and it strives to provide opportunities for girls and minorities in science, technology, engineering and math fields.

“It originated at the University of Texas, and it was a very powerful program, particularly for those underrepresented in the STEM fields,” Beck said.

“We collectively decided it was a

critical need in this area as well.

We’re hoping to create a successful pipeline for women and people of color to college and into those fields.”

Beck said about 50 to 100 Pacific students will play some part in the Reach for the Stars program, and officials are hoping to eventually help mentor 500 area students. While education has been the top priority for the Beyond Our Gates initiative, Eibeck said the community council has begun looking at what needs of the community the university could help serve in the future.

“We’re looking to eventually expand our health care programs at the university,” Eibeck said.

“With our pharmacy school, we recognize how important our health care clinics are and what role they can play in the health of children and others in the region.

That is a long-term focus.”

Contact reporter Jagdip Dhillon at (209) 546-8292 or jdhillon@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/ sportsblog

Delta dealing with years of cuts Proposition 30 money should help ease pain

By Mark Godi Special to The Record

CRAIG SANDERS/The Record

Pacific Law Academy student Melissa Jimenez presents her arguments during a mock trial Jan. 30. The academy is a Stockton Unified charter school housed on the Stagg High School campus in Stockton.

Learning by doing More schools using trial-and-error approach to education

By Roger Phillips Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — Adrian Vega is on trial, charged with a hitand-run on a triathlete that occurred because she was texting while driving.

“The defendant took off straight home like a coward without checking to see if what she hit was a cat, a dog or a bicyclist,” the prosecutor says.

But the defense attorney says her client wasn’t driving the offending vehicle.

“She was (in the car),” the attorney argues, “but as the passenger. Your honor, I am only stating what the evidence shows.”

This scene played out not in a courtroom but in a class at Pacific Law Academy, a small Stockton Unified high school on the Stagg High campus.

“Not only do we learn,” said 17-year-old Lisa Cruz, who portrayed the fictitious defendant, “but it’s hands-on learning, and it’s interactive.”

More and more, K-12 school districts in San Joaquin County are providing students with real-life learning opportunities, from classroom simulations such as the mock trial to actual internships in medical facilities.

“I think we need to continue to provide different pathways for students that will meet their needs, whether that is meeting (college entrance) requirements, preparing students for career/

technical colleges or providing industry certification to join the job force upon graduation,” Lincoln Unified Superintendent Tom Uslan said. “This combination of providing pathways for our students is essential.”

Lincoln High’s highest-profile program of this sort is its architecture and construction academy. Stockton Unified offers a wide range of career pathway programs at its four large high schools and its smaller secondary-school campuses. The same can be said for the other school districts in the county, as well as the various public charter schools and private schools.

Programs such as these are seen by business officials and educational leaders alike as integral to the development of a skilled labor pool that will attract more high-paying jobs to San Joaquin County.

“It brings in business if you have an educated workforce,” Stockton Unified Superintendent Steve Lowder said. “Hopefully it keeps kids on the straight and narrow. What a school can do for a community can be an amazing thing. I think it’s critical to improving Stockton.”

Charter schools — some operated by independent organizations, some by traditional school districts — are playing an important role in developing future workers. Freed from some of the regulations that restrict traditional public schools, the charters have the flexibility to

serve as laboratories in the effort to find what works.

With its “College for Certain” pledge, Aspire Public Schools has been lauded for its success with a student population demographically similar to those served by traditional districts.

Downtown Stockton in recent years has become home to two other independently operated charter schools: the K-12 Stockton Collegiate International and the K-4 TEAM Charter School, which specifically targets low-income and minority students. Stockton Early College Academy, with its rigorous approach, as well as Pacific Law Academy and Health Careers Academy are examples of Stockton Unified charters targeting the goals and interests of a wide range of students.

“Charters can show us some of what’s possible,” said Lynn Beck, dean of the Benerd School of Education at University of the Pacific. “I don’t think they’re the answer, but they’re part of the answer.”

Education, in whatever form it’s delivered, must be viewed only as part of the solution for what ails the county, Beck said.

In San Joaquin County, United States Census figures show that nearly one of every five residents lives in poverty. Beck said poverty and all that accompanies it — inadequate resources for health and dental care, lack of physical safety, improper nutrition — are among the major

impediments for schools trying to educate their students.

“Poverty is a huge predictor of poor academic outcomes, often because poverty trumps things schools can do,” Beck said. “It’s a very big issue we need to deal with.”

Providing education to children of poverty during their formative years is especially critical, Beck said, and will pay great long-term dividends if society is willing to pay for such programs over the long haul.

“We’ll all win if we invest early, but we’re not going to see results for generations, and it will probably take two generations before we experience societal lifts,” she said.

For the students who have made it to the mock-trial class at Pacific Law Academy, the future beckons.

In a few years, some of them intend to be attorneys, careers that will have had their start because of the innovative educational opportunities afforded them during high school.

“My kids are engaged, and there’s no effort on my part to get them there,” mock trial teacher Ryan Pinkham said.

“Teaching a hands-on program is easier for me as a teacher, and I feel the students get more out of it.”

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet. com/phillipsblog.

Each year, Delta College serves roughly 25,000 students, each wanting something a bit different.

