Outlook 2017 -- Success

Outlook 2017

February 19, 2017

Special Section

February 19, 2017

Special Section

Study

Inspire

Teamwork Study

Inspire

Teamwork Mentor

SUCCESS Vision

SUCCESS

Vision

Motivate

Motivate

Mentor

Lead by example Lead by Goalsexample

Goals

A mix of things to do and buy

Creating an online community

Competition is growing

Slow growth for real estate market

Stockton’s shopping scene is shifting with food — and experiences — driving retail traffic right now.

PAGE 3

Project GIA, a network for mentoring and empowering girls, is building a nonprofit organization in the age of social media.

PAGE 10

From the new blood at Pacific to championship-caliber competition at the arena, it’s a fantastic time for sports in Stockton.

PAGE 17

Nearly a decade after the housing bubble burst, San Joaquin County is continuing to trend upward.

PAGE 20

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The Stockton Record

The Stockton Record

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Sunday, February 19, 2017 |

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RETAIL SHOPPING

Restaurants help drive centers

By Michael Fitzgerald Record columnist

When peering into the crystal ball to see Stockton’s retail outlook in 2017, the future is cloudiest for the malls. Not bad, necessarily, just harder to foresee.

The long-term trend is toward online shopping and discount retailers. But in 2016 when Macy’s said it would close 100 stores, and Sears 150, Stockton malls were spared.

On the contrary, Macy’s, which owns its property at Sherwood Mall, brought a Red Robin to its grounds.

“I think you’ll have continued increase sales,” Jon Godi, CEO-President of Stone Bros.

Management, said of Sherwood Mall.

And next door at Weberstown Mall, Marketing Director Marci Blower predicted, “I think that we’re going to make 2017 a positive year for shoppers. A mix of things to do and buy.”

The “to do” part hints at coming changes.

“While retail is on the skids, hospitality and restaurants really have been growing,” said Jeffrey Michael, executive director of Pacific’s Center for Business and Policy Research.

“Which is why we’re seeing a conversion of space to food services and experientialtype consumptions.”

Under “experiential,” how about Sky Zone? Instead of another store, Sherwood Mall filled vacant space with a “trampoline park.”

The attraction is, “Just somewhere people could go and just have a good time,” Godi said. “Feedback has been phenomenal.”

Over at Lincoln Center, the northside shopping center is replacing ever-more shops with restaurants.

Prime Table steakhouse opened in December. Café Rio Mexican Grill opened Jan 25.

Pieology pizzeria is scheduled to open this Friday.

“Retail is still certainly such a big part of what we do,” said Patrick Dobson, vice president of Sims-Grupe Management, Lincoln Properties. “Our merchants offer a certain boutique experience here. But things evolve. Food is certainly what is driving retail traffic right now.”

Dobson took it a step further. “Restaurant-driven shopping centers are the new power centers.”

Food and drink are a theme in Stockton’s resurgent downtown, too. Italian restaurant Bella Vista opened in early January. Channel Brewing Co. is targeting March 1 for opening in the Belding Building beside Cast Iron Trading Co. restaurant.

Brewpub owner Billy Chaddock added another component to the mix of things enhancing retail: community.

On this case, he means millennials and others who have

New restaurants under construction at Lincoln Center south in Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

“While retail is on the skids, hospitality and restaurants really have been growing. Which is why we’re seeing a conversion of space to food services and experiential-type consumptions.”

Jeffrey Michael, executive director of Pacific’s Center for Business and Policy Research

Dillard’s at Weberstown Mall on Pacific Avenue and March Lane in Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

taken a keen interest in 21st century urbanism and downtown Stockton’s comeback.

“I’m less trying to make just a brewery and more to make a successful business model based on the culture of the community,” Chaddock said.

La Dolce Vita recently opened, offering cannoli, cupcakes and other sweets at 347 E. Weber Ave. While in the Waterfront Warehouse,

Garden Bowl is now serving fresh salads and homemade soups made daily.

“Good, healthy lunch spot,” said Cindi Fargo, head of the Downtown Stockton Alliance.

On the Miracle Mile stretch of Pacific Avenue, “2016 brought us an increase in sales and foot traffic, and we foresee this success continuing into 2017,” said Mimi Nguyen, head of the Miracle Mile Improvement District.

Nguyen looks forward to the opening of Dutch Bros. Coffee, a coffee drive-through.

Dutch Bros. is going into a long-vacant lot at Pacific Avenue and Walnut Street, “which will spur new growth and activity on the southern end of our district” when it opens in 2017’s first quarter, Nguyen said.

Another 2017 milestone for the Mile: the Improvement

Association itself comes up for a vote of renewal by property owners.

Retailers on Stockton’s southside expect “No great change,” said Mark Stebbins, head of the South Stockton Merchants Association. “I don’t see any big pickup. Or any great slowdown.”

But even here new businesses include a juice bar and more food trucks, Stebbins said.

— Contact columnist Michael Fitzgerald at (209) 546-8270 or michaelf@ recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/fitzgeraldblog and on Twitter@ Stocktonopolis.

Red Robin at March Lane and Yokuts Avenue in Stockton is one of the latest additions to Sherwood Mall.

[CLIFFORD OTO/ RECORD FILE 2016]

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The Stockton Record

HEALTH CARE

Big things happening at San Joaquin General

By Joe Goldeen Record Staff Writer

FRENCH CAMP — This already is starting out as a banner year for 160-year-old San Joaquin General Hospital.

The re-emergence in January of the county-owned public hospital as a fullfunctioning Level III Trauma Center serving all of San Joaquin County — following several months of limited or no trauma services primarily due to its inability to provide the mandated medical personnel — is but one of the feathers in the hospital’s cap expected this year.

In March, construction is slated to begin on a $34.7 million expansion of the Acute Care Wing, a twostory building that will be attached to the 20-year-old main hospital building.

The building will provide 43 beds — 23 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or NICU, beds on the first floor and 20 medical/ surgical beds in private rooms on the second floor.

This construction is necessitated by statemandated earthquake safety rules that require the 196-bed hospital to move inpatient units out of its 1932 Towers building by Dec. 31, 2019.

The hospital has successfully recruited four surgeons — all board certified in both general and criticalcare surgery — to enhance its trauma service, according to Chief Executive Officer David Culberson.

“The surgical team, under the guidance of new Trauma Medical Director Dr. Frank Kennedy, will respond to all trauma activations and provide care to trauma patients in the ICU,” Culberson said in a statement. In addition, the county Board of Supervisors in December authorized eight additional positions for the trauma service: two trauma nurse clinicians, four intensive care registered nurses and two physical therapists.

Another key development has been the appointment of longtime Stockton neurosurgeon Dr. Moris Senegor as chief of the hospital’s Neurological Service and neurosurgical liaison to its Trauma Center.

In addition, the hospital has recruited two new neurosurgeons, Drs. Azeem Oladunjoye and Abbas Bahari, to its medical staff.

“In the entire history of this community, I believe there have only been six neurosurgeons in this community,” Senegor said.

“Since 1993, Dr. (Karl) Gregorius and I have been the only neurosurgeons in this community. Initially, in the 1990s and early 2000s we covered both St. Joseph’s (Medical Center in Stockton) and San Joaquin General, and the emergencies came in roughly two-thirds to San Joaquin General and one-third to St. Joe’s. For a period of time, we also

The entrance to San Joaquin County General Hospital’s Clinics 4-6. [CLIFFORD OTO/RECORD FILE 2016]

covered Dameron (Hospital in Stockton), but we haven’t covered Dameron since 2002. So we were the only neurosurgeons here for all these years.”

With the retirement of Gregorius, 75, on Dec. 31, Senegor was the last neurosurgeon standing.

With his new appointment and the trend of midsize community hospitals toward eliminating brain surgery procedures, there is no more neurosurgery offered at St. Joseph’s, according to Senegor.

During its more than three years as a trauma center, San Joaquin General had relied on neurosurgeons provided through a staffing agency, a common practice known as locum tenens.

Said Senegor: “Now locum tenens is not really viable in the long term. It’s expensive and it doesn’t really provide good continuity of care. It’s not an ideal situation. So they were looking for a better solution to that.”

Last fall, Senegor entered into conversations with San Joaquin General and what came out of that, he said, “was a really unique plan for neurosurgery. I think it’s quite visionary in my opinion. They were going to recruit a total of three neurosurgeons, myself included, to create a new neurosurgery division in that hospital. It’s never existed before. We’ve supplied our services for many years, but not in any formal fashion.”

