Latest news with #ModestoBee
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
7 closures and expansions changing Modesto's business map
Stories by Modesto Bee journalists, with AI summarization Modesto's business landscape is evolving with new arrivals and tough farewells. Vallarta Supermarkets has opened in a long-vacant space on Pelandale Avenue, offering jobs and unique departments like a guacamole station and panadería. Longtime icons are closing, such as Hart Florist, which is ending operations after 82 years of serving local families. Fresh dining options are gaining ground, like the Pokemoto in Village One Plaza with Hawaiian-style poke bowls and a wide range of boba teas. Meanwhile, the closure of Joann Fabrics and Crafts has prompted local shoppers to search for new fabric stores in the area, signaling how shifts in retail affect daily routines. The store brought over 200 new jobs to Modesto. | Published February 5, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dominique Williams The cafe opened Monday and serves dine-in or takeout breakfast and lunch, as well as take-home dinners. | Published February 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dominique Williams The company's arrival would mean a new everyday dining option as well as job opportunities for high school, seasonal and other employees. | Published February 26, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dominique Williams The decision to close reflects 'the challenges faced by small, family-owned businesses,' the owner said. | Published March 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Dominique Williams 'It's not our favorite option, it's not our only option.' | Published March 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Pat Clark 'People have been coming in and trying this instead of something fried or with oil.' — Navjot Kaur | Published April 3, 2025 | Read Full Story by Maria Luisa Figueroa The Modesto Bee went in search of fabric stores in Stanislaus County — and what you can expect to pay. | Published May 6, 2025 | Read Full Story by Angela Rodriguez The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Larvae in broccoli and unpermitted flea market vendors: Stanislaus inspections
In our Reality Check stories, Modesto Bee journalists deliver fast facts about the issues that matter to local residents to hold officials and institutions accountable. Read more. Story idea? Tips@ Stainslaus County health inspectors observed larvae in broccoli at a Modesto restaurant and unpermitted food vendors at the flea market during inspections conducted in late April through early May. The majority of the 2,400 permitted food service establishments in the county receive two unannounced routine food safety inspections per year, according to the Department of Environmental Resources. The website says inspection reports are scanned weekly. Food trucks that operate under a Stanislaus County Health Department permit also are inspected by the county, though those are scheduled and done at the department's office. Dirty conditions at a Stanislaus County restaurant? How to report health code violations Of the 97 restaurant inspection reports sent to The Modesto Bee on Tuesday, 25 were not updated on the site as of Tuesday morning. Violations were found during routine inspections of the following Stanislaus County food facilities during the week of April 27 - May 11. Only the dates of violations are listed. The details of the reports do not indicate whether a restaurant passed or failed inspection. Corrective actions may have been made by the business by the time of publication. The reports are linked. For updates on individual restaurants, search the DER website. Modesto Flea Market, 1107 S. 7th St. in Modesto, had three violations during an inspection on April 28 which was the result of a complaint. The complaint alleged that there was an unpermitted vendor selling cut fruit and fresh-squeezed juice. The complaint was verified. An unpermitted vendor was observed breaking down their booth. Evidence of fresh-squeezed juice and cut fruit were observed. The vendors were educated on how to become permitted with the county to sell potentially hazardous foods. A California Churros cart was observed selling aguas frescas. The cart was approved to sell churros only. Numerous vendors were observed selling potentially hazardous foods including cut fruit and empanadas. Vendors are only approved to sell whole, uncut fruit and produce. No food preparation is allowed at an approved flea market or swap meet. Numerous vendors were observed selling unlabeled, whole food items. Commonwealth, 1022 11th St. in Modesto, had five violations on April 29. Chips were placed on a drainboard of the three-compartment sink. Floors under shelves, as well as the walk-in cooler floor, were soiled with fallen items. The hand-soap dispenser at the sink in the bar was broken. One of the dispensers in the bathroom closest to the kitchen was missing. Air gaps were lacking