A long weekend of Memorial Day observances begins Friday in Manteca with an "Evening of Honor" fund-raising dinner.

50 YEARS AGO: Due to a crop failure that caused a sugar shortage, wholesale prices on sugar shot to as high as $1.90 for a 10-pound bag in Modesto. — Karen Aiello

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SWAT teams from 17 agencies trained for hostage situations, active shooting scenes and rescues of fallen officers Wednesday at the Fresno Police Department's new regional training facility.

Modesto has hired a new manager to run its downtown convention center, which in recent years has required hefty subsidies from the city’s general fund as booking revenues have fallen.

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Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll has implemented a plan he said will make the department more accountable and strengthen the connection between officers and the people they protect.

A Modesto City Council committee signed off Tuesday on a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that fire officials say leaves a roughly $750,000 shortfall for the Modesto Regional Fire Authority. Councilwoman Stephanie Burnside said the shortfall could lead to temporary closures of fire stations and other reductions in service.

Stanislaus County supervisors decided Tuesday to use eminent domain to take an "upside-down" residential property needed for a wider Claribel Road. The county has offered to pay $85,000 for the 0.69-acre parcel at 1743 Claribel, where a tenant lives in an 1,100-square-foot house with a garage and storage shed.

The star power will be so bright, you just might need to wear shades inside the Gallo Center for the Arts for the 2013-14 performance season. Martin Short, Itzhak Perlman, Jason Alexander, Johnny Mathis, REO Speedwagon, Gordon Lightfoot and Three Dog Night are just some of the powerhouse performers.

Modesto City Schools board member Steven Grenbeaux now faces a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon stemming from a confrontation with a Caltrans worker in downtown Modesto last year.

Stanislaus County officials won't say what they found while investigating the Sheriff's Department's former habit of referring to "limp, lame and lazy" employees until a deputy's discrimination trial ends.

More than 300 community volunteers turned out Tuesday to sell Kids' Day newspapers, the 17th year The Bee, Salvation Army and businesses have teamed up to support the Red Shield Center.

A judge Tuesday reluctantly suspended a criminal case against a man accused of kidnapping a woman on Highway 99 in Turlock because the defendant says he needs a Somali interpreter.

The practice word was "Agosto," or August. That stumped no one, but it got tougher from there for 36 top Spanish spellers from area dual language school programs.

A judge on Tuesday refused to overturn a ruling that ordered a defendant to stand trial charged with second-degree murder after stabbing a man with a small screwdriver during a fight in Waterford.

Firefighters with the Modesto Regional Fire Authority put out a fire in the back yard of a vacant home in the 100 block of Laurel Street on Tuesday in Modesto.

The key witness in the trial of the man convicted of killing former intern Chandra Levy had a previously undisclosed history as a government snitch, a court hearing revealed Tuesday.

Fire season began Monday in Yosemite National Park, park officials announced.

Air officials say people with sensitive respiratory systems should take precautions today because of blowing dust from gusty wind.

Gregori High senior Michala Wyrsch was voted in as the 2013-14 student representative to the Board of Education on Monday.

After considering a proposal for a residential growth boundary to protect ag land Monday night, the Modesto Planning Commission voted 6-0 to recommend the City Council appoint a task force to look at protecting agriculture, water recharge basins, develop plans for an economic corridor and promote infill development.

Yesteryears (5/22/13)

Color coded cards most likely special offers tied to GPA, not identification, and weeks of May are all significant.

Stanislaus County sheriff's detectives have launched a criminal investigation into a Modesto funeral home that lost its right to cremate or bury bodies.

When individual tickets go on sale June 10 for the 2013-14 season at the Gallo Center for the Arts, use only the center's website to avoid being overcharged, officials warn.

It's a virtual institution in Ripon and a longtime favorite for hungry travelers on Highway 99, but the Barnwood Restaurant will close for good this month after 33 years.

A community’s strength can be measured in many ways. One of them is how residents respond to those in need. The Bee is proud to again be a co-sponsor of Kids’ Day, a fund-raiser that benefits at-risk boys and girls at The Salvation Army’s Red Shield Center in south Modesto.