The other development

After several months of limited or no trauma services, San Joaquin General Hospital once again is a full-functioning Level III Trauma Center serving all of San Joaquin County. [RECORD FILE 2012]

was to turn his existing medical office at 2209 N. California St. in Stockton, a few blocks north of St. Joseph’s, into a community outreach clinic for specialists affiliated with San Joaquin General.

“This is a public sector/ private sector hybrid situation where San Joaquin General can draw a new patient population from the community where they have never drawn before,” Senegor said.

“I don’t know if it’s going to be successful or not, but it’s a unique venture. Once the transition is complete,

they’re planning on sending other specialists to this office, not just neurosurgery.

If it works, it will contribute substantially to the growth of that hospital, obviously.

So I’m sort of spearheading that,” he said.

Senegor credited San Joaquin General with committing “seven-figure sums” for new equipment and supplies such as an operating microscope and other technology to aid surgeons in operating with the most-advanced precision available.

Renovations in two areas of the hospital have created:

• A new Rapid Medical Evaluation area next to the Emergency Department for diagnosis and treatment of non-urgent illnesses. This has significantly reduced ER wait times for patients with minor conditions and increased overall ER volume, Culberson said.

• A two-suite GI laboratory next to the Operating Room. With the move, the Operating Room has expanded from six to seven functioning rooms — six general purpose and one dedicated for trauma.

Other new technology the hospital has added includes

digital diagnostic imaging to replace older radiology equipment and a second CT scanner that will ensure a CT is available around the clock for trauma patients.

By July, the county hospital’s new Cerner electronic health record information system is scheduled to go live, providing a significantly improved medical record for patients using the hospital, outpatient clinics and ER, according to Culberson.

In addition to ambitious plans for the hospital, Culberson noted that its outpatient clinics have seen a surge of patients seeking primary care from 85,000 in 2013 to more than 100,000 in 2016, in large part due to the greater access to care provided by the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid Coverage Expansion.

As a result of greater demand, a primary care clinic is scheduled to open next month at the San Joaquin County Public Health Services facility at 1601 E. Hazelton Ave., Stockton. It will be staffed by a physician and an advanced practice nurse, providing east Stockton residents with easier access to care.

Another primary care clinic is expected to open in late spring in Manteca staffed by up to four providers.

— Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com.

Follow him at recordnet.com/ goldeenblog and on Twitter @ JoeGoldeen.

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EDUCATION

A group of local high school students during a tour San Joaquin Delta College campus on their way to the Math & Science building on north side of campus. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

Edison a bright light in education, college readiness

By Nicholas Filipas Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — In the two years since Edison High School was deemed a national AVID demonstration school, the program that showcases the best practices for developing success in high school, college and beyond is getting overwhelming commitment from students a year removed from becoming freshmen.

“By the time they get to us, they’re humming,” Edison Principal Brian Biedermann said of Advancement Via Individual Determination program students. “They are absolutely ready for high school.”

Edison was one of the first Stockton Unified schools to run with the idea to exhibit a college-bound culture that all students feel, regardless of whether they are AVID students. It promotes college readiness, personal achievement and leadership, as well as how to be independent and responsible.

In the 2015-16 school year, 100 percent of Edison’s 300 AVID seniors applied to college, and 92 percent, Biedermann said, were accepted to a four-year institution. It’s a program that has become so popular, 32 schools in SUSD, including Chavez High School, are AVID sites. The district plans to expand to eight more schools next year.

Two years ago, the south Stockton high school became one of only some 130 schools nationwide to be named a demonstration site, a distinction awarded to less than 2 percent of the nearly 5,000 campuses across the country that have adopted the international nonprofit college-readiness program.

Edison has welcomed visiting educators from across the state to showcase firsthand how a successful program works and share ideas on how to improve.

The next showcase hosted by Edison is March 15.

Edison AVID Director Kristi Lee said students targeted for the program are those with a 2.0 to 3.5 GPA who are “middle-of-the-road” when it comes to test scores, are the first generation in their families to go to college and are considered part of the underserved population.

“That’s basically our whole student population,” Lee said. She even goes to Edison’s feeder schools at Huerta, Marshall, McKinley, San Joaquin, Taft and Taylor elementaries to recruit those already in AVID to continue the program into high school.

Students are “excited now to come to Edison because we have this program, and

Quincy Norman, 17, center, assists Delta student Rebecca Rasque, right, in an experiment during a tour of Math & Science building at San Joaquin Delta College. Norman was part of 35 high school students touring the campus. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

our feeder kids that are in AVID as eighth-graders ... know they’re going to get good instruction at our site and be college ready once they leave us and be prepared academically,” she said.

In addition to providing students with Advanced Placement classes that satisfy not only the A-G requirements of the University of California and California State University systems (social studies, language arts, mathematics, science, world languages, visual and performing arts, and college-prep electives), AVID curriculum focuses on key organizational skills and getting students used to the rigors of college.

It’s a curriculum that has seen some push back from teachers unsure how they can incorporate it into lesson plans and limited time in the classroom, but from special education to physical education, it’s been embraced.

“We’re giving them the tools necessary and expose them here so when they go (to college) they say ‘It’s OK. I’m fine. I’ve dealt with

“We’re giving them the tools necessary and expose them here so when they go (to college) they say ‘It’s OK. I’m fine. I’ve dealt with this before — my classes in high school were harder.’ ” Brian Biedermann principal

this before — my classes in high school were harder,’ ” Biedermann said.

It’s that preparedness that Chris Krzak, Director of Admissions at University of the Pacific, said will go a long way into success in college, whether it is a UC, CSU or community college.

Almost 70 percent of Pacific students will graduate in a timely manner over four years with a bachelor’s degree. Not every SUSD

graduate will end up attending Pacific, the state’s oldest chartered private university. Pacific prides itself on offering varying degrees of success, including a 14:1 student-to-teacher ratio and programs geared to growing trends in technology and science.

For students to get the most out of college and to be prepared to enter the workforce after graduation, Krzak said the road to success

starts in high school.

“Take advantage of everything high school has to offer,” Krzak said. “Take advantages of a college prep curriculum, follow the A-G requirements, take honors or Advanced Placement courses, and raise your hand.”

He added that clubs such as glee, soccer and student government are there for a reason to build leadership and social skills.

“You may also have to work part time, but do not let that job take over … be involved in academics and co-curricular activities,” Krzak said, “and then it leads to a solid application to (a) university, but also have that footing for life.”

Lee said she should start

keeping a log of success stories from graduates who share how being involved in AVID has had a lasting impact. Every week, she said, students come back to share everything from their most recent test scores to inquiring about becoming AVID teachers themselves.

“We teach to articulate thoughts and ask questions,” Lee said.

“They’re organized so when they leave us to go out into any of the universities, they can be on par with everybody else.”

— Contact reporter Nicholas Filipas at (209) 5468257 or nfilipas@recordnet. com. Follow him on recordnet. com/filipasblog or on Twitter @nicholasfilipas.

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The Stockton Record

ENTERTAINMENT

Fairgrounds leads area’s venue revival Demand for shows exceeds the supply

By Tony Sauro Record Staff Writer

When he “shakes the trees,” Kelly Olds discovers bananas, seafood, tamales, “X”s and other interesting stuff.

Consequently, he has managed to cultivate one of Stockton’s most fruitful entertainment locales.

Now, “the demand exceeds the supply,” he said of the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. “We’ve had something going every day of the year.”

While 650,000 people attended fairgrounds events in 2016, Olds said that could be surpassed in 2017, his third year as CEO. Though on a smaller scale, thirtysomethings are trying to generate more interest in downtown Stockton while the 2,000-seat Bob Hope Theatre and 12,000-seat Stockton Arena are more stabilized in a steadying market “niche.”

The arena remains in the global top 200 (No. 191) with 56,057 tickets sold (not including sports events) in 2016, according to Fresnobased Pollstar.

“In order to survive with no outside (government) funding, (the Fairgrounds) had to increase revenue,” Olds said of the decision of the 252-acre property's nine directors.

“We have to feature the fairgrounds as an event center and market it as such.”

So, that “supply” for 2017 includes a Banana Festival (Aug. 18-20) — moving here after eight years in Sacramento; a Seafood Festival (June 24); a Tamale Festival (Oct. 28-29); and, at least tentatively, X Fest. It attracted 14,000 people on Aug. 20, 2016, after moving from Modesto.

