(Please note that .pdfs are large files and may take several minutes to download.)

209Vibe: “Tag, You’re It” (December 2007). The only known long-ranging interview with Stockton’s best-known graffiti artist. (.pdf only)

209Vibe: “College music in the 209″ (September 2008). Stockton is home to one of the country’s best music conservatories, so why does the city lack a real college music scene? (.pdf)

The Record: “Nothing Common about Grammy-winning rapper’s high-spirited Hope performance” (March 2006). For 90 minutes Saturday night, 2,000 hip-hop fans at the Bob Hope Theatre forgot they were in Stockton.

The Record: “Musicians seek money to help with bandmate’s bills” (July 2006). Playing the blues doesn’t carry health benefits or pay the bills. Guitarist Jimmy Hartley suffered multiple strokes, and his subsequent surgery and hospital stay cost him and his family hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tragically, Hartley committed suicide two years after this story was published.

The Record: “Permit process mires entertainers” (January 2006). For decades, a complicated city permit application process held back Stockton’s entertainment scene. This investigation led a civil grand jury to force the city to change the process.

The Record: “Year-old teen center is so yesterday” (April 2006). Stockton spent $3.6 million to build a teen center that, due to mismanagement and other issues, drew only about 20 teens daily. This investigation includes audio of interviews with teens. It also sparked action by a civil grand jury and City Council.

The Record: “Neil Diamond fans paying a higher price to see him in Stockton” (December 2005). A quick online search found that tickets to a publicly-financed Neil Diamond concert in Stockton cost twice as much as those for other Northern California shows. This relatively short column item, in conjunction with coverage by The Record’s city hall reporter, later contributed to the firing of the city manager.

The Record: “Pacific students’ view of Stockton shaped by city’s crime rate” (April 2007). Nick Hansen said he knew nothing of Stockton or that it was one of California’s most violent big cities before he came to University of the Pacific. Now a senior majoring in communication with an emphasis in broadcasting, Hansen, 22, describes Pacific as a peaceful “oasis” in Stockton. His car was broken into and his stereo stolen last year in the parking lot of his off-campus apartment, and while in his dormitory in 2003 he heard the gunshots that killed Alfonso Martinez, 20, in American Legion Park. More than 100 interviews were conducted for this investigation.

Search Ian Hill on Recordnet.com, The Stockton Record’s Web site

Search Ian Hill music on Recordnet.com

More coming soon!