The school is entering its 50th anniversary of separating from Stockton Unified School District and has prided itself on serving students of all backgrounds.

Some enrolled when their academics didn’t permit them to go to a four-year college out of high school and planned to transfer.

Some simply can’t afford four years at a university. Others are seeking specialized job skills.

Delta has maintained each type of student through difficult economic times, as reported in 2011 by Community College Week, an independent journal looking at issues affecting community colleges across the country. According to the publication, Delta awarded the third-most associate degrees among 5,000 accredited institutions in 2011 after giving out the ninth most in 2010.

This occurred despite the fact that classes have been scaled back and costs have increased since 2008-09. Before November’s elections, the administration was preparing for further cuts. A three-year plan to balance Delta’s budget deficit was drawn up, before Proposition 30 passed, followed by Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget proposal.

“Brown has come out with his budget, and is being pretty generous to higher education,” Delta President Kathy Hart said. “So now we begin to build our budget and our schedule for next year … where we’re going to put the money.”

Proposition 30 will raise income taxes on the wealthiest citizens and increase sales tax.

It is expected to add $6 billion to the state’s funds, which will help stave off further education cuts.

For Delta, it saved classified staff, managers and police officers from 12 furlough days this year.

It also helped soften future cuts and restore select classes for this semester.

In January, Brown’s budget proposal called for the state’s general fund contribution to community colleges to increase 5 percent. For Delta, it means about $2.4 million in additional revenue and said boldly that, “it is expected that community college funding will grow over the next several years.”

Some cuts likely will be made, but not at the level that was once feared. In a way, Interim Vice President of Instruction Matt Wetstein said the past few years have done some good.

“The downturn forced us to focus on what our core mission is,” he said. “It’s had its negative in

Matt Wetstein, Delta’s interim vice president of instruction: “The downturn forced us to focus on what our core mission is. It’s had its negative in limiting access to students, but it got us in a position to really think about what programs we should really be focusing our resources on. Are there a few we can divert resources from?” limiting access to students, but it got us in a position to really think about what programs we should really be focusing our resources on. Are there a few we can divert resources from?”

A special meeting took place in January where faculty of lowdemand classes and others on the chopping block could make their case. Going forward, Wetstein anticipates making a priority the programs that are in the most demand or ones that best produce job and transfer placement.

Among the priorities he discussed is the school’s police officer training program. Wetstein said adjusting to what other area community colleges are doing is crucial.

Modesto Junior College is known for its program to prepare firefighters.

“We’ve offered some fire classes, but it doesn’t make sense to compete with other colleges nearby,” Wetstein said. “It would be ideal for each college within a region to specialize in something a little bit different so that you have lots of opportunities.”

In May, Delta begins training 60 psychiatric tech students in anticipation of the prison hospital that is scheduled to be completed this summer. The school was awarded a grant in 2010 to for that program.

“That’s exciting, because most of those students will have jobs waiting for them when they’re done,” Wetstein said. “After the initial jobs are filled, the program gets scaled back to those refilling positions or working elsewhere.”

Aside from program planning, much of the school’s effort the next year will go toward earning accreditation. Every seven years, Delta has to do a self-evaluation that will be submitted for review by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The next one is due by spring 2014.

This spring, four accreditation summits are planned where faculty and staff engage in how to draw up the report.

“They not only read the report, but a committee comes and visits the school,” Hart said. “The whole idea is continuous improvement.

“What we have really learned is that you don’t have to be perfect. You have to demonstrate that you are seriously, earnestly working on the stuff that you know you need to work on.”

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Keeping the city afloat

Marine Highway one of reasons port will still be economic boon

By Reed Fujii Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — The Port of Stockton, now in its 80th year of linking California’s Central Valley with the world via ocean transport, reported 2012 as another strong post-recession year with increases in both shipping activity and income.

The port saw close to 2.9 million metric tons of cargo cross its docks last year, up from nearly 2.8 million metric tons in 2011. (A metric ton is about 2,200 pounds.)

That’s up from the recessionary low of 1.3 million metric tons in 2009. At its pre-recession peak in 2006, the Port of Stockton moved nearly 6.5 million metric tons of cargo, which included nearly 2.2 million metric tons of cement demanded by the construction boom.

In addition to renewed maritime activity in 2012, the port also saw increased income from land and warehouse leasing, primarily from the former Navy base on Rough and Ready Island acquired in 2000.

“We did have a very good year,” said Richard Aschieris, port director.

In fact fiscal 2012, which ended June 30, was a record year with revenues totaling $40 million.

And that continued in the second half of calendar 2012 as well, Aschieris noted.

In the past 25 years, the port has recorded only 10 months with $3 million or more in revenues. Four of those were in the first half of 2012 and two in the second half.

“What’s helpful now is we’re more diverse, because through the years we’ve been able to develop our real estate on Rough and Ready Island,” Aschieris said.

The port is a bright spot in the region’s economy, said Jeffrey Michael, director of the Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific.

“It’s growing, which is good because as you know the last decade hasn’t exactly been a pe-

riod of strong growth in our local economy,” he said. “The port is one thing you can point to that is trending in the opposite direction. It is also something you can point to that has a lot of potential for growth.”

Even after a decade of development, the port continues to light its vacancy sign.