“We’re actively discussing the possibility,” Olds said of the 16-year-old event.

“We’re ready to go.”

So is a Hmong New Year festival (Nov. 18-19) and Senior Awareness Day (May 24, which is Olds’ 70th birthday). They join the San Joaquin Asparagus Festival (April 28-30) and San Joaquin County Fair (June 14-18).

At other venues run by SMG, dates are filling up.

The first in a series of comedy "festivals" was held Saturday night. Organizers of a music, art and film festival “liked what they saw” for a possible October date.

In today’s high-roller concert market, Kendra Clark and SMG have relied on what works: Latin acts, Christian-pop, classic rock, country, ballet, TV quiz and children’s show tours, Disney and “Sesame Street” family productions (Ringling Bros. is closing on May 21. No more circus.)

“It’s been particularly remarkable,” said Clark, 35, SMG’s general manager since 2004. “It’s been absolutely exciting. We’ve been able to carve out our own little niches.”

When the Beach Boys and Ringo Starr — both in the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame — did shows on Dec. 17-18, she said it was a convincing signal for would-be promoters.

“We’ve had success on many fronts,” Clark said.

“We’ve shown the industry we can do well with acts booked back-to-back. Still, you take ’em when you get ’em.”

Filling the niche in 2017 are ticket-selling Latino performers such as Mexico’s Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizarraga (March 11) and Pepe Aguilar, who should fill Stockton Arena. Mexico’s Emmanuel (Jesús Emmanuel Acha Martinez) takes his Latin pop to the Bob Hope Theatre on April 2.

There's a Rock & Worship Road Show headlined

by Christian pop singersongwriter Stephen Curtis Chapman on March 9 at Stockton Arena. He’s joined

by Francesca Battistelli, Rend Collective, Passion, Family Force 5 and Jordan Feliz.

The sun sets over X-Fest at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. [CRAIG SANDERS/FOR THE RECORD FILE 2016]

Ryan Sharpe with the Stockton-based Channel Brewing Company pours a beer from a tap at the Brew Fest event at Stockton Arena. [CLIFFORD OTO/ RECORD FILE 2016]

Four-year-old Ezekiel Serna and his six-year-old cousin Isabella Vasquez of Stockton maneuver rideable dinosaurs at the Tamale Festival at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/RECORD FILE 2016]

Lodi resident Zach Fleming, left, buys six orders of fried asparagus from Skyla Lopes during the San Joaquin Asparagus Festival at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/RECORD FILE 2016]

“There’s always been a stigma: ‘Don’t go downtown.’

Now, there’s a re-invigoration.

“There’s a lot going on. We’re one piece of a puzzle. ...

That stigma’s not true. We’re trying to do our part to show you can have a good time here.”

—Brandon Ente Infinite clothing company co-owner

Mercy Me, from Greenville, Texas (May 5), and Casting Crowns from Daytona Beach, Florida (June 15), get the gospel going at the Hope.

The classic-rock appetite is met at the Hope by Come Together, a Beatles tribute (March 4), Zep Live! (music of Led Zeppelin on March 18) and Brit Floyd (June 23).

At the arena, it’s “I Love the ’90s” (Salt ’n’ Pepa, Spinderella, Mark McGrath, Coolio, Biz Markie, C&C Music Factory, Freedom Williams and Snap!) on March 11.

Clark and SMG are contemplating a yearly three-performance series by South San Francisco-based Bay Pointe Ballet, which has staged “The Nutcracker” and "Peter Pan” at the Hope.

Then there’s Sinister Creature Con (June 10-11). It accentuates the “villains and all the bad guys” from similar comic-book events (Stockton Con on Aug. 16-17). Stockton Brewfest returns on July 8.

A few blocks northeast, the Sycamore, formerly the Plea for Peace Center, on Weber Avenue is being re-activated once a month by Symposium, a collective guided by Stockton natives.

They mix local artists, clothing designers, food “pop-ups” by chefs, DJ music and “aux-cord” sessions, when home-made music is played from a laptop through the venue’s sound system.

“It’s a place where people can come and hang out,” said Brandon Ente, a 37-year-old

Kevin Rock, front, and Ley Vaughn, background, greet fairgoers at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/ RECORD FILE 2016]

Edison High School graduate who’s teaming with Alex Suelto, 36, a Stagg High grad who owns Infinite, a Weber Avenue clothing and T-shirt-printing business. “There’s always been a stigma: ‘Don’t go downtown.’ Now, there’s a re-invigoration.

“There’s a lot going on.

We’re one piece of a puzzle. ... That stigma’s not true.

We’re trying to do our part to show you can have a good time here.”

Pacific Avenue’s Miracle Mile remains a central sphere with regular live

music — from punk to a Presley tribute — and periodic comedy at five venues: Valley Brewing (weekly jazz and Jeremy Pearce’s monthly Elvis show); Whirlow’s (different styles five nights a week); Mile Wine (weekends); Whisky Barrel (monthly pop-punk); and Ave on the Mile (Friday “special guests”).

Garlic Brothers, at Lincoln Village’s marina, is a sporadic live-music zone, while the landmark Blackwater Café — originally opened in 1981 on North Yosemite Street — is closed again.

Pacific’s Brubeck Festival — shifted from March to October in 2016 — might be pushed ahead to March 2018.

While aspects of the downtown “revival” are critical, Stockton’s essential arts entities continue providing stability, quality and longevity: The Stockton Symphony (91 years), Stockton Chorale (65), Friends of Chamber Music (61), Stockton Civic Theatre (66) and summer concerts at Victory Park (61).

— Contact Tony Sauro at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@ recordnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsaurorecord.

The Stockton Record

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Sunday, February 19, 2017 |

S-9

STEPPING OUT

Bella Vista Italian Restaurant in the historic Hotel Stockton on Weber Avenue and El Dorado Street. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD] Below, attorney Jacob Benguerel is working to open a bar/restaurant in downtown Stockton on California Street called the Deliberation Room. It will be themed after a 1930s speakeasy and will be located in an abandoned building. Benguerel is hoping to open in mid-November. [STAFF PHOTO BY ROGER PHILLIPS]

Eateries’ owners going all in on downtown Stockton In Lodi, variety adds to its appeal

By Almendra Carpizo Record Staff Writer

Jacob Benguerel recently sent out a message to Stockton residents: “Dear Stocktonians ... we have made a decision to be open for lunch and dinner each Saturday despite the knowledge that we will likely lose money for the foreseeable future,” he wrote on the Deliberation Room’s Facebook page. “We do it because someone has to start the culture change of downtown closing down on the weekends …”

Benguerel is a downtown attorney and owner of the Deliberation Room, a new law-themed bar and restaurant at 19 N. California St. Change and risk are two of the ingredients needed to revitalize downtown Stockton, and while some business owners such as Benguerel are going all in, the support of city residents and more

restaurants are needed, he said.

The heart of the city has been neglected and mislabeled for too long, but Sylwia Qualls said there’s a movement of people invested in reinvigorating and transforming downtown through its dining and drink scene.

There are restaurant owners taking risks and it is bringing in people from inside and outside of Stockton and downtown, who may not have otherwise visited the center of the city, said Qualls, communications manager for the Downtown Stockton Alliance.

“The last 20 years have been an incredible transformation for downtown Stockton,” Qualls said, citing the addition of the movie theater, arena and ballpark. “But the last two years, you can really feel an amazing energy in the streets of downtown Stockton.”

BellaVista Cucina Italiana, which is open weekend nights and offers valet parking, opened at 110 N. El Dorado St. in early January and brings

in a different ambiance and clientele to downtown, Qualls said.

And in late March, the much-anticipated Channel Brewing Co., which will include a taproom and brewing space, is scheduled to open at 110 N. San Joaquin St. Benguerel said the perception is that everything in downtown shuts down once offices close, but it’s important to get people to stay after work and to visit during the weekend to change the culture of downtown, which is why he made the decision that he would be open on weekends even before his grand opening.

“I’m calling for others to do the same thing,” he said.

“If everyone is open (during late nights and weekends in) downtown, we’ll all have a better chance of succeeding.”

Other restaurants opting to add hours or open outside of office hours include Cast Iron Trading Co., which hosts live music and events on certain Saturdays; Papa Urbs, a popular Filipino fusion restaurant that recently announced it

would open on Sundays; and Taps Bar and Grill, which opened last year.

“It’s a new wave of enthusiasm downtown,” said Emily Oestreicher, special events manager for the Downtown Stockton Alliance.

