2024 in review: Modesto Bee writers reflect on stories that meant the most to them, readers

As we head into 2025, our goal is to continue to be the leading source in Stanislaus County of fact-based, accountability reporting that helps readers become more informed and engaged citizens.

This year we launched a series called Uniquely Stanislaus County that highlights the moments, individuals, landmarks and accomplishments that makes living in our corner of the Central Valley so special. Those stories included profiles of leading entrepreneurs, iconic restaurant dishes, bygone stores and restaurants and more.

We also launched Reality Check, a series focused on stories that deliver quick facts that hold leaders and institutions accountable. This includes our effort to get the county to make restaurant health inspections more timely and readily available. The series also included data-focused stories about how local law enforcement agencies are interacting with the community, including members of historically marginalized communities.

In 2025, we will continue to cover the stories and issues that matter most to our readers. Our hope is to bring you images, information, data, and stories that will impact your day-to-day lives.

Following is what our staff picked as the most interesting and impactful stories of 2024.

Carlos Virgen, senior editor

Accountability in law enforcement

In September, I reported on juvenile arrest rates in Modesto over the past decade. Community members had raised concerns about disproportionate arrests of Latino youth, which was also a priority goal for the Modesto Community Police Review Board. However, my reporting revealed that the disproportionality was actually most pronounced among Black juveniles.

The story mainly relied on data and built upon a presentation given by Modesto Police Department Chief Brandon Gillespie at a CPRB meeting. I also spoke with a criminal justice professor at CSU Stanislaus, who was able to contextualize the data.

Despite Black juveniles making up a small percentage of Modesto’s population, they were arrested at disproportionately high rates. This pattern mirrors what Bee reporter Trevor Morgan and I uncovered in our reporting on use-of-force data from both the Modesto Police Department and the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office.

These stories have garnered support from the local Black community, as residents said they reflect experiences all too familiar to them. Their response has underscored the importance of bringing these issues to light. The Bee’s reporting has been cited during subsequent CPRB meetings.

— Julietta Bisharyan, equity reporter

Making restaurant health inspections readily available

Public health is arguably a top concern for the community, and access to information regarding it is vital. At the beginning of the year, I became determined to unfold the complications of viewing and understanding health code violations made by facilities that serve food in Stanislaus County.

I spent a month investigating why restaurant inspection reports – generally considered public records – weren’t easy to access on the Stanislaus County Department of Environmental Resources’ website, like they are in other California counties.

After a delay in receiving a response from the county, I wrote an accountability article in February calling out these issues. Since then, the county has fixed a bug on its website that gave an error code when users tried to view reports, as well as announced it will be making updates to make the website more user-friendly.

The county has since worked with me to send weekly lists of restaurants it inspected during a five-day period, allowing me to search the website for the reports and publish regular articles with the results of the inspections.

I created a form where readers can submit questions or comments regarding how inspections work and how to use the website, which led to further investigations and more stories. We have looked at how to report health code violations and how sidewalk vendors are inspected.

These stories help bring public health concerns to light and give residents the opportunity to make informed decisions when they dine out.

— Dominique Williams, business reporter

Explaining the voting process and potential obstacles to civic engagement

Since joining The Bee in September I have covered stories at the intersection of civics and democracy. During the election, I focused on demystifying the voting process by providing our readers with straightforward information about how vote-by-mail ballots are counted in Stanislaus County and when they could expect official results.

I followed the closest and last uncalled federal race in the country, between Adam Gray and incumbent John Duarte, by reporting on their debate and local priorities. I then wrote about the ballot-curing efforts– a little-known process used to correct ballots that have mismatched or missing signatures. Supporters for both candidates focused on ballot curing as the race remained tight.

I covered public participation in local government, such as the Modesto City Council’s practice of public prayer at the beginning of meetings, which almost exclusively featured Christian representatives.

For that story, I reviewed five years of recorded public meetings and reached out to groups that have, as of yet, not participated in the process. The reporting revealed that the invocations were being organized by an expressly Christian group on behalf of both the county and city.

— Kathleen Quinn, civics and democracy reporter

How is Modesto meeting the need for more housing?

My most-read story by far in 2024 was a July 29 piece about 527 new homes coming to east Modesto. That response told me just how dire our housing shortage is. I’m guessing a good portion of the readers are either looking for places themselves or have a friend or relative in need.

The subdivision at Claus Road and Briggsmore Avenue is the city’s largest in about 15 years. The houses will not be inexpensive, starting at close to $500,000, but they will help indirectly. Some of the homes could be purchased by people who now rent apartments. That would free up these units for other residents, perhaps easing the upward pressure on rents. City Council members noted this when approving the east side project in January.

The largest subsidized project is a six-story apartment building in downtown Modesto, which got its final funding Dec. 11. The city has moved slowly toward dense, walkable districts. Seventh Street Village could show just how appealing such a streetscape can be.

Riverbank had two notable projects under new rules that allow dwellings that are apartment-size but sit apart on a parcel. A 38-unit project was approved behind a Chinese restaurant called Lucky House, though the eatery’s owners still need funding partners. Not so lucky were the homeless people who would have lived in a 39-unit complex in northwest Riverbank. The City Council decided that the site should instead be a park.

— John Holland, economic mobility reporter

Sex education in Modesto public schools

In April, I wrote about Modesto City Schools updating its eighth-grade sexual education curriculum. This came about after the district’s relationship with a faith-based organization, Modesto Pregnancy Center, was questioned by the state Attorney General’s Office.

I talked with parents worried about the lack of comprehensive sex education for their children. I compared other sex ed materials at different local school districts to ensure the community got a comprehensive story on this topic.