“They still have a significant amount of well-located industrial land,” Michael said.

The port benefits from access to rail and highway transportation, as well as water transport, which includes a newly developed cargo container-capacity, the so-called Marine Highway, to barge goods between Stockton and the Port of Oakland, Northern California’s main container ship terminal.

“It’s a huge asset,” Michael said.

The port operates as a special district, overseen by board members appointed by the Stockton City Council and San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. While it has the authority to tax, it is entirely funded by fees collected from its cargo operations and property leases.

Its mission is to provide an engine for the region’s economy.

To that end, the port continues to invest in its infrastructure. In 2012, that included construction of a $7 million overpass, carrying the Port of Stockton Expressway over a set of train tracks.

That project improved truck access between Rough and Ready Island and Highway 4 to the south.

Also, the port installed $1.8 million of rail improvements, boosting its transport capacity. Aschieris said that will allow the port to handle as many as six iron ore or coal trains per week, up from the previous three per week.

And the port is actively seeking additional state and federal funds for more rail upgrades.

“What I’m looking to do is increase the volume of things we’ve started before, such as the iron ore and the coal (exports),”

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The cargo ship Bright Hope offloads steel pipe Jan. 22 at the Port of Stockton. The port benefits from close access to highways (Interstate 5 and Highway 4 are nearby) and easy rail access (note tracks in pier, which are switched by the Central California Traction Co.; two major freight railroads, Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, both serve Stockton). The port also is the eastern terminus of the Marine Highway, which allows containers to be shipped upriver from the Port of Oakland, saving a highway trip between the two port cities.

Aschieris said.

The result is the port created 224 jobs in 2012, including those generated by the road and rail construction work, as well as the arrival of new commercial tenants at the port.

One example is BlueLinx Corp., a building products distributor, which leased a warehouse and land at the port where it is relocating its regional distribution center, and about 50 jobs, from the Bay Area.

That’s part of the nearly $2 billion in investments the port has attracted in the past five years.

“The private sector has … and is continuing to invest (in the port) and create jobs locally,” Aschieris said.

Contact reporter Reed Fujii at (209) 546-8253 or rfujii@ recordnet.com.

CLIFFORD OTO/The Record

Longshoremen help unload steel pipe from the ship Bright Hope at the Port of Stockton.

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S.J. businesses find it’s easy being green

By Alex Breitler Record Staff Writer

Maybe you’ve seen the giant wind turbines that power a distribution center and a rock quarry in the south county.

Maybe you’ve seen the solar panels sprouting alongside Lincoln Unified schools.

Maybe you’ve seen allelectric cars zipping along city streets, or plugging in at public stations.

Green industry remains a small fraction of San Joaquin County’s economy.

But it can be hard to miss.

And even as the county welcomes new cleaner, greener industry, many traditional businesses are also looking for ways to save the environment while saving money.

San Joaquin County is where televisions come to die (and be safely recycled), where reams of paper are collected for reuse in the cover of the next bestselling book, where even polystyrene

foam can find a new life in cups and food containers.

Michael Amman, president of the San Joaquin Partnership, which focuses on local economic development, said the local green industry is “very small” in comparison to major food processing, manufacturing or logistics.

“But it’s a growing market,” he said.

Consider the potential.

There is the Port of Stockton, the airport, the University of Pacific’s School of Engineering, our proximity to the Silicon Valley … and Amman could go on.

Here’s the problem: “We send four trainloads of talent out of this county every work day on ACE trains,” he said. “About one-quarter of our labor force is leaving the county and going into the Silicon Valley every work day, and another quarter is going in other directions.”

If San Joaquin County can harness the green industry SEE GREEN, PAGE A9

Onsite employee David Sanchez takes a computer monitor apart for recycling Jan. 25 in Stockton.

Onsite is one of several companies in San Joaquin County dedicated to recycling discarded electronics such as television sets and computer monitors.

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GREEN: Recycling exposition planned for March 13 at Hilton Stockton Continued from PAGE A8

movement, Amman said, it will have the labor force to meet those demands.

“We are not an untalented area,” he said.

Unfortunately, he said, state regulations to foster the growth of green technology don’t seem to be aligned with any kind of plan to actually develop that technology here.

Why do electric vehicles have to be built in Detroit when they could be built in California?

“As long as I’ve been in the state, and I’ve been here for three governors, I haven’t seen an alignment of regulatory policy to spur investment here and to sell it internationally,” Amman said.

He did say workers who want to catch the wave should be developing new skills now — not only for the coming green economy, but also to prepare for the wave of baby boomer retirements over the next few years.

Even now, however, local businesses continue to discover the advantages of adopting en-

Michael Amman, president of the San Joaquin Partnership: “As long as I’ve been in the state, and I’ve been here for three governors, I haven’t seen an alignment of regulatory policy to spur investment here and to sell it internationally.” thing it might have bolstered it, said chamber CEO Douglass Wilhoit.

“People are looking at ways to save money in a down economy,” he said.

The model used by the chamber has now spread to Stanislaus and Merced counties as well.

That model includes a program in which businesses go through an assessment of their practices to look for ways to help Earth and help their pocketbooks.