Downtown has more than 50 restaurants and eateries featuring a wide ethnic variety, from the new Ariana’s Kabob & Deli serving Afghan fare to Misaki Sushi and Bar. And the Downtown Stockton Alliance scheduled events, such as Full Moon Riders and “Love You Baby” to promote the various venues.

Oestreicher added that community support is vital to improving downtown.

“Stockton will be the city you make it,” she said, adding that if people don’t patronize local businesses, downtown won’t thrive and, in return, it will affect the city as a whole.

Said Benguerel: “If people can’t open their minds (about downtown), we’ll be doomed to failure.”

But he remains optimistic about the future.

Change won’t happen fast,

but it’s going to happen, he said.

And he’s already seeing it with the people who are visiting his own restaurant.

“It is worth the investment to be one of the pioneers of this movement,” Benguerel wrote on the Facebook post.

VARIETY IS SPICE OF LODI

In the past few years, Lodi has emerged as a destination for wine enthusiasts, but downtown also is seeing establishments offer more drink options to go along with their vino.

The new Scotto’s tasting room, which opened in September at 14 S. School St., is offering wine and craft hard cider, and its neighbor, Brix and Hops, is serving a wide choice of draft beers and wine.

“These new additions to the downtown landscape make downtown more attractive to visitors seeking a variety of tasting options,” said Nancy Beckman, president and CEO of Visit Lodi.

Outside of downtown, Calturas, a brewery, winery and event center, will open at 1333 E. Kettleman Lane.

Calturas, which will include bocce ball courts, an outdoor patio and various lounges and private tasting rooms, held a grand opening for part of its vast property on Feb. 11 during the Lodi Wine and Chocolate weekend.

New restaurants also are giving Lodi residents and visitors plenty of choices: Andy and Jennifer Pappas, who own Papapavlo’s Bistro & Bar in Stockton, have plans to open a restaurant in Lodi; Flakos Tacos, a Mexican food restaurant at 123 Elm St., is offering fast and fresh cuisine; and Fenix, an upscale restaurant, offers modern, imaginative interpretations of American dishes featuring sustainable seafood, grassfed beef and great wines.

Said Beckman: “Diverse wine, spirits and great restaurants dot the Lodi landscape, making Lodi more attractive to foodies and those with eclectic tastes.”

— Contact reporter Almendra Carpizo at (209) 546-8264 or acarpizo@ recordnet.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlmendraCarpizo.

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| Sunday, February 19, 2017

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The Stockton Record

NONPROFITS

Putting action into words Project GIA aims to mentor and empower girls

By Lori Gilbert Record Staff Writer

Just more than a year ago, Mariah Looney, still grieving the sudden death of her mom and trying to channel her energy into something positive, created a Facebook page.

She called it Project Girls in Action, spent a buck on the domain name and bought a Facebook ad to pop up on the accounts of women in Stockton.

That’s how you start a nonprofit organization in the age of social media.

In the time since that sleepless night on Jan. 8, 2015, Looney has created a five-member board of directors, built a “junior board” of girls 12 to 17 who represent the girls Project GIA is intended to help and put together social media workshops — one for parents and one for girls — held the last weekend of January.

“If you would have told me a year ago we’d be where we are now, I would have called you crazy,” said Looney, 26, who works full time in marketing, attends San Joaquin Delta College and keeps Project GIA going.

Project GIA is on Instagram and Facebook, where it posts positive messages and reaches out to girls who need a safe online site. The idea for it came up during a conversation Looney had with a former college teacher in the fall of 2015.

“We were talking about how everyone is on social media, but there wasn’t a safe place online in Stockton that girls could turn to if they were feeling depressed,” Looney said.

They agreed they should fill that void, but “life got in the way.” Death made it happen, though.

“In the middle of the night in January (2016) I was like, ‘I’m just going to start a Facebook page,’” Looney said. “’I don’t know what it’s going to do. I'm going to invite my friends. I’m going to buy the domain.’

I didn’t know what it was going to be. I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I just knew I was going to do something and have some kind of community for girls.”

Sabrena Hernandez, 22, was the first to join the project, responding to Looney’s Facebook ad looking for interns.

The two had virtually nothing in common. Looney had dropped out of Chavez High School because her teenage years were so unhappy. She grew up in poverty and had no real role models. She describes herself as a “weird emo kid” who later earned a general education diploma.

Hernandez was raised by loving parents, her dad the basketball coach at Bear Creek High School, which she attended. She was around coaches her whole life and listened to the encouraging talks they gave to athletes. High school was “the best time of my life,” Hernandez said. She jokingly told Looney, “I was so cool in high school.”

They never would have been friends as teenagers, or even spoken to one another, they said, but they bonded immediately over Project GIA. “Just to think there are girls out there who don’t have positive role models, don’t have mentors, don’t

The first four board members of Project GIA, from left, Monica Patel, Sabrena Hernandez, Seidy Gastelun and founder Mariah Looney. [COURTESY]

have a good high school experience, that breaks my heart,” said Hernandez, who attends California State University, Sacramento, works and is raising a 2-year-old daughter.

“That’s the best time of your life. You have no responsibilities. You should just be having a ball. That’s what drew me in.”

Helping girls is what appealed to board members Monica Patel, 26, and Seidy Gastelun, 26, who was 10 when she moved back to Stockton after her single mom had moved them back to Mexico when she was a baby. She learned English,

graduated from Franklin’s International Baccalaureate program, graduated from University of the Pacific in 2014 and works there, advising the MecCha program. Like the others, she saw Project GIA on Facebook.

“I was hungry for something like that in our community,” Gastelun said.

Like Looney, a selfdescribed feminist from an early age, Gastelun always has wanted to work side by side with women, making life better for all of them.

The board members are millennials, who had social media in high school, but

when they started to think about helping young people, realized they weren’t quite as hip as they saw themselves.

They formed the junior board to increase their connection to the 12- to 18-year-old demographic they’re trying to reach.

Their Instagram and Facebook accounts, which have more than 2,500 combined followers, post daily inspirational comments like “Your story matters,” “The time is always right to do what is right” and “Fight Like a Girl.”

They were excited by the turnout for their January social media seminars and

are looking for Project GIA to do more in its second year of operation.

“We’re putting the action in Girls in Action,” Looney said.

They hope they’re doing more.

“Stockton’s changing," Looney said. "I see a lot of young people in Stockton.

Our mayor’s 26.

“A lot of my high school friends are coming back and realizing they can actually make an impact here. “ — Contact reporter Lori Gilbert at (209) 546-8284 or lgilbert@recordnet.com.

Follow her on Twitter @ lorigrecord.

The Stockton Record

WINE TASTINGS Abundance Vineyards Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

1150 West Turner Rd. Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 334-0274 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with bottle purchase.

Barsetti Vineyards Hours: Thursday, noon-5 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, noon p.m.-8:30 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.

400 4th St., Suite 150 Galt, CA 95632 (209) 744-6062 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Benson Ferry Hours: Wednesday-Thursday, 3:30-8 p.m.; Friday, 3:30-11 p.m.; Saturday, 1-11 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

112 W. Pine St. Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 365-6622 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Berghold Vineyards & Winery Hours: Thursday-Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

17343 N. Cherry Road Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 333-9291 Tasting fee: $7, refunded with purchase.

Bokisch Vineyards Hours: Friday-Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

18921 N. Atkins Road Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 334-4338 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Borra Vineyards Hours: By appointment 1301 East Armstrong Road Lodi, CA 95242-9423 (209) 368-2446 Tasting fee: $5, includes keepsake wine glass.

Clements Ridge Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

23225 E. State Highway 88 Clements, CA 95227 (209) 759-3850 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Consumnes River Farm Hours: Thursday-Sunday 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

28305 N Thornton Rd. Thornton, CA 95686 (209) 334-5544 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase. d’Art Wines Hours: Daily 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

13299 N. Curry Avenue Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 334-9946 Tasting fee: $5, applied toward purchase.

Dancing Coyote Wines Hours: Friday-Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

3125 E. Orange Street Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 339-9780 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Dancing Fox Winery & Brewery Hours: Tue-Saturday noon-5 p.m., Sunday noon-3 p.m.

203 S. School Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 366-2634 Tasting fee: $5 regular, $10 reserve, refunded with purchase.

Drava Wines Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

1378 E Turner Road, Suite D Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 400-5009 Delicato Family Vineyards Hours: Daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

12001 South Highway 99 Manteca, CA 95336 (888) 599-4637 Durst Winery Hours: Daily noon-5 p.m.

10173 E. Acampo Rd. Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 601-1413 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase of one bottler per person.