at some of the indirect connections. Quik Stop, 1500 Crows Landing Road in Modesto, had five violations on April 29. Several ants were observed at the three-compartment sink and moving along the wall next to the sink. Trash, debris and fallen items were observed on the floor of the walk-in refrigerator, under the shelves of the backroom and under the sink. Several contact points were soiled and needed to be cleaned and maintained. Weather stripping at the rear exterior door was deteriorating. The 'FRP'at the mop sink was incomplete. Fat Wong Chinese Food to Go, 3121 Yosemite Blvd. Suite B2 in Modesto, had two inspections on April 29 and May 6. During the inspection on April 29, there were four violations — one of them major. The internal temperature of the prep refrigerator ranged from 41 to 47 degrees (must be 41 degrees or lower). The ambient temperature of this refrigerator was 43 degrees. There was a condensation leak in the walk-in refrigerator. Metal pots that were only utilized to collect old cooking oil had cooking oil stain buildup. The inspection on May 6 was the result of a complaint. The complaint is not explicitly outlined in the report. The report states that each order of wonton soup is prepared individually with pork-filled wonton, fresh broccoli and carrots. Several heads of broccoli were placed in a compartment of the sink and submerged in fresh water. One larvae (green color) was noted. Yogurt Mill, 801 W. Roseburg Ave. in Modesto, had three violations on May 1 — two of them major. Hot water was lacking throughout the facility. Water was noted at 62 degrees at the mop sink, two-compartment sink and bathroom hand-washing sink. The hand-washing sink next to the blenders had a temperature of 76 degrees. This sink was also obstructed with food containers. Seng's Restaurant, 1100 Carver Road Suite F in Modesto, had four violations on May 1. There was a lot of spillage and food stains on surfaces at the cook's line. All surfaces and hand-contact points were observed with dried grime and food. The internal temperature of cooked pork in the walk-in refrigerator was at 51 degrees. Sanitizer buckets were not set up. Gas and Market, 2241 Yosemite Blvd. in Modesto, had five violations on May 5. The bathroom floor had stains and grime accumulation. There was debris accumulation and stain buildup on the floor of the walk-in refrigerator. The interior ceiling of this refrigerator had what appeared to the inspector to be a water leak. The three-compartment was not accessible for the cleaning, rinsing and sanitizing of utensils. Boxes of paper drinking cups were stored on top of the compartments. The wastewater conduit pipe from this sink was leaking water. 7-Eleven, 1305 Herndon Road in Ceres, had four violations on May 7. The floor in front of the three-compartment sink was soiled and cluttered with merchandise returns. Several fallen items were observed under shelves in the back room and storage area. The hand-washing sink was not accessible. The soap dispenser in the patron bathroom was empty. Walt Hanline Elementary School, 4295 Central Ave. in Ceres, had eight violations on May 8. A food-storage rack had spider webs throughout the shelving and equipment. Food debris was also noted on the cookie sheet pans. The drawers adjacent to the steam tables had a brown, translucent jelly-like substance throughout the food utensils and the bottom of the drawer. There was a large container with an unknown spice/dry food mixture half covered with cellophane wrap on a storage rack. The floors in the ware-washing area were sticky. Puddles of encrusted soap were seen underneath the food disposal sink. The floors in the refrigerator were encrusted with residue and food debris. The floors in the walk-in freezer were soiled with food debris and encrusted with patches of white residue. The concentration of sanitizer in a bucket concentration was noted at 200+ ppm. Sanitizer test strips had significant brown discoloration. United Samaritans Foundation and St. Stanislaus School, 1416 Maze Blvd. in Modesto, had six violations on May 6. There was evidence of roaches in the 'Clarks' trap. There were two worn sponges on the sink. The three-door refrigerator was at 50.5 degrees. There was no hot water at the three-compartment sink. There were no paper towels in the dispenser. The health permit had expired. Two violations, including evidence of roaches, remained during a reinspection on May 14. The Post Restaurant & Bar, 5801 Stoddard Road in Modesto, had six violations during an inspection on May 8 which was the result of a complaint. The complaint alleged that employees do not wash their hands and that there was mold in the ice bins. Inspectors went over the facility's regular and proper hand washing procedures with both the front of house and back of house staff. Some grime had accumulated on the interior surface of the large ice machine bin. A few cutting boards had dark grooves on one side. Some dust or grime had accumulated on the condenser fan