Michael McCollum/Record File 2013 An annual recycling exposiSolar panels are being installed Jan. 7 at Brookside Elementary School in Stockton. Lincoln tion planned for March 13 at the Unified School District expects to save $1 million per year on energy once solar panels are up Hilton Stockton will showcase and running. “The savings goes to the general fund, which goes back into the classroom — it’s some of those businesses. a win for everyone,” said Rebecca Hall, Lincoln Unified’s associate superintendent.

“A high majority of businesses are implementing what they’re vironmentally friendly prac- ber of Commerce’s Green started. learning, and you couldn’t ask tices.

Team San Joaquin thrives toThe economic downturn did for more,” said the chamber’s The Greater Stockton Cham- day almost seven years after it not thwart that effort. If any- Frank Ferral.

Action is not limited to the private sector. Lincoln Unified expects to save $1 million a year on its energy bills once solar panel installations are finished at all but one of its schools.

The project was funded through federal tax rebates and a bond approved by district property owners.

“The savings goes to the general fund, which goes back into the classroom — it’s a win for everyone,” said Rebecca Hall, the district’s associate superintendent.

The schools should all be hooked up by May. “I want to see that first PG&E bill,” Hall said with a laugh.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/ breitlerblog.

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Small businesses hoping for growth

By Keith Reid Record Staff Writer

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Melissa Flores works at Remedy in Lincoln Center in Stockton. The north Stockton shopping center, first built in the 1950s, maintained an occupancy rate of 96-97 percent during the worst of the economic downturn.

Retail looks for rebound

By Zachary K. Johnson Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — When the economy tanked, families had fewer dollars burning holes in their pockets.

Even those who kept their jobs saw wealth disappear as housing prices plummeted. Further down the economic food chain, retailers took their hit, too.

It was felt in the large retail centers across San Joaquin County. Now that conditions appear to be improving, the big local retail centers are getting ready — albeit carefully — for better days ahead.

Economic indicators in the county seem to be headed in a direction that would be good for retailers in the year to come, said Harry Mavrogenes, a San Joaquin County government official focusing on economic development.

“I think retail will take a cautious look toward expansion,” he said.

The county has large retail centers from Tracy up through Lodi. Many of the county’s large shopping centers are found in central Stockton, around Weberstown and Sherwood malls and other centers.

These range from the venerable Lincoln Center, a shopping destination since the 1950s, to Stonecreek Village, a modern and upscale setting and a relative newcomer to the Stockton shopping scene.

From its inception, Stonecreek Village was meant to be a unique addition, a “lifestyle center” with all the shopping options of a traditional center but with dining and leisure amenities. It had upscale consumers in mind as it was developed, and it attracted an impressive lineup of retailers.

The first shop opened its doors at Stonecreek Village in 2008, a few months before the mortgage meltdown led to the near col-

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Shaina Pijl at Zuesters, one of Lincoln Center’s retail outlets. lapse of the global financial system.

But the Village has more than survived. At the start of 2013, the center was more than 90 percent full, and the property manager is hopeful the remaining slots will be filled within the year. And almost all of the top names from the beginning are still there.

The most prominent of the branches is REI, the outdoorgear retailer. And still there are Talbots, Ann Taylor Loft, Coldwater Creek, Jos. A. Bank and others on the retail front. For food, shoppers have been able to take a break at BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, and more.

Offices bring built-in traffic, and special events like summer concerts continue to be a draw, said Tricia Wilkalis, regional property manager for Stone Bros. and Associates, which manages the facility. “It’s a place where people like to come and gather.”

Sales rose 7 percent in 2012, she said. “It’s certainly a sign the economy is making a comeback.”

Stone Bros. also manages

Sherwood Mall, which has a different clientele, but also saw sales rise in 2012, she said.

Lincoln Center has been a “lifestyle center” since before the term was coined, and it is still a place where people come to shop, eat, have coffee and arrange play dates for their children, said Phil Johnson, president of SimsGrupe Management. It has a mix of shops and restaurants, some of them spilling out into the center’s Brick Walk, complete with outdoor seating and a fountain.

It even has a selection of grocery stores, from Podesto’s Market to Safeway to Trader Joe’s.

The first signs of the economic downturn were there at the end of 2006. Through the worst of it, management worked with tenants and maintained an occupancy rate of around 96 or 97 percent, he said. It is lower since Campbell’s in the Village shut its doors last year.

But the holiday shopping numbers from 2012 are higher than they were a year ago. “It was definitely going in the right direction.”

In the past year or so, the center has added new shops — including three new apparel stores — and a new restaurant is expected to open this spring.

“We’re starting to see more leasing activity,” Johnson said.

“That’s a good sign.”

The center is looking at options for the 22,000-square-foot space left behind by Campbell’s.

Besides a new tenant, the center could expand the space or tear it down, replacing it with smaller shops around a new courtyard.

It’s a big enough space that it could attract a national tenant, Johnson said.

Among the attributes those national retailers look for are centers and areas with proven history, the county’s Mavrogenes said. And in San Joaquin County, the Pacific Avenue retail corridor is one of those areas.

“The chains tend to look for that kind of location,” he said.

Contact reporter Zachary K. Johnson at (209) 546-8258 or zjohnson@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet. com/johnsonblog.

