The City Council awarded a $1.37 million contract that should bring better water service to residents in a section of south Modesto.

After experiencing problems with its water meters, the city is upgrading to new technology. The City Council Tuesday night approved an agreement with ITRON, which provided its water meters in 2007, to spend $495,000 on new antennas for the meters and associated costs.

Stanislaus County leaders on Tuesday accepted state grants and took other action to preserve or create 19 law enforcement positions.

Stanislaus County supervisors today will consider asking voters in June to extend Stanislaus County's library tax five more years.

Who's going to be "The Biggest Loser"? Nine teams from Stanislaus County's West Side will climb back on a giant scale to see which has lost the most weight over the last eight weeks in the annual competition.

The Modesto school agency that oversees Village I's Mello-Roos property taxes has canceled its October meeting.

40 YEARS AGO: The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to join the cities of Modesto and Ceres in the purchase and development of Tuolumne River Regional Park.

25 YEARS AGO: The Stanislaus County Social Services Department received state approval to begin workfare.

The city is being profiled on a Web site that highlights local government success stories across California.

25 YEARS AGO: The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors restored $34,000 in funding for the Court Referral Program, which allowed judges in Stanislaus County to use sentencing alternatives to jail time or fines, such as community service.

The Oakdale City Council at its meeting this week

Despite being the cleanest summer on record, the valley experienced a combination of pollution buildup and hot weather Thursday afternoon that led to a violation of the federal one-hour ozone standard, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District reported.

City officials shot back at a Stanislaus County civil grand jury report Tuesday night, calling findings of wrongdoing politically motivated and taking jurors to task for negligence or worse. Council members unanimously approved a response written by interim City Attorney Thomas Hallinan denying findings in a June report.

City streets could be a lot brighter this winter. City officials are considering replacing about 800 streetlights with lights that burn brighter, last longer and cost about half as much to operate.

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6:30 p.m. today in the basement chamber at Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St., Modesto. Supervisors are scheduled to:

Modesto Irrigation District workers rose high above the Virginia Corridor Trail on Thursday to replace a 69-kilovolt transmission line near Morris Avenue.

Modesto filed a counterclaim against Stanislaus County in a struggle over who pays to get rid of groundwater contamination under the former Geer Road landfill.

A fight over taxes among Southern California agencies likely will affect Stanislaus County and at least one of its cities.

Survivors of a pedestrian run over by a truck and horse trailer in Waterford have filed a $1 million wrongful death claim against Stanislaus County.

After eight months of often contentious public debate, the City Council voted unanimously Monday night to approve a Wal-Mart Supercenter to anchor a new retail complex here. Barring any potential litigation by opponents, Wal-Mart can now move forward with plans for the shopping center at Mitchell and Service roads.

Modesto officials are scheduled today to consider a rezoning for the Veterans Affairs outpatient health clinic proposed at 1225 Oakdale Road.

County clerks and staff from all over California have converged on Modesto for the first time since World War II.

Modesto's Dave Cogdill was one of two prominent Republicans removed from a key water panel this week by Gov. Jerry Brown. The other targeted appointee is Paul Kelley, a former Sonoma County supervisor who serves as president of the Association of California Water Agencies.

Gary Lopez's abrupt departure from the Modesto City Schools board last month was only partly because he was too busy, the reason he gave then. His wife's administrative appointment in the district also played a part.

Electricity customers in the Turlock Irrigation District could face rate increases of 4 percent to 7 percent in each of the next two years, officials said Wednesday. The proposal, which the district board could consider in November, would help pay for new power sources, among other things.