unit, on food bottles and on shelving units within the walk-in refrigerator. An ice scoop was found inside an ice bin in the bar area. One of the lights in the storage room was not operational, as it had shattered. A valid food safety certificate was lacking. One violation remained during a reinspection on May 15. Other food facilities with three or more, or major, violations at the time of their inspections are: Agave Azul Damian's Mexican Food Fit Nutrition Empire House of Beef (major violations corrected at time of inspection) O'Brien's Market (major violation corrected at time of inspection) According to Stanislaus County, food facilities that had one or two violations, none of them major, are: Bottoms Up Espresso, 901 Yosemite Blvd., Modesto Carl's Jr, 1643 E. Hatch Road, Modesto Ceres Grub Hub Denny's, 2052 W. Orangeburg Ave., Modesto Dollar General, 1404 Kansas Ave., Modesto Fusion Charter Jack in the Box, 2937 E. Hatch Road, Modesto Mango Crazy, 1515 Mitchell Road Suite 6, Ceres Old Mill Cafe Paradise 99 Cent Plus Prescott Senior Elementary School Cafe Sno-White Drive In, 1841 Yosemite Blvd., Modesto Starbucks, 3537 Pelandale Ave., Modesto Starbucks, 4506 Dale Road Suite A, Modesto These food facilities had no violations, according to the county: Alberta Martone Elementary School Bagels N More Bernard Hughes Elementary Cafeteria Canteen at Lowes, 3801 Pelandale Ave., Modesto Central Valley High School Chatom School Cafeteria Chevron, 1501 Herndon Ave., Ceres Chrysler Elementary School Cafe Circle K, 1212 Joyce Ave., Modesto City of Oakdale Community Park Concession Stand Copper Spur Cunningam School Cupcake Boutique Fijian Market Grace Davis High School Cafe Great Valley Academy - Salida Jamba Juice, 1212 Joyce Ave., Modesto Johnny's Market Knights Ferry Elementary Cafeteria La Malquerida Grill Levi's Market Maxx Value Foods McDonald's, 409 Paradise Road, Modesto Mexihanas Hibachi Grill Mi Pueblito Michoacan Moon Star Ice Cream Quik Stop Market, 1532 Lakewood Ave. Suite A, Modesto Palermo Restaurant Patricia Kay Beaver Elementary School Pho 7 Vietnamese Restaurant Pizza Hut, 1212 Joyce Ave., Modesto Primetime Nutrition Raising Canes, 2029 Claribel Ave., Riverbank Rite Aid Pharmacy, 1830 Mitchell Road, Ceres Sipherd School Cafeteria Smart & Final, 1801 H St. Suite C2, Modesto Sonoma School Cafeteria Stanislaus Union School Starbucks, 820 Kansas Ave., Modesto Vitality Bowls Superfood Cafe, 2585 Geer Road, Turlock
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
She found shocking truth on McHenry family. Modesto museum aims to honor historian
Uniquely is a Modesto Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Central Valley so special. Modesto's McHenry Museum is looking to add space to honor a late historian whose biggest legacy may be discovering that the venue's famed namesake actually was an impostor. But more on that impostor thing later. The city of Modesto, which owns the museum, is raising funds for a Janet Lancaster History Center in the downtown historic building, according to Cultural Services Program Manager Jessica Flores, who runs the museum. The history center would offer new services and programs for the community, Flores said in an email interview. At this point, the addition is 'just an idea' that would need to be fully funded by community donations, she said. It's too soon in the process to know how much it would cost, but the effort already has received $8,500 in donations. The hope is to create three connected areas for the Lancaster center, she said. Again, it's too early to tell how much of the around 17,000-square-foot museum's space it will occupy, Flores said. It won't cut into any of the exhibit areas. The first area would be a research room on the museum's first floor to house reference books and the most requested research material. A second area would be used for workshops and classes to help people with their own preservation projects, such as digitizing photo negatives or family history research. The third would be a staff workspace. Asked about construction, Flores said, 'Most of the space we need already exists. The idea is to create enough space to support research, provide education, and preserve the collection.' There are thousands of items to view and use at the museum, she said. 'We began acquiring in the late 1960s, and by the mid-1970s there were already about 30,000 objects cataloged by hand. Staff are currently undertaking a collection assessment, and part of that is to digitally catalog everything. At the end, we'll have a searchable database, which will help us support the public with research efforts.' The collection consists of 'a little bit of everything,' she said, including photos and documents, 'but we also have more obscure artifacts like hair jewelry and used Civil War bandages.' Most of the museum's collection has come from community members. Janet Lancaster was a Modesto native and teacher who started her career at El Vista School in 1957, according to David Seymour, executive director of the McHenry Museum and Historical Society. She also was an avid historian. She volunteered at the museum for more than 20 years, organizing archives, photos and documents in the basement, Seymour said. 