STOCKTON — Paying for a coffee or sandwich with plastic at Freedom Coffee Co. in downtown Stockton is a slightly different experience than at other stores.

Owner Darrell Griffin will slide your credit or debit card through a small plastic scanner connected to a smartphone. Want a receipt?

Check your email.

Griffin has switched from using traditional credit card scanners to Square, a credit card payment system that uses an iPhone, Android or iPad. Accepting credit cards is less expensive through Square, Griffin said, to the tune of $3,500 a year. For an independent coffee shop competing with a big green giant a quarter-mile away, every dollar counts.

“Switching over to (Square) saves me about $250 a month,” Griffin said, later adding “and I’d go through a roll of receipt paper every other day … so I save another $40 a month.”

Whether it’s a change in technology or a flurry of innovative ideas, local mom-and-pop shops in San Joaquin County are hopeful 2013 is a year where they can thrive. Some say their path to success is through barter. Others say they risk small to nonexistent profit margins just to get work and keep their heads above water.

“In a general sense I would say, at least, we are starting to have a few clients talking about some growth opportunities instead of just talking about survival issues,” said Nate McBride, director of the San Joaquin Delta College Small Business Development Center.

“Some businesses have been hit harder than others, so you still have some doing what they can to cut costs. For others, the revenue declines seem to have stopped,” McBride added.

One business that is trying to innovate its way out of the doldrums of the recession is Whirlow’s Tossed and Grilled.

Owner Lisa Whirlow said she has done everything she can think of to drive business. She’s had live music, karaoke nights and art events that bleed out from her restaurant onto the Miracle Mile.

“We’ve started an art café with art going up on the wall. We’ll serve coffee, herbal tea … (and have) a wine bar and free Wi-Fi,” Whirlow said. “I’m getting involved with so many nonprofits and neighborhood watches to make our city safer. To say we are doing everything we can is beyond true. I feel like the more I give, the more I’ll get back.”

Whirlow said despite her efforts, her business is under some duress because of accumulated debt. Her answer is to just keep moving forward with new ideas.

This month, Whirlow started a First Wednesday beer night and comedy night. For $25, patrons can stop in for beer tasting and appetizers from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the first Wednes-

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Freedom Coffee Co. owner Darrell Griffin swipes a card Feb. 11 using Square, a credit/ debit card reader that can be attached to a smartphone or tablet. The reader is cheaper than a traditional scanner. day of each month. At 7:30 p.m., comedians will take the floor to entertain.

“Maybe I should have stayed semi-retired, but I really do think I’m going to see the other side of the tunnel,” she said. “I really feel good about 2013.”

Outside of the food service industry, small businesses are doing what they can to stay afloat.

The construction and contracting industries have also struggled. The only way to make ends meet for small businesses in those areas has been to bid low.

“You want higher volume with lower profit margins,” said Jose Gutierrez of GG&G Cabinets, Stockton. “The one thing we invested in was online advertising. Getting our name on top of Internet searches has brought in a lot of calls.”

Other service-based industries have also had to get creative.

John Smartt, owner of New School Aikido, Stockton, has taken to bartering instead of demanding contracts.

“We used to try and get people to sign a year contract. We’ve gotten rid of that altogether.

Now, if people can’t afford a lesson, we’ll take in-kind services.” he said. “There’s always cleanup to do around here. I’ve had one customer who is good at repairs fix the roof.”

Smartt said he’s also not refusing any customers, even if they can’t pay. He has run some free clinics at Victory Park near his studio, and will take walkins on their word that they will start paying when they can. One customer who had been receiving free services came in after a payday and made a large back payment.

“I’m barely making it. But, in a way, this is a lot more fun,” Smartt said. “I’m connecting more to the community.”

Contact reporter Keith Reid at (209) 546-8257 or kreid@ recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/lodiblog.

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Sports fans have plethora of options Hockey, baseball, college hoops, motorsports among offerings

By Stephen Roberson Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — Stockton has plenty for sports fans with dollars to spend.

The Stockton Ports, the ClassA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, saw fan support more than double when Stockton Ballpark opened in 2005. In the years since, the team has — for the most part — maintained attendance figures.

The Stockton Thunder, an ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers that moved from New Jersey in 2005, was among the top three in league attendance from its inaugural season here through 2011-12, but the Thunder has fallen off this year.

In a car-racing culture of mass track closures, Stockton 99 reopened in 2009 following a twoyear shutdown and is now doing well enough for operators Tony and Carol Noceti to open two more tracks, the Little 99 go-kart track that opened last year and a half-mile dirt track scheduled to open in March inside the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds horse racing track.

There are other options for fans: University of the Pacific, San Joaquin Delta College, high school sports, area rodeos and other special events such as the Harlem Globetrotters, horse racing, wrestling and mixed martial arts.

So how do promoters go after these dollars?

That depends on the promoter and the product. Circumstances dictate a lot.

For Thunder President Dan Chapman, the economy plays a role, but not as significant a role as the fading novelty that comes with a new franchise.

“The first few years, the phone rang off the hook,” Chapman said. “We were almost ordertakers. But if you just sit around and expect people to show up to enjoy your product, it doesn’t work that way.”

Stockton led the ECHL in attendance its first four years and has been among the top three every season. Through the end of January, however, the Thunder was sixth.