Estate Crush Hours: Friday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

2 W. Lockeford Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 368-7595 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Fields Family Wines Hours: Thursday-Monday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

3803 E. Woodbridge Road Aca.m.po, CA 95220 (209) 896-6012 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Gnekow Family Winery Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

17347 E. Gawne Road Collegeville, CA 95215 (209) 463-0697 Grace Vineyards Hours: By appointment 28001 Nichols Rd. Galt, CA (916) 447-3774 Grady Family Vineyards Hours: Wednesday-Thursday, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, 3-9 p.m.; Saturday, noon-8 p.m.; Sunday

noon-5 p.m.

18911 Lower Sacramento Road Woodbridge, CA 95258 (209) 365-7575 Tasting fee: $6 Hanford Ranch Winery Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

13200 Loll Road Galt, CA 95632 (916) 812-5399 Tasting fee: $8 Harmony Wynelands Hours: Monday-Friday 11 a.m.5:30p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 12:30-5 p.m.

9291 E. Harney Lane Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 369-4184 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Harney Lane Winery Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. -5 p.m.

9010 E. Harney Lane Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 365-1900 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Heritage Oak Winery Hours: Monday-Friday 1 -5 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

10112 E. Woodbridge Road Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 986-2763 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase.

Housley’s Century Oak Winery Hours: First Saturday of the month, noon-4 p.m.

22211 N. Lower Sacramento Road Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 334-3482 Tasting fee: None Jeremy Wine Company Hours: Monday-Friday 1-5 p.m., Saturday & Sunday noon-5 p.m.

6 West Pine St. Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 367-3773 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Jessie’s Grove Winery Hours: Daily noon-5 p.m.

1973 W. Turner Road Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 368-0880 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Klinker Brick Winery Hours: Daily 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

15887 North Alpine Road Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 333-1845 ext. 105 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards Hours: Thursday-Monday, noon-5 p.m.

1525 East Jahant Road Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 334-9780 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase. Members of the wine club receive complimentary tasting.

Lodi Vintners Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

3750 E. Woodbridge Rd. Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 368-2019 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Lodi Wine & Visitor Center Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

2545 W. Turner Road Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 365-0621 Tasting fee: $7, includes a flight of 4 wines.

Lodi Wine Cellars Hours: Wednesday-Thursday 1-7 p.m.; Friday 3-11 p.m.; Saturday noon-11 p.m.; Sunday noon-4 p.m.

112 W. Pine Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 365-6622 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Lodi Wine Social Hours: Wednesday-Thursday 3-8 p.m.; Friday 1-10 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

7 N. School Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 224-5740 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase. Tastings are available from opening until 5 p.m.

Lone Grape Winery Hours: Friday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

12470 Locke Road, Suite 100 Lockeford, CA 95237 (209) 727-3232 Tasting fee: $5 per person The Lucas Winery Hours: Thursday-Sunday, noon4:30 p.m.

18196 North Davis Road Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 368-2006 Tasting fee: $10, includes winery tour and signature tasting glass. m2 Wines Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

2900 East Peltier Rd. Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 339-1071 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase.

Macchia

Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, by appointment 7099 E. Peltier Road Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 333-2600 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

McCay Cellars Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

1370 E. Turner Rd. Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 368-WINE Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase.

McConnell Estates Hours: Friday 3-9 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

10686 W. Stockton Blvd.

Elk Grove, CA 95757 (916) 685-5368 Tasting fee: None Mettler Family Vineyards Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

7889 E. Harney Lane Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 369-3045 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Michael David Winery Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

4580 W. Highway 12 Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 368-7384 Tasting fee: $5 Oak Farm Vineyards Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

23627 N. Devries Road Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 365-6565 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with one bottle wine purchase per person.

Oak Ridge Winery Hours: Daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

6100 E. Hwy 12, (Victor Rd) Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 369-4769 Tasting fee: None Omega Cellars Hours: Thursday-Sunday, noon -5 p.m., Monday-Wednesday, by appointment 13731 N. Highway 88 Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 367-1910 Tasting fee: None One Way Winery Hours: Thursday-Saturday, 1-8 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; Monday-Wednesday, by appointment At Visit Lodi! Conference & Visitors Bureau 25 N. School Street, Lodi CA (209) 365-4081 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Pasos Vineyards Hours: Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

12470 Locke Road Lockeford, CA 95237 (209) 727-3153 Peirano Estate Vineyards Hours: Thursday-Monday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

21831 N. Highway 99 Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 369-9463 Tasting fee: None Peltier Winery Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

22150 N. Kennefick Road Acampo, CA 95220 (209) 367-4882 Tasting fee: $6, refunded with purchase. pondl Winery Hours: Friday-Monday, noon -5 p.m.

665 W. Turner Rd. Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 367-3672 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

PRIE Hours: Friday, 1-5; SaturdaySunday 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

15622 N. Alpine Road Lodi, CA 95240 (925) 784-6197 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Riaza Wines Hours: Friday, Sunday 1-5 p.m.; Saturday, 1-6 p.m.; MondayThursday, by appointment 20 West Elm Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 625-1103 Tasting fee: $7, refunded with purchase.

Ripken Vineyards & Winery Hours: Friday-Sunday, noon-4 p.m.

2472 West Sargent Road Lodi, CA 95242 (209) 367- WINE (9463) Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

Scotto's Wine & Cider Hours: Saturday-Thursday, noon-6 p.m.; Friday, noon-9 p.m.

14 S. School Street Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 224-8590 Tasting fee: $10, refunded with purchase.

Solitary Cellars Hours: Friday-Sunday noon-5 p.m.

2 W. Lockeford St. Lodi, CA 95240 (209) 368-7595 Tasting fee: $5, refunded with purchase.

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Sunday, February 19, 2017 |

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Sunday, February 19, 2017

The Record

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The Stockton Record

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Sunday, February 19, 2017 |

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DOWNTOWN STOCKTON

Momentum keeps growing Projects galore in works for city’s central core

By Roger Phillips Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — New eateries opened, an impressive affordable-housing project welcomed its first tenants and investors both local and from afar snapped up properties in downtown Stockton.

The city’s core, in short, took several steps forward in 2016 in its ongoing quest to shed its longstanding reputation for rolling up its sidewalks when the downtown workforce scurries home promptly at 5 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

Cindi Fargo, who heads the Downtown Stockton Alliance, says she expects the slow, steady progress to continue in 2017 and added that measured steps are the usual course for urban renewal.

“We always have to remember revitalization is an incremental process,” Fargo said.

Though most of 2017 remains to unfold, 2016 was eventful: • DFA Development’s Cal Weber 40 affordable-housing project was completed, all of its units were leased before the doors ever opened and a waiting list of 300 was compiled, providing evidence of huge and unmet demand downtown.

• San Francisco developer Edward Schmidt purchased the historic Reid and Kendall buildings, along with a vacant lot and the Elks Building and wrote in an email that he “intends to play a significant role in the development and creation that the downtown district deserves.”

• DFA Development, in conjunction with Ten Space, unveiled a plan to convert the 90-year-old vacant Medico-Dental Building into 30 affordably priced rental

units, with 10 more available at market-rate prices.

• The Medico-Dental plan will be built, in part, through the city’s allocation in December of federal affordable-housing funds. STAND Affordable Housing received an allocation as well, to be used to build seven affordable single-family homes on vacant lots in Stockton’s greater downtown area.

Expected openings downtown in 2017 range from the new county courthouse to a long-awaited local brewery.

David Garcia of Ten Space said in January there also will be more news coming in 2017 about the company’s ambitious 15-block Open Window downtown redevelopment project, which it first rolled out nearly two years ago.

“We are moving full steam ahead with our architects and engineers and partners on unveiling the first phase of the Open Window Project, which will include market-rate housing and new commercial development,” said Garcia, adding that specifics will come later in 2017.

But it is not only local developers who are seeing potential in downtown Stockton, broker Mahala Burns of the Cort Companies said. “(Investors) want to buy something in (downtown) Stockton and they’re mainly from San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and Napa: all the areas that are currently getting really unaffordable,” Burns said.

Said Garcia: “We want people to come in and invest in some of our historic buildings. Ten Space doesn’t want to be the only ones.”

Members of the development community credit millennials with providing the impetus for downtown’s

Signs of future businesses in the Belding Building at San Joaquin Street and Weber Avenue in downtown Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

The Cal Weber 40 project on California Street and Weber Avenue in downtown Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

effort to shed its lethargy.