'Every Friday, you could find Janet Lancaster at the McHenry Museum,' he said. She didn't have a lot of space to work, which is part of the goal for the city's plan. While Lancaster, who died in September 2024, was an 'extremely private person,' she did much for the community, Seymour said, including discovering that the famed Modesto McHenry family members weren't actually McHenrys. According to a 2013 story in The Modesto Bee, 'everything McHenry in Modesto began when Robert McHenry arrived here sometime around 1850. That, McHenry Museum researcher Janet Lancaster ... discovered, includes the invention (or reinvention) of McHenry himself.' Her project to learn more about his personal and family histories became a three-year investigation that ultimately changed some of what local historians believed for more than a century, according to The Bee story. 'Robert McHenry no doubt helped transform the Valley and build Modesto. But, Lancaster found, he wasn't the man folks thought he was back then,' the story said. Born Robert Henry Brewster in Vermont in 1827, he was a direct descendant of Mayflower elder William Brewster, The Bee story recounted. 'He signed up for a five-year hitch as a rifleman in a newly formed Ohio Army regiment in 1846, told he'd be guarding forts along the Oregon Trail. But when the Army commandeered his regiment to fight in the Mexican-American War, he deserted.' A few years later, Lancaster found that Brewster surfaced in Stockton as Robert McHenry, dropping Brewster and adding 'Mc' to his middle name, according to the story. 'Within a couple of years, he settled along the Stanislaus River, became one of Modesto's most influential citizens, and the rest is, well, history. Or legend.' Seymour said Lancaster's work on Robert McHenry was her biggest legacy. Perhaps that was meant to be. 'She actually grew up on McHenry Avenue. 'It's like her entire life (was) McHenry,' Seymour said. Community money is needed for the Lancaster space, and an upcoming 'Historic 14th St. Walking Tour of Modesto' is among the fundraisers, Seymour said. The tour is set for 4-7 p.m. Friday, May 30, and includes a look at the history of four former homes on 14th Street: ▪ The Hatton-Davis house at 909 14th, which is now home for Love Stanislaus ▪ The DeLappe house at 914 14th, now Provident Care ▪ The Elias-Haris house at 1015 14th, now Hawks and Associates ▪ And the Maddux-Morgan house at 1126 14th, now the Queen Bean. Tickets for the tour are $25, available at the museum. In addition, the Modesto Art Museum is offering a $5,000 matching contribution for the Lancaster center, according to Bob Barzan, treasurer and member of the group's board of directors. The match comes with the dissolution of the Modesto Art Museum, Barzan said. It has been website-based with no building, but has done pop-up events in the city over the years. The art museum is dissolving because it has not been able to attract new board members, according to Barzan. 'This (matching challenge) is part of our going away,' he said. 'We have a fair amount of money and have been giving it away to various nonprofits.' Those who want to donate for the matching challenge can do so payable to McHenry Museum, with the memo 101479 JLancaster and sent to the McHenry Museum, Attention: Jessica Flores, PRN at P.O. Box 642, Modesto, CA 95353. 'We wanted to do something for the McHenry Museum and this seemed like a good way before we closed,' Barzan said. The museum features history from across Stanislaus County, with each city having its own archive, Seymour said. Admission to the museum is free. According to its website, visitors will see a number of exhibits, such as gold mining artifacts, the founding of Modesto by railroad, irrigation development, agriculture and re-creations of a general store, a blacksmith shop, a one-room schoolhouse, a barbershop 'of days-gone-by,' a 1950s diner setting and more. The museum also has temporary exhibits that change periodically. There's a McMobile Museum that takes Stanislaus County history to various community events, as well as periodic historic CemeTours of local cemeteries. Both are programs of the museum's historical society. The next CemeTour will be on Memorial Day, May 26. The Lancaster center would make the McHenry Museum's historical resources more available to the community, according to Flores. 'A lot of times people think that archives are 'off-limits,' or you need to be a serious scholar to access them, but really, we're here to serve as a resource to all who are interested in local history,' she said. Lancaster 'worked extremely hard' to make the McHenry Museum the central place for local historical information, Flores said. '...We are continuing to build on her efforts to establish something she would be proud of.'