“Typically new teams have that novelty, so that’s one of the reasons we’ve dropped,” Chapman said. “Having said that, our attendance right now is the lowest it’s been. Without question, the economy has had an impact.”

The Thunder’s approach has been based primarily on outreach.

“You work harder and smarter than ever,” Chapman said. “You focus on community outreach.

You’re constantly building up databases, getting phone numbers and email addresses, getting information from fans at games.

You can never acquire enough in-

formation.”

Chapman and Ports President Pat Filippone made similar comments when talking about what makes minor-league sports unique.

“We can’t control what happens on the field,” Filippone said. “Look at last year. The team wasn’t very good (finishing fifth in the five-team division with a 56-84 record, worst among the 10 teams in the league), but we still drew fans. At the end of the day, people enjoy the product. There’s always a need for escaping and having some fun, so there’s always going to be a market regardless of what the national economy or the local economy is doing.”

Filippone said the Ports’ approach hasn’t changed the past few years and likely won’t change in the coming years.

“First and foremost, we appreciate the community, so we try to be ingrained in the community through things like education, youth sports and charitable foundations,” he said.

As with all minor-league sports, promotions play a big role.

The key is to mix in the staples — fireworks and bobbleheads are always big draws — with fresh ideas. A surprising hit when it started in 2011 was 2 Buck Mondays: Tickets, sodas and hot dogs are all only $2.

Tony Noceti faces a different challenge at Stockton 99. While Chapman and Filippone focus on ways to get fans to return, Noceti believes he just needs to get people through the gates. Once they’re introduced, the sport sells itself.

“People say, ‘I watch NASCAR on TV.’ It doesn’t even to compare to what you see on TV,” he said.

“If you can get them in, they’ll come back.”

Noting an empty seat does the track no good, Noceti gives away a lot of tickets through various promotions. He also places a premium on keeping things affordable, even free for kids 10 and younger.

“A family can come to the racetrack on a regular night, kids buying hot dogs, dad buying beer, for about $80,” he said. “You take your wife and kids to the movies, that’s $100 by the time you’re out of there an hour-and-a-half later.”

He also places a premium on accessibility, offering fans the option of a $35 pit pass for members ($55 for non-members) so they can talk to the drivers.

“Where else can you do that?” he said. “That’s what makes us different. They can see their heroes and the bad guys. It’s all a big marketing strategy.”

Contact reporter Stephen Roberson at (209) 546-8272 or sroberson@recordnet.com.

Visit his blog at recordnet.com/ sportsblog.

Michael McCollum/Record File 2013

Garet Hunt of the Stockton Thunder celebrates a goal Jan. 30 in a game against the San Francisco Bulls at Stockton Arena.

The Thunder has been popular since taking to the ice for the first time in 2005, but lately attendance has taken a hit.

Nate Long delivers a pitch Sept.

3 during the Stockton Ports’ last home game of the 2012 season. The minor league baseball team, with a history dating to the 19th century, has been playing at Stockton Ballpark downtown since 2005; previously, the team played at Billy Hebert Field.

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Restaurants go beyond food to attract customers

By Jo Ann Kirby

Bartender Santi Maciel tends bar Feb. 1 at the Woodbridge Crossing restaurant in Woodbridge.

Owner Steve Ding keeps customers updated about specials, menus and entertainment via his eatery’s website.

Record Staff Writer

The Spessard family of Stockton enjoys busy lives.

Both parents work. Their two kids have after-school activities.

And Mom is earning a doctorate in education.

So it’s no surprise this busy family is known to eat out two to three times a week.

“Dining also happens to be our second most popular page on our website,” Wes Rhea of the Stockton Convention and Visitors Bureau said. “We got through 2012 without too many closures, and we are seeing some expansions and new offerings popping up already this year.”

Rhea said local restaurants that weathered tough times in recent years did so by offering more than food to bring in customers.

“You are seeing more wine tastings, beer events, comedy, jazz and other entertainment just to get people in the door,” he said.

Rhea said owners would do

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well to devote more time to properly marketing themselves and advises them to embrace social media opportunities.

That’s certainly the case at Woodbridge Crossing, where owner Steve Ding keeps customers updated on specials, menus and live entertainment

via the restaurant’s website at woodbridgecrossing.net.

Ding, who served as a chief of staff to former Rep. Richard Pombo, a Tracy Republican, knows the importance of running a good campaign.

And he uses Facebook and Twitter to tout upcoming bands

and specials.

“Primarily, it’s more word of mouth,” he said. “We do a lot of wedding rehearsal dinners and banquets. When you get those groups coming in and you treat them well, they come back.”

Rhea said local restaurants would do well to put more effort

into showcasing the use of locally grown produce and other locally sourced foods.

“I think there is such an opportunity in the aspect of local freshness that is untapped,” Rhea said, adding that the visitors bureau promotes the Great Stockton Asparagus Dine Out and Stockton Restaurant Week.

“This is such a huge trend.”

In Lodi, the Towne House Restaurant at Wine & Roses is a leader in serving up locally sourced produce.

Chef Didier Gerbi even leads a tour of the local farmers market in season.