This decision also came up during the November Board of Education elections, with some candidates even inspired to run because of the change.

— Taylor Johnson, education reporter

Highlighting what makes Modesto so unique

Although I have been with The Modesto Bee for over 10 years, I have been a reporter only since the start of 2024. This year has been a love letter to the community that raised me by highlighting interesting people, places and things.

I met some extraordinary people like a man who endured an experience at a for-profit reform school exposed in a Netflix documentary, an 84-year-old man who walked the length of the world, a woman who has one of the largest nativity collections in the country and The Incredible Hulk, Lou Ferrigno.

I was surprised to find how many incredible things are made in our region, from candy at Sconza to flavored almonds at Stewart & Jasper and even hard cider from Lucky You Orchards. All tasty offerings, but if you want to really eat the best of the region, see if your local favorite made my list of iconic Modesto foods or unique Mexican specialties.

My favorite stories may be the ones with legs — well, four legs, or sometimes none. With a rare bird sighting, a snake with sixty babies and Modesto’s cutest dog and cat, these animal subjects truly topped my year. Our region is filled with stories yet to be told and I look forward to sharing more with you in 2025.

— Maria Luisa Figueroa, general assignment reporter

Historic performances in high school sports

It has been fun covering a year of historic championship performances for a ton of different Stanislaus District high school sports teams. It started last winter when Modesto Christian earned the program’s first three-peat in Division I, led by standout performances by Marcus Washington, Gavin Sykes and Myles Jones. The program’s steady leader, guard Jeremiah Bernard, became the first player in the storied history of Modesto Christian boys basketball to three-peat at the D-I level. Bernard is now a defensive back at Cal Poly who made big plays as a freshman.

The local success carried over into the spring as Oakdale captured a Division III softball title powered by Bee Player of the Year Raegen Everett’s dominance in the circle. She held a potent Destiny Christian Academy (formerly Capital Christian) offense to just five hits. She struck out 14 batters and had an RBI in the Mustangs’ 3-2 extra-innings win. That same season, Big Valley Christian captured section and NorCal titles for the second time in three years thanks to dominant pitching from Ava Hernandez and timely hitting from Morgan Merzon and Kailey Rivera. During their dominant postseason run, the Lions outscored section and NorCal opponents 70-3.

The Heart Attack Huskies dominated the fall, going a perfect 13-0 and beating Sutter for a historic third straight section title. UCLA-bound quarterback Robert McDaniel led a flawless two-minute drive capped off by a rushing touchdown by Eli Wilbanks. Trailing by just a point with seconds left, the Huskies went for two and McDaniel connected with Air Force commit Max Mankins for the game winner. Hughson’s girls also made history, winning the flag football section title in the school’s first season. Leah Hobby passed for 207 yards and four touchdowns in the win over Colfax.

On the court, Ripon took home its second volleyball section title in three seasons, sweeping Liberty Ranch, and Hilmar volleyball won just its second ever Northern California championship. The Yellowjackets traveled to Southern California to play for the Division IV state championship but fell in a competitive five-set match. In girl’s tennis, Gregori took home a blue banner in Division II. The Jaguars were the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and beat Central Valley and Cosumnes Oaks in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. They took down River City 7-2 in the championship at the University of the Pacific.

— Quinton Hamilton, sports reporter

Investigating the case of a gravely injured homeless man

This year brought a lot of change for me. As I approached my first anniversary, I transitioned from being The Bee’s public safety and breaking news reporter to its accountability and enterprise reporter.

Anthony Silva’s story was an example of how a reporter on any beat can be thrust into accountability.

Silva, who was experiencing homelessness, was gravely injured by Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Oct. 08, 2022, in Riverbank. His story went largely unnoticed until the Sheriff’s Office was sued by his family in federal court nearly a year later, which is when I found out about it while covering public safety.

By then, Silva was dead, after spending almost a year bedridden in a hospital and paralyzed from the neck down.

The Bee’s investigation found the Sheriff’s Office did not initially report the deputies’ use of force to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office. In fact, the DA’s Office became aware of it because we started asking questions.

The Bee also found there may be evidence that Silva’s case was not reported to the California Department of Justice, which is required by law.

The deputies involved in Silva’s death were cleared of criminal charges in Stanislaus County. The case in federal court is ongoing.

— Trevor Morgan, accountability and enterprise reporter

Final season for conductor of beloved Modesto community band

After decades of conducting Modesto’s beloved MoBand, George Gardner completed his 46th and final season in 2024. The retirement was among the many entertainment stories I followed.

Gardner spent 60 years with the group, officially called the Modesto Band of Stanislaus County. In 1965, he started playing trumpet with MoBand while in high school and in 1972 became band manager. He took over as conductor in 1979. Gardner announced his retirement in a Facebook video post early in the year.

The concerts attract thousands each summer to Mancini Bowl at Graceada Park, so his retirement was of particular note in the community.

He was celebrated during his final concert in July, which included 140 musicians on stage, including some who came from out of state to be there.

Gardner, 75, said he will continue to be involved with MoBand in some capacity, whether playing trumpet or helping new conductor Brad Hart.

— Pat Clark, entertainment writer

Turf war intensifies between physicians and nurse anesthetists

Once in a while, a news reporter walks blindly into a crossfire, such as the ongoing feud between physician anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists.

As I looked into these stories, I learned there’s a concerning shortage of anesthesiologists in places like Modesto and a growing use of nurse anesthetists at hospitals and surgery centers.

Both sides have strong opinions about who’s in charge of administering anesthesia in operating rooms, but for the most part, the public isn’t paying attention to that important question.

— Ken Carlson, county government and health care reporter