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
There's lots of buzz about this annual Modesto celebration. See why, when
Uniquely is a Modesto Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Central Valley so special. Get ready for a Modesto celebration that will hum with family attractions. It's the La Loma Native Plant Garden Pollinator Festival, our April highlight in a monthly feature that offers fresh ideas to parents for getting out and about with their children in the Modesto region. The fifth annual Pollinator Festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at 2000 Encina Ave. in Modesto, adjacent to the La Loma Native Plant Garden. All can flutter about the admission-free event. Among the day's highlights will be a musician-led Children's Pollinator Costume Parade through the garden, featuring little ones dressed as bees, butterflies, ladybugs, moths, bats and other garden helpers. How cute does that sound? 'No one will be left behind. It is a costume parade, but adults, children, costumes, no costumes. ... everyone is free to join the parade as we walk through the garden,' Mike Azevedo, membership chair for the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society, said in an email. Youngsters will gather at 10:30 a.m. near the music stage, right before the parade begins. Folks can flit through the festival's various activities, which include a beehive demonstration by Crump's Bees. There will be live music, as well as a drum circle at the garden mural with Drum Love. Also planned are educational children's activities, face painting by Girl Scout troops, a coloring table, birdhouses for sale, and food trucks. Blossom Hill Native Plant Nursery from Oakdale will offer pointers to anyone interested in adding native plants to a garden. The community event includes interactive activities for children and adults to learn the importance of native plants and how they support pollinators, according to Azevedo's email. The North San Joaquin Valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society helps put on the festival, along with the nonprofit La Loma Neighborhood Association. There will be booths featuring groups including the Modesto Garden Club, Stanislaus Master Gardeners, Turlock Community Gardens and more. Environmental organizations will be represented, among them the Stanislaus Audubon Society, Sierra Club Yokuts Group, the U.S. Forest Service and the California Native Plant Society. The La Loma Native Garden was created in 2017 by Rhonda Allen, who designed it and oversaw the planting of shrubs and trees and the spreading of seeds, with support from the La Loma neighborhood group, according to Azevedo. Allen, a UC Master Gardener, will be at the festival and will offer a tour of the garden. The La Loma Native Garden covers two acres with California and local native plants, Azevedo's email said, 'including flowers, shrubs and trees that draw in a wide range of pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies and moths, native bees and others.' For more on the festival, call La Loma Neighborhood Association President Katie Cosner at 209-996-9396.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
Modesto man gets 45 years for coercing girls to send explicit images on social media
A Modesto man was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison for coercing minor girls to send him sexually explicit images of themselves. Daniel Vincent Salazar Jr., 29, was sentenced Monday, March 10, in U.S. District Court in Fresno. He had pleaded guilty in September to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The Modesto Bee reported earlier that the case began in December 2018, when the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department got a complaint from a 14-year-old girl's parents and the principal of her school. Court documents said the girl told her teacher that she received lewd messages from an Instagram account, prompting an investigation that led to other victims. At least two of the four victims listed in the criminal complaint were Stanislaus residents, and one was from San Jose. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Jose Police Department assisted the Sheriff's Department in naming Salazar Jr. as the suspect. Search warrants on his Instagram and Snapchat accounts led authorities to track down the device and IP addresses he was using, which were either registered to him or to a family member. Investigators said they also identified him by his tattoos, which were visible in several of the explicit images he sent. A news release Monday said Salazar mainly targeted girls between 12 and 14. He told them that if they did not cooperate, he would send images he already had received to classmates and relatives of the girls, the prosecution said. When one victim spoke of suicide, the release said, the defendant made statements such as '[T]hat's on you. Not my fault,' and '[T]he cops can't do nothing trust me.' Salazar has been in custody since his arrest in January 2020. After completing his sentence, he will be on supervised release and have limits on access to minors, electronic devices and the Internet. He will have to register as a sex offender. The investigation also involved the Los Banos Police Department and the state Division of Adult Parole Operations. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, launched in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice against sexual exploitation and abuse. More information, including Internet safety tips, is at