“We work at finding passionate farmers to get the best local produce from this rich agricultural region we live in,” owner Kathryn Munson said. “For example, there is a farmer a couple of miles from us on Davis Road, A & D Farms, and they deliver us the most beautiful justpicked produce in season. There is nothing like it.”

Other efforts to help the restaurant stand out include giv-

ing it the name Towne House to market it separately from the hotel and spa property.

It’s efforts like these by Ding and Munson that promise to make 2013 successful.

The National Restaurant Association is projecting restaurant and food service sales will reach a record high of $660.5 billion this year — a 3.8 percent increase over 2012.

“We are hearing from restaurants that they are optimistic about 2013,” Rhea said.

The Spessards, however, are hoping to spend more time making their own meals. “(We’re) trying to go out less often this year and have dinner at each other’s houses sharing in the preparation of the meal,” she said of perusing Pinterest for recipes, and cooking with friends. “This is more cost effective and gives you the opportunity to test out new culinary arts skills.”

Contact reporter Jo Ann Kirby at (209) 546-8256 or jkirby@ recordnet.com.

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Bottle of red, bottle of white, S.J. is vintner’s delight

By Lori Gilbert Record Staff Writer

For five generations, since the first grapes were planted on the Lodi property in 1907, the family of Kyle Lerner’s wife, Georgia (Mettler), had sold their bounty to other winemakers.

Finally, the family decided to expand their role in the wine grape business and joined fellow members of the Lodi Appellation growers and began holding back some of the crop for themselves.

The idea was sound, but the timing wasn’t. They made the decision in 2006 and opened the Harney Lane Winery tasting room in 2008.

“We got well into it as the economy crashed. We were sweating bullets,” Kyle Lerner said.

The Lerners, like other area growers, withstood the worst the economy had to offer, though, and look to the coming year with optimism.

The key is to continue along the path they carved for themselves when they undertook this venture.

“My wife and I did our homework,” Lerner said. “One of the things we wanted to accomplish was to produce the best wines Lodi could produce and offer them in a facility that’s comfortable and inviting that brought in people and brought them back.”

Housed on a spot of the family’s 100 acres — they also oversee grape vines on another 400 acres elsewhere — the tasting room area is surrounded by gardens and pine trees that were planted in the 1920s. There’s a wood-burning fire pit around which visitors often sit for hours sharing a bottle of wine.

“When you come in the tasting room, you feel you’ve disappeared, that time stops and you relax,” Lerner said. “It’s all about the experience. Through what we’ve created, we’ve fostered that environment that has brought people in. We have

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Kyle Lerner owns Harney Lane Winery in Lodi. The family of his wife, Georgia, first planted grapes on the Lodi property in 1907. The winery’s tasting room opened in 2008. “Wine shouldn’t be pretentious,” Lerner said. “When you break it down, it’s just a beverage, but it’s a social beverage.” grown astronomically through this difficult economy.”

It’s a statement about the Lodi Appellation in general.

“The state of the industry here locally and nationally looks really strong,” said Camron King, executive director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. “We’re seeing a situation where the winegrape supply and demand for wines is in balance. There’s high quality coming out of vineyards here and we’re making phenomenal, world-class bottles of wine that continue to meet consumer demands at a fair price point.”

Winegrapes, grown on more than 100,000 area acres, are the second largest agricultural

commodity in the region behind the dairy industry. Lodi Appellation vines, which stretch from Highway 4 to just north of the Cosumnes River and from Interstate 5 to the Calaveras and El Dorado County borders, produced a quality 2012 harvest when growers in Europe and Australia suffered weatherrelated crop reduction.

It positions Lodi growers — nearly 800 who sell to some 80 wineries — to meet the international demand for wine.

“Because of the geography of where we live and the climate we have, we grow over 60 varieties in the region,” King said.

“We’ve got the world of wine right here in Lodi.”

At Harney Lane Winery, in addition to zinfandel and chardonnay, the Lerners are growing Spanish varieties, tempranillo and albariño.

“Lodi has a rich heritage with zinfandel; it’s something we’ve always grown so we had that in our portfolio,” said Lerner, whose wine production has grown from 800 cases in 2008 to just less than 6,000 in 2012.

“We had been growing tempranillo for (another winery) and thought it would do well.

It complemented our portfolio well. My mother-in-law loves albariño, so we had that. One thing the family decided was if we were going to go into the wine-making business, it was

here and try verdelho, they’ll buy it, but in a grocery store they’ll pick up chardonnay because they know it.”

Ironstone, like other wineries in the region, withstood the economic downturn in part because of its grape production for other wineries, but it also saw a steady stream of winery visitors.

“Customers are back to purchasing, and more than just a bottle,” Kautz said. “It’s nice to see half-cases and cases go out of the winery again.”

One of Ironstone’s signature wines is Obsession, a sweet white blend, and it recently released muscat canelli, a sweet, dessert wine.

“It’s an old-fashioned grape that goes back to the mining era. It took off,” Kautz said. “It exceeded our expectations for production of our first vintage.”

Next up for Ironstone is a blended red it will call Red Obsession and release in March.

“There seems to be a real drive for a blended wine right now,” Kautz said. “You see the hot labels right now and they’re all blends. We decided, why not?

We have all the grapes.”

The latest A.C. Nielsen ratings of wines, Kautz said, put cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay at the top with zinfandel a close third.

