Stanislaus news roundup: 8 local stories worth catching up on. Here’s what to know

From supercommuter fatigue to bus driver exhaustion, Modesto Bee journalists dug into stories shaping life across Stanislaus County this week. Here’s a fast catch-up on the reporting you may have missed.

Key takeaways:

• Modesto ranks as the U.S. city with the second-largest share of supercommuters, with 15,335 residents driving out of the county for work as Bay Area wages and Central Valley home prices push workers into 90-minute-plus commutes.
• Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority drivers say a shortage of about 50 drivers has led contractor Transdev to mandate overtime, with timesheets showing one driver exceeded the federal 60/70-hour safety limit and colleagues reportedly falling asleep at the wheel.
• California will receive $2 million from a court-approved settlement to help clean up the Modesto Groundwater Contamination Superfund site, where former dry cleaner Halford’s discharged the cancer-causing chemical PCE for decades along McHenry Avenue.
• A Riverbank family has lived with flooding, no running water and looming gas shutoffs since 2019 after contractors blocked a drainage pipe under Claribel Road during the North County Corridor project — a problem multiple agencies failed to resolve for seven years.
• Restaurant inspectors documented major violations at facilities including Fire Wings, Bet Nahrain and Vallarta Supermarkets while the Stanislaus County health inspection website was down for six weeks of upgrades, with 168 reports piling up between May 25 and June 28.
• Downtown Modesto is getting its largest market-rate housing project in a decade at the 15th Street Apartments, while The Crossings will add 527 homes starting near $500,000 and Davis High’s $198 million bond-funded renovations continue through fall 2027.
• Turlock Gospel Mission filed a lawsuit Monday seeking more than $500,000 in damages over an unfinished day center renovation and alleges the city overcharged it roughly $142,385 for water and sewer between 2017 and 2025 because of a defective meter.
• Salida native and former Gregori High standout Paul Contreras was picked 127th overall by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft after a junior season at Cal State Fullerton that included a .346 average, 45 RBIs and 14 home runs.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.