Stanislaus County officials are working on a project to relieve traffic congestion on Claribel Road, east of McHenry Avenue. The $15.2 million effort will widen Claribel to four lanes from McHenry to Oakdale Road and put a signal at the Coffee Road intersection.

The long-serving arm of the law reached out to help the Special Olympics during a benefit lunch at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Modesto on Monday.

George Gardner blew his first trumpet notes in Earl Smith's music class at Tuolumne Elementary School, just south of what is now Mancini Park. Gardner went on to stand in Smith's shoes, as well as MoBand conductor Frank Mancini's.

Dairy farmers Monday urged the state yet again to boost minimum prices they get from processors. Western United Dairymen, based in Modesto, and allied groups asked the California Department of Food and Agriculture to increase the price for milk that is made into cheese. They said dairy farmers continue to go out of business because of a mismatch between milk prices and production costs, especially that of feed corn.

A Patterson tax preparer pleaded guilty Monday to one count of tax evasion and one count of structuring bank transactions in order to conceal her income, U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The cables on Half Dome in Yosemite National Park will be in place and open for the season Friday, weather permitting. The cables provide access to the summit of Half Dome, one of Yosemite's most popular hikes.

Modesto Mayor Garrad Marsh could unveil his proposal for a tax increase to the City Council within a couple of weeks. Marsh has talked since February about putting a temporary sales tax on the November ballot for public safety but has provided few details. Recently, he has stopped calling it a public safety tax; Monday, he called it a "sales tax of some sort."

Ceres police on Monday released a description of the second suspect involved in a home invasion robbery last week.

How many kids will be in my daughter's class next year? Will there be Advanced Placement classes next year? How do we stop kids from leaving Denair High? Can we afford to pay you $600 a day? Parents peppered Denair Unified Interim Superintendent Walt Hanline with frank questions and got no-nonsense answers Monday night.

Authorities are trying to confirm whether alleged sexual abuse of a girl 25 years ago occurred at a home in Mariposa County, which would force Stanislaus County prosecutors to drop the case against the accused man.

Stanislaus County law enforcement agencies soon will be equipped with hand-held citation devices that will help track problem areas for traffic violations and streamline the ticket-writing process.

The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department on Monday identified a man who drowned over the weekend at Tulloch Lake.

Do you ever need to get somewhere quickly, but seem to hit every red light? A couple of readers complained about the lack of synchronized traffic lights, so I drove a trial loop around Modesto right about 5 p.m. last week.

The sign outside St. Francis Anglican Church reads “think FORGIVE act.” Action and forgiveness were the themes of the day, as the parishioners gathered Sunday for one last time at their church on Main Street before walking several blocks away to begin a new church in rented facilities.

Data Path's co-founder David Darmstandler contends that Stanislaus County would benefit if more high-tech firms could be attracted here and helped to expand.

Authorities are searching for a 91-year-old Modesto man who has been missing a week. Amos McElvaine was last seen by family May 14 at 5 a.m., according to the Stanislaus County sheriff's office.

Authorities are crediting a quick-acting neighbor with putting out a kitchen fire before it could do major damage. According to the Turlock Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched to a home in the 4600 block of McKenna Drive at 12:26 p.m. Friday.

A 72-year-old San Andreas man suffered moderate injuries when he rolled his car Saturday, and authorities are investigating whether he was driving drunk. According to the California Highway Patrol, A Charlesworth was driving a 2003 Ford pickup north on Highway 49 near Union Mine Road when the accident occurred at 5:15 p.m.

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The Modesto City Council will start its deliberations today on Mayor Garrad Marsh's budget proposal for the 2013-14 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Marsh's budget focuses on public safety, directing nearly all of the city's expected revenue growth to police and fire.

Seth Nitschke runs cattle on grassland in Mariposa County, far from the Midwestern feedlots he used to frequent, He is part of the grass-fed beef movement. keeping the cattle on pasture all their lives rather than sending them to distant feedlots to be fattened on grain before slaughter.

A Sunday morning fire burned 150 to 200 wooden bins filled with walnuts at Mid Valley Nut, a Hughson walnut processing company.