“We’re seeing that in our tasting room and it shows in our sales nationally and internationally,” Kautz said. “In a recession, people go back to what they know.”

There’s nothing wrong with that, wine makers agree. People ought to enjoy the wine they choose.

“Wine shouldn’t be pretentious,” Lerner said. “When you break it down, it’s just a beverage, but it’s a social beverage.

Who doesn’t sit down and have a conversation over a glass of wine? You don’t pour a glass of milk and visit with someone.”

going to be 100 percent estate wine, so we planted albariño.”

The white wine took best in class at the recent San Francisco Chronicle Wine Festival.

Lerner said he expects to see more California winemakers using the Spanish varieties.

Ironstone Winery in Murphys, one of the largest producers in the region with vineyards in both the Lodi Appellation and in the foothills, hasn’t had great success with its Spanish varieties, according to Ironstone president Stephen Kautz.

“We have tempranillo and verdelho, a Spanish red and white. They do well in the tast- Contact reporter Lori Gilbert at ing room, but past that, not so (209) 546-8284 or lgilbert@ well,” Kautz said. “If they’re recordnet.com.

14 Sunday, February 24, 2013 The Record

O u t l oo k 2 013

recordnet.com

Agriculture rules S.J. economy Grapes, almonds doing well, but dairy farmers are suffering

By Mark Godi Special to The Record

Warm afternoons followed by a cool Delta breeze in the evenings, good soil and a mild rainy season typically make the greater San Joaquin Valley the envy of farmers elsewhere.

These conditions have helped agriculture become the valley’s lifeblood. The industry has largely held up in difficult economic times, posting a record $2.2 billion in gross production according to the 2011 San Joaquin County Agriculture report.

Some farmers in the nut and wine industries have benefited from a growing demand overseas and good marketing.

Meanwhile, others, like some dairy farmers, struggled to make a profit despite topping the county in 2011 with 20 percent of gross production.

The 2012 agriculture report isn’t due out until summer, but San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation Executive Director Bruce Blodgett is expecting similar numbers to 2011. He is a retired fifth-generation farmer who moved to the area in the 1960s.

“I think 2012’s (gross) numbers are going to beat last year,” Blodgett said. “Grapes did well and I think could unseat dairy as No. 1.

“Walnuts are up. Almonds are up. Cherries did well. Cattle, not so much. … And then there’s the poor dairy guys.”

Escalon dairy farmers Frank and Carol Borba are among those who have seen the changes in the business. They

Record File 2004

Escalon dairy farmer Frank Borba said he knows of at least seven dairies in his neighborhood that have gone under. “A lot of farmers are doing well,” he said. “It’s just not the dairy farmers. We need control of our product and not overproduce.”

MICHAEL McCOLLUM/Record File 2012

Sergio Sandoval trims leaves off grape vines June 20 at Van Diemen Farms in Lodi. Bruce Blodgett, who runs the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation, says grapes could unseat dairy as San Joaquin County’s most valuable crop. own FDB Holsteins and Jerseys, with Frank a second-generation dairyman and Carol a third.

Daughter Natalie also recently started her own dairy.

Rising expenses, feed cost and regulated milk prices have made breaking even difficult.

According to the California Dairy Commission’s weekly report, the north valley farmers averaged a loss of $2 per cow per month from July through September.

Borba said he knows of “at least seven” area dairies that stopped operating in the last

four or five years. His said his friend Ed Bracco sold his dairy business and got into walnut farming.

Provisions were drawn up last year in a farm bill proposal to help dairy farmers, but it did not get approved.

“A lot of farmers are doing well,” Frank Borba said. “It’s just not the dairy farmers. We need control of our product and not overproduce.”

Borba has four grandchildren, but it’s his 900 cows that he calls his “babies.” Getting out of the business is something he’s

considered.

“I told myself that if I have one good year in the next three or four, I’m going to retire,” Borba said. “But it would be hard. I mean, I enjoy golfing and fishing, but working (as a dairyman) is just in me.”

Almonds were ranked fourth in the county in 2011 and continue trending according to expert Brent Holtz, director and farm adviser for University of California Cooperative Extension San Joaquin County.

The Almond Board of California’s annual convention out-

grew Modesto and took place last December at the Sacramento Convention Center.

“There are a lot of almonds going in in San Joaquin County and a lot of new almond growers,” Holtz said. “Almonds surpassed grapes in the state for the first time as a commodity last year and I believe over half of them got exported.”

Looking forward, the future of agriculture appears to depend a lot on government projects. The planned high-speed rail system connecting Northern and Southern California

could cost the area farmland.

The proposed peripheral canal project aimed at diverting water down south could also hurt farmers.

“Something has to be done about water storage (and the peripheral canal),” Blodgett said.

“If not, the Delta will crash.

“Look at it this way. If you take from the pie, the pie gets smaller. Then where do we go to for water?”

The political side of the business is what Calaveras High agriculture teacher Jason Weatherby wants to get through to the next generation. He also coaches football and has a small beef cattle business.

“There is this whole growing political aspect that kids are going to have to understand,” Weatherby said. “There are a lot of standards for safety. Farmers have to jump through a lot of hoops. They are going to be regulated to death and need to know what the rules are.”

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