Schoolchildren deserve some credit, too: Several schools have opened downtown in recent years.

And the educational presence downtown already has

increased since the New Year. Ten Space and the San Joaquin County Office of Education broke ground in January on an urban garden on the east side of downtown.

Those same entities also

Signs of future businesses in the Belding Building at San Joaquin Street and Weber Avenue in downtown Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

are joining forces on a second, undisclosed downtown educational collaboration expected to be revealed in 2017.

“I’m really happy about the progress we’re seeing downtown, both from investors and concerned groups,” Fargo said. “Everything is

moving exactly as it should.

We have large-scale and incremental progress.”

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

Follow him at recordnet.com/ phillipsblog and on Twitter @ rphillipsblog.

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| Sunday, February 19, 2017

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The Stockton Record

We can do this ‘collectively’ Stockton mayor expresses optimism for city’s future

By Michael Tubbs Stockton Mayor

Despite the current turmoil nationally, I am more resolute that our best days as a city are ahead.

I truly believe that Stockton will emerge over the next several years as a “city on a hill” and as a model for what communities can do collectively to address pressing challenges.

What will success in Stockton look like after my time as mayor? It looks like: • Parents feeling safe to let their children play in our parks; • Good paying, stable jobs for Stocktonians; • An education system that prepares students to succeed in a 21st century economy; • Collaboration with the county that yields a housing-first solution that moves our city’s homeless into permanent housing; • Formerly blighted neighborhoods buzzing with revitalized energy; • Opportunity for Stockton residents to realize their full potential; • Increased civic pride and engagement with the government to keep it accountable.

Let me tell you how we get there.

We will create a safe community by continuing to increase the capacity and diversity of our police force, while working on trust building and reconciliation with our residents and a community police model that has procedural justice, specific neighborhood needs and rigorous data-based policing decisions at its core.

This data-driven strategy will allow us to focus our limited resources on those neighborhoods, people and slumlords that need it the most.

Additionally, law enforcement is necessary but not wholly sufficient to create the safety that Stockton residents deserve. We must take a comprehensive approach to safety.

Our police cannot play the role of social worker, teacher and therapist.

To confront this reality, we will continue our focus on Project Ceasefire and the Office of Violence

Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs. [COURTESY]

Prevention and find ways to provide opportunities for those who want to transition from lives of violence and crime.

Additionally, we will form robust partnerships to create a strategy for each of our Hot Zone communities and utilize Measure M funds to increase the availability of social activities in those communities.

Furthermore, working closely and forming partnerships with the school districts, community-based organizations and the faith community will be the centerpiece of my administration.

We have to do more to provide real opportunity in terms of housing, jobs and other services to the historically underserved citizens of Stockton to get at the root causes of crime in our city.

To create opportunity for Stocktonians, we need jobs. Our unemployment rate is more than 7 percent, which is higher than the national average. With our proximity to the Bay Area and Silicon

Valley, our deep-water channel port and access to major freeways, Stockton is in a competitive position to fight for companies to move here. However, we must be nimble and quick to respond to prospective employers seeking to move here.

We also need to spur small business growth and workforce development within the city and use all the tools at our disposal to create incentives for companies and implement the best regulatory practices from cities around the country. Furthermore, we have to set the conditions to provide the next generation of entrepreneurs, creators and innovators a reason to call Stockton home.

In the long term, the best way to attract companies to our city is to improve our educational outcomes.

Each year, Stocktonians leave our city for college or job opportunities and never look back — a great brain drain. We need to reverse this by supporting our youth from cradle to career and making this city a more

attractive place to raise children.

In my capacity as mayor, I will work with partners to boost enrollment in pre-kindergarten, bring back city programs such as the Youth Leadership Academy, and work to lower the cost barriers for our students to obtain post-secondary education. Our schools should open as many doors for all of our students as they did for me.

We also need to improve the housing situation in Stockton.

The General Plan affords us the opportunity to strengthen existing neighborhoods and ensure that there are a variety of housing options — market rate and affordable. I will also work with landlords, developers and nonprofit organizations to increase the amount of affordable housing in the city.

To better serve our homeless population, I will continue my work to change city zoning laws to allow for tiny houses and micro-apartments, and work with the county to facilitate a housing-first model in the

city to provide permanent homes to those who have been without for too long. The causes of homelessness are complex, but there is no reason why Stockton should not have an established procedure to assist people to overcome these obstacles. Every Stocktonian should have the dignity and stability of a place to call home.

Lastly, I will better engage our citizens in the work of governance.

I want Stockton to be known for its active citizens who participate in everything from shaping the budgetary process to cleaning up trash and blight.

I aim to provide more information online, have regular office hours and host quarterly city-wide town halls so that I can better hear and represent the goals, needs and dreams of Stocktonians.

I saw seeds of the civic engagement that I seek to foster on that cold rainy night in January when I took the oath of Mayor at the Bob Hope Theatre. I felt that Stockton pride — that pride that only people that have spent time here truly know or understand.

The crowd that night was filled with the diversity that is Stockton. I saw teachers and students, young and not so young, all different nationalities and all different walks of life.

Each day I walk into City Hall, I think about the faces that were in the crowd that night. I know I have the hopes and expectations of the city on me and I want to make you proud, Stockton.

Finally, my definition of success for the city is bigger than any one person. Working with the city council, other elected officials and residents, I am confident that we will be able to make the city that raised me a better place. I see my life story intertwined with the story that is Stockton. In our community, nothing comes easy, we have seen our share of hard times but we always bounce back.

I have no delusions about the size of our challenges.

The work ahead will be hard and success will at times seem out of our reach, but like the rose that grew from concrete, I know that together we will rise and Reinvent Stockton.

The Stockton Record

BANKING Douglass Eberhardt, left, the chief executive officer and chairman of the Bank of Stockton, and his son, Douglass Eberhardt II, the bank’s president.

[CLIFFORD OTO/ RECORD FILE 2016]

Growth trend continues

By Scott Linesburgh Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — The local financial industry saw an uptick in business in 2016, a continuation of a trend that began the previous year and is expected to continue.

“Growth in the valley is at a very healthy, sustainable pace,” said Kent Steinwert, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Lodi-based Farmers and Merchants Bank. “My outlook is that the strong performance will go through this year and 2018, at least.”

Lower unemployment and increasing consumer confidence have contributed to the upswing. Business leaders anticipate that 2017 could be even better.

“Over the last year or so, the financial institutions here in San Joaquin County and the surrounding counties have been picking up,” said Douglass Eberhardt, CEO and chairman of the board of Bank of Stockton.

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it robust, but nice and steady.

It’s good growth.”

Steinwert said F&M has seen “the highest level of business and construction activity since 2006.”

“We had the best growth profits in our area in the past year,” he said. “And to give you an example of what that means, we’ve been around for 100 years.”

The Great Recession, which crippled the economy locally and nationally, has faded away and while it took time to recover, the past year was strong. And a better economy means people are more likely to purchase homes, open businesses and invest in business opportunities, according to Douglass Eberhardt II, president of the Bank of Stockton.

“People are being more optimistic,” he said. “The instinct was to circle the wagons during the recession.

But you can tell people are more confident now.”

Locally owned banks tend to react differently than large national institutions, according to Dr. Jeffrey Michael, the director of the Center of Business and Policy Research at University of the Pacific.

“Local banks tend to be a

little more oriented toward agricultural lending and small-business type lending,” Michael said.

“It’s a little bit different of a portfolio from some of the big national banks. The agriculture side has been very strong for those local banks, but there might be some challenges ahead in that area. It might be a little weaker than it has in recent years, but overall it’s a positive situation.”

There are several telling signs of the recent successes, many involving real estate.

Small business and home loans still make up a large share of the local banks’ activities.

Douglass Eberhardt noted how the housing market has changed since the recession and the housing shortage and prices in the Bay Area will significantly help the local markets.

Said Eberhardt: “It certainly is creating opportunities.”

— Contact reporter Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesburgh@recordnet. com. Follow him at recordnet. com/sportsblog and on Twitter @ScottLinesburgh.

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SPORTS

Growing as a community Sporting events go beyond just the competition

By Thomas Lawrence Record Staff Writer

The new leader of University of the Pacific's men’s basketball team has been seen all around Stockton.

First and foremost, on the city’s streets and highways.

Damon Stoudamire, the former longtime NBA guard, earned his first collegiate head coaching job with Pacific last offseason. So the Tigers tapped into the marketing opportunity quickly with several billboards and more, and the advertising push has paid off.

Ted Leland, Pacific’s director of athletics and vice president of university advancement, confirmed that Stoudamire’s short time in Stockton has been a boon for the university.

“We’ve raised a lot more money. Our fundraising for PAF (Pacific Athletic Foundation) and basketball is setting records,” said Leland, formerly the athletic director at Stanford. “Our season ticket holders are up 15 percent this year.”

Leland wants the program to return to its popularity of a decade ago, when Bob Thomason was coach and Spanos Center was averaging 4,000 attendees per men’s home game.

“The transition has been great. He’s a wonderful guy to work with,” Leland said of Stoudamire, whose Tigers were 8-17 overall and 2-10 in West Coast Conference play as of Feb. 8. “He’s an incredibly hard-working coach, so we’re excited about the future.

“We’ve had some tough losses this year and some hard injuries, but we’re hoping to finish the season strong.”

Pacific also has opened the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center, which has brought in a professional men’s tennis event, and the university is building a new fitness facility to go alongside its practice gym.

“We’ve got some new fun things on the horizon,” Leland said.

March Madness invading Stockton Pacific is hosting a mammoth event in March, just a few miles off campus.

The Tigers are the host school for one of the 2017 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament regionals at Stockton Arena. There will be Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games at the arena from March 24-27.

Pacific women’s coach Bradley Davis said he believes in the prowess of girls and women’s basketball in the Central Valley. With that in mind, Davis thinks it’s the perfect time for the Big Dance to come to Stockton.

“Obviously, in Stockton from our high school programs and all the way up and down the valley, there is very good girls (and women’s) basketball,” Davis said. “To bring in the NCAA Tournament, and women’s basketball and the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight stage is just kind of the next step.”

Davis, in his second year guiding the Tigers, noted that West Coast teams — Oregon State, Washington, Stanford and UCLA — are in the top 15 of The Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.

“It’s a good time to be hosting a regional on the West Coast,” Davis said.

He wants his program to see what late-season success looks like, and hopes Pacific can bring in superpowers such as the University of Connecticut for nonconference games like it has in the past.

Heat driven by special nights It’s the second season of the Heat of the AHL and not the Thunder of the ECHL as Stockton's professional hockey team. The American Hockey League is the highest level of hockey's minor leagues, just one step away from the NHL. The East Coast Hockey League is a tier below the AHL. Stockton started strong this season and rose to the top of the AHL’s Pacific Division.

While the Heat’s on-ice product has slowed down, sinking to fifth place of eight teams as of Feb. 8, president Dave Piecuch is happy about the team’s place in the community.

The Heat’s presence at Stockton Arena, especially for its themed nights — whether it be just for fun or for charity — is strong as ever. At the annual Teddy Pacific’s Najah Queenland, right, drives to the hoop on LMU’s Jackie Johnson, rear, and Andee Velasco during a women’s basketball game at Spanos Center Bear Toss charity night in in Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/RECORD FILE 2017] January, the Heat set a record San Joaquin with more than 8,000 fans Delta in attendance. Stockton also College’s had more than 6,000 fans Raul Rizo wear safety vests for the slides into franchise’s first-ever safety an out at night. second, “What we’ve tried to do making the with the Heat is re-educate play is Gilroy people on the name change Gavilan’s and the higher level of play,” Brock Bueno, Piecuch said. “We stress that during the you’re seeing guys who have season played in the NHL.” opener on Indeed, sixteen members Friday at of the Heat last season played Cecchitti at least one game with the Field.

Calgary Flames, the Heat’s [CALIXTRO NHL parent franchise.

ROMIAS/ Piecuch said he expects RECORD FILE attendance to surge again for 2017] the season’s homestretch, as it did with the Thunder and as it did with the Heat last year.

He attributes that to games with playoff implications and popular events like Star Wars theme night.

Northern California hardly is a hockey wonderland, like, say, the Northeast or Canada, but Piecuch said the influence of the San Jose Sharks lingers.

“The Sharks 25 years ago did a great job of introducing Northern California to hockey,” Piecuch said.

“When the Thunder came in 12 years ago, they integrated hockey more into this area, into the Central Valley area.”

High school hoops finals return In the same year the Women’s NCAA Tournament comes to Stockton Arena, the Sac-Joaquin Section high school basketball championships are coming to Spanos Center.

The section finals formerly were at Sleep Train Arena, but the Kings’ move to the Golden 1 Center meant an end to that relationship.

The success of high school sports in Stockton has fluctuated, depending on the school and sport, but the St. Mary’s football team reached a state final in December.

Three more things to keep an eye on: • The Stockton Ports, the California League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics, return home to Stockton Ballpark in April.

• The San Joaquin Delta College baseball team will attempt to reach the state final four for a fourth consecutive season under coach Reed Peters.

• The city’s track and field tradition and success continue to thrive, especially after Stockton’s Roderick Townsend set new Paralympics records in the long jump and high jump last summer in Rio de Janeiro.

— Contact reporter Thomas Lawrence at (209) 546-8272 or tlawrence@recordnet.com.

Follow him at recordnet.com/ sportsblog and on Twitter @ RecordPreps.

Stockton Heat’s Kayle Doetzel, left, fights for the puck with San Jose Barracuda’s John McCarthy during a game at Stockton Arena. [CLIFFORD OTO/ RECORD FILE 2017]

Pacific women’s basketball coach Bradley Davis talks to his team during a time out during an exhibition game at the Spanos Center. [CRAIG SANDERS/FOR THE RECORD FILE 2016]

Pacific’s head coach Damon Stoudamire during a game at Spanos Center.[CALIXTRO ROMIAS/ RECORD FILE 2017]

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The Stockton Record

PORT OF STOCKTON

Economic impact continues to grow

By Joe Goldeen Record Staff Writer

STOCKTON — Anyone who travels Interstate 5 past downtown Stockton and looks west is well aware of the Port of Stockton with its massive, oddshaped structures and, if you’re lucky, an ocean-going ship unloading at the docks.

But it didn’t take much to get lucky in 2016, with 232 ships sailing into the port — the second-highest number in the past six years, according to longtime Port Director Rick Aschieris.

“We’ve really grown to be an important part of the economic foundation of not just Stockton but San Joaquin County and this whole part of Northern California,” Aschieris said.

For many years, the port has stood as the reliable engine of commerce for Stockton, most recently supporting some 5,500 jobs around the county that generate approximately $180 million in salaries and benefits.

After 84 years of serving ocean-going vessels — the SS Daisy Gray was the first to arrive with a load of lumber on Feb. 2, 1933 — the port has served as the city’s window to the world ever since, increasing its trade relationships to more than 55 countries.

The products that come through the port — while typically not those used every day by your average consumer — play a critical role in the region and the entire West.

More than 90 percent of all the fertilizer — both dry bulk and liquid fertilizers — used in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin Valley comes through the port.

Another product, cement, had come back strong in the past couple of years.

“In 2014, we had six cement ships. This past year, we had 20,” Aschieris said. “That’s a lot of cement.”

And while the volume of one product — low-sulfur coal — has decreased significantly (down about 1 million tons in the past one or two years),

The recently completed Crosstown Freeway extension, which goes past Fresno Avenue west toward Navy Drive, provides easier access for large trucks into the Port of Stockton. [CALIXTRO ROMIAS/THE RECORD]

the increased volume in steel imports is filling the void.

“We had more steel ships than anything else this past year; 43 steel ships coming from a variety of places in Asia, primarily Japan and Korea,” Aschieris said.

Mostly, the loads consist of 480-foot-long rails that go directly to a port-based facility operated by Union Pacific Railroad where three of them are welded together to create super-long rails more than four football fields long with just two welds that are shipped out via rail throughout the Western United States.

“That’s a good project that has been operating for over a full year now,” Aschieris said.

Heading outbound, the Valley’s rice farmers shipped just

under 160 tons of bagged rice to Japan, about the same as last year but significantly more than two years ago.

The port has continued to work on major infrastructure projects that improve its roadways and rail lines for greater efficiency. That got a major boost recently with the completion of the mile-long extension of the Crosstown Freeway to Navy Drive, taking trucks away from the Boggs Tract residential neighborhood.

It also completed dredging the channel down to 35 feet along the docks on Rough and Ready Island, matching the depth of the Stockton Deep Water Channel for the first time since the port acquired the island from the federal government in 2000.

Aschieris also noted that private investment in the port has not slackened in recent years.

Since the economic downturn of the past decade, more than $2 billion in private-sector investment has been made in port properties.

“It’s not dramatic, but it’s positive,” he said.

Continuing that trend, he said he is involved in different stages of negotiating a number of leases that, if they all work out, could add up to another $1.5 billion in new projects at the port over the next four to five years.

— Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com.

Follow him at recordnet.com/ goldeenblog and on Twitter @ JoeGoldeen.

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The Stockton Record

REAL ESTATE

Single-family home construction continues at a KB Home development near Alpine Avenue and Montego Avenue in Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/THE RECORD]

Steady growth as climb continues South county expected to pace San Joaquin market

By Jason Anderson Record Staff Writer

Nearly a decade has passed since the housing bubble burst and home values cratered in San Joaquin County amid the nationwide subprime mortgage crisis.

The recovery has been long, slow and arduous for many homeowners in this region. Real estate agents and developers reported modest gains in 2016, but what does the future hold for Stockton and its surrounding communities?

The outlook for 2017 is good but not great, experts said. Some are projecting mild growth in Stockton with stronger gains in other parts of the county, including Lathrop, Manteca and Tracy.

“I’m anticipating a continual, slow, gradual upward trend,” said John Beckman, CEO of the Building Industry Association of the Greater Valley. “I think 2017 will be very similar to 2016 in that regard. It’s not an aggressive trend either up or down. It’s merely a very slight, practically sideways trend.”

Beckman said home values in Stockton could improve by 2 to 5 percent. He said home values could rise by 4 to 8 percent in south county communities such as Lathrop, Manteca and Tracy.

“They are growing much faster than Stockton,” Beckman said. “They’re getting greater price appreciation and far more new homes are being built. The rents are going up and the home values are going up faster than they are in Stockton.”

Stockton led the nation in home foreclosures in 2007 and 2008 after the value of median-priced homes declined by nearly 45 percent. Weston Ranch, a subdivision built in the 1990s, was hit particularly hard when the market crashed after real estate tripled in Stockton from 1998 to 2005.

Stockton later spiraled into bankruptcy, becoming the largest city to file for bankruptcy protection in U.S. history.

“Since the downturn, when prices dropped in some cases to 50 percent of what they were originally, it’s been a slow path back,” said Kevin Huber, CEO of the Grupe Company. “In

some cases, I would say we haven’t really come back to the peak, unlike the Bay Area, which has not only recovered but exceeded where they were pre-recession levels.

“I would attribute that to job growth and income growth. Typically, when you have high job growth and you have wages that increase, you’ll see increased demand for housing.”

Jeffrey Michael, executive director of the Center for Business and Policy Research at University of the Pacific, also expects to see more slow growth in Stockton with slightly stronger growth in the south county.

“There is building going on again, but it’s a fraction of what it used to be,” Michael said. “Manteca has been leading building permits within the county in recent years, but there are some other big projects coming in the River Islands area in Lathrop. The permit data shows a little bit of activity in Stockton in the past year or so where it was more or less dormant during the bankruptcy years, so there is some building there, too.

“It still really falls short of what is needed to keep up with a growing population and demand. That will continue to keep upward pressure on home prices and rents even with mortgage rates creeping higher, which sort of creates some affordability challenges.”

Huber noted that Stockton Community Development Director David Kwong will be leading the city’s effort to update its general plan for 2035. The original plan was adopted in 2007, when “the world was very different than it was after the meltdown of 2008,” Huber said.

Huber said the city’s general plan could shape what happens in terms of development for years to come.

“Their goal is to adopt something in 2018,” Huber said. “So 2017, if I were to characterize it from an outlook standpoint, is an opportunity for the community to participate in the blueprint for the next decade.”

— Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or janderson@recordnet.com.

Follow him at recordnet.com/ crimeblog and on Twitter @ Stockton911.

Roberto Mora works on wiring in a garage at a KB Home development near Alpine Avenue and Montego Avenue in Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/THE RECORD]

Victor Avila works on wiring in a garage at a KB Home development near Alpine Avenue and Montego Avenue in Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/THE RECORD]

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AGRICULTURE

‘Farmers are optimistic people’ But challenges, uncertainties are ahead

By Alex Breitler Record Staff Writer

One problem San Joaquin County farmers won’t have to worry about in 2017 is a lack of water.

The county’s leading industry shed more than $500 million in value during the worst of the drought, or about a 15 percent hit.

Now growers are hoping that better times are in store. Unless, of course, they get too much water. Regardless of what the weather brings, the outlook is clouded somewhat by lower prices for some commodities and uncertainty over immigration, trade and other new government policies and regulations.

“It’s one of those years where you hope you break even,” said Paul Sanguinetti, who grows tomatoes and other crops east of Stockton. “But, farmers are optimistic people, or we’d have quit a long time ago.”

In 2015, about 7 percent of the county’s crop land was left unplanted, partially because of the drought.

Even farmers in water-rich areas such as the Delta, which normally do not experience water cutbacks, were squeezed.

The county quickly has gone from not enough water to almost too much.

Vineyards have flooded along the Mokelumne River in northern San Joaquin County, delaying maintenance work that needs to be done before the vines “wake up” from their dormant state. With

Farmer Paul Sanguinetti stands in a corn field July 5, 2013, at his farm on Farmington Road east of Stockton. [CLIFFORD OTO/RECORD FILE 2013]

warm temperatures recently, increasing the odds of early plant growth, an extended dry spell is needed, growers say.

But water worries go far beyond the seven-day forecast. While worrying about droughts and floods, farmers also are warily watching longer-term policies and projects such as Gov. Jerry Brown’s $15 billion twin tunnels, which would divert some freshwater beneath Delta channels rather than through them.

Delta farmers fear their water quality will suffer as a result of the tunnels, which may be formally approved this year.

Simultaneously, two state agencies are pursuing policies that, to farmers, seem contradictory. First, the state Department of Water Resources is implementing a new law requiring the sustainable use of groundwater, which has been

over-pumped for decades in the San Joaquin Valley. So much water has been pumped that the ground itself is sinking in some areas.

At the same time, the State Water Resources Control Board is calling for more water to be dedicated for fish in three San Joaquin River tributaries, which would necessarily reduce the supply for farmers and likely require them to use more groundwater.

The farmers and the government disagree over how severe the consequences for agriculture will be, and the impacts won’t be felt for some time.

“But we have some real concerns,” said Bruce Blodgett, director of the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation. “While the drought is technically over for us, it’s not over from a regulatory standpoint.”

Water or no, farmers face

other challenges. The cost of producing crops will continue to go “through the roof,” Blodgett said, due to regulations like the recently approved expansion of overtime for farmworkers.

At the same time, prices for commodities like almonds have fallen as thousands of new acres of almond orchards are planted.

In the past, record-high prices helped farmers absorb new costs. That is not necessarily still the case, Blodgett said.

The new administration in Washington, D.C., adds yet another layer of complexity, particularly when it comes to the region’s ability to export certain crops.

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans Pacific Partnership, to the dismay of the California Farm Bureau Federation which recently called on the administration

to “break down barriers to agricultural trade.”

“If the U.S. gets very aggressive in its trade stance, will China retaliate?” asked Jeff Michael, an economist with University of the Pacific’s Center for Business and Policy Research. “I’m not necessarily predicting a trade war, but it’s a real risk and it does make people nervous.”

The strong value of the dollar already makes it more expensive for other countries to partake in California’s bounty. That, too, dampens exports, which has a real impact on agriculturedependent communities.

Roughly 1 billion pounds of California almonds are shipped abroad each year; almonds are a half-billion dollar crop in San Joaquin County.

Trump’s hard-line stance on immigration also could diminish the labor pool for agriculture. Blodgett, with the farm bureau, said farmers are lobbying for a guest worker program in which people can enter the country

legally to work.

Context is important: Even after sliding 15 percent in 2015, agriculture was worth nearly $3 billion in San Joaquin County. It remains the dominant industry here, though perhaps to a lesser degree than decades past, Michael said.

But the “golden days” of the early 2010s may be over.

Michael said he expects the ag economy to stabilize, and perhaps diminish a bit in the future due to long-term water cutbacks.

“I think the main point is some people look out the window and see the rain, and think, ‘All right, everything’s great in agriculture now,’ ” he said.

“It wasn’t as bad as you thought when we had a drought, and it’s not as good as you think when the rain is falling.”

— Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com.

Follow him at recordnet.com/ breitlerblog and on Twitter @ alexbreitler.

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