Remote Surveillance Trailer in Modesto, CA

For the second time this summer, the state has granted about $10 million toward bioindustry in and near Stanislaus County.

The latest $10.4 million was allotted Friday, Aug. 29, by the California Jobs First Council. The other $9.8 million, announced July 1, included $1.8 million from that program and an $8 million line item in the new state budget.

These are early steps toward creating tens of thousands of jobs turning crop and other waste into climate-safe fuels and materials. The largest piece would be a test site for bringing ideas to commercial scale, at about $175 million.

The latest grant will help with current efforts to support startups and train people for the jobs. It is overseen by BEAM Circular, based in Modesto. The acronym stands for BioEconomy Agriculture & Manufacturing.

“This funding is a game-changer,” CEO Karner Warner said in a news release. “It positions the North San Joaquin Valley as a rising national leader in the circular bioeconomy, and ensures that the benefits of job creation, innovation and sustainability are shared across our communities.”

The testing grounds would be at a Stanislaus County site that could be selected in a few months. The partners include an East Bay federal lab that can do only small batches, the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit.

The region already reuses some of its abundant waste, such as gas from dairy cattle manure and hulls from nut harvests. New ventures could use the stems and skins from wine grapes or the orchard wood that used to be burned in the open. Tuolumne and nearby mountain counties could send wood thinned from their fire-prone forests.

The effort grew out of the Stanislaus 2030 report, released in 2022. It called for about 40,000 well-paying jobs in and near the county. It also fosters small business in general, including home-based childcare.

The funding to date totals about $45 million. This includes $10 million from Stanislaus County’s share of federal pandemic relief, approved last year. Another $35 million is from state, federal, business and philanthropic sources.

California Jobs First announced a total of $80 million in grants to 11 applicants Friday. They include aerospace and defense on the Central Coast, life sciences in Los Angeles County, and high-tech farming at UC Merced and other sites.

Looking for a new job?

The city of Modesto is hiring for ositions paying up to $180,315 per year.

From law enforcement to public works and utilities, full-time and part-time positions are open across several departments.

According to the city’s website, full-time employees can qualify for benefits such as retirement plans, educational incentive pay and medical and life insurance.

Sift through available Modesto jobs listed on the city website as of Tuesday, Aug. 19:

After school program leader | Limited, part time

The after school program leader supports after-school and expanded learning programs.

Duties include providing homework assistance, enrichment activities and supervised recreation.

Associate civil/traffic engineer | Permanent, full time

The utilities, public works and engineering departments are looking for associate civil/traffic engineers.

These engineers are responsible for creating and overseeing plans for a variety of public projects, including roads, water systems and buildings.

Deputy fire marshal | Permanent, full time

The deputy fire marshal helps oversee fire safety in the community.

Duties include managing fire prevention programs, running inspections, educating the public about fire safety and handling technical tasks related to fire prevention.

Fire plans examiner | Permanent, full time

The fire plans examiner reviews building and safety plans.

Duties include reviewing fire alarms, sprinklers and other fire protection systems to make sure they meet fire codes and safety rules.

Fleet procurement technician | Permanent, full time

The fleet procurement technician orders and tracks vehicle parts.

To support the city’s fleet, the technician makes sure there’s always enough inventory for repairs and maintenance.

The heavy equipment mechanic works on the city’s buses, fire trucks and other large vehicles.

Duties include handling mechanical issuesd from routine maintenance to major repairs, and fixing engines, parts and control systems.

Intern | Limited, part time

The city’s internship program provides students with hands-on experience in several departments while supporting their education and career goals.

Interns assist with office work, technical support or field tasks.

Planning manager | Permanent, full time

The planning manager oversees the city’s planning efforts, including updating zoning rules, reviewing development projects and making sure environmental guidelines are followed.

The planning manager works closely with other city departments and supports the department director with expert advice on zoning and code compliance.

Senior civil/traffic engineer | Permanent, full time

The city utilities, public works and engineering departments are looking for senior civil/traffic engineers.

These engineers are responsible for leading projects and providing knowledge on principles, practices and current issues.

Station runner | Limited, part time

The station runner is responsible for cleaning emergency vehicles and delivering equipment and supplies between city public safety buildings.

What do you want to know about life in Modesto? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@modbee.com.

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In the early 1980s, Jeannie (she became the Navigator much later) and I read about a wine group called the Modesto W.I.N.O. Chapter in The Modesto Bee. We jumped on it and got tickets to a wine dinner tasting in Westley.

The winery, I believe, was Edmeades, from Mendocino County. We were lucky because the event was sold out. We didn’t know anyone but had a great time. Members enjoyed the food and wine pairings and with a bit of wine education it was an enjoyable evening without pretension. W.I.N.O. was the registered trademark for a national organization started by wine columnist Jerry Mead. The name is an acronym for Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles. And yes, I had to look up that word, too. We met with the leader of the Modesto Chapter and she encouraged us to start a W.I.N.O. Chapter in Merced County and so, in 1983, we did.

We held monthly events in local restaurants featuring a winery which matched their wines with the special menus created by local chefs. Restaurants were happy to have 30-50 midweek diners, wineries were happy to be able to showcase their wines to wine enthusiasts and W.I.N.O. members were happy to have this special wine and food experience close to home.

Our first event was a Champagne brunch held in the Garden Room of Avanti’s restaurant in Merced. The Korbel’s bubbly line up of Brut, Natural, Blanc de Noir and Blanc de Blanc was poured along with a fresh fruit platter with selected cheeses and fresh baked croissant, choice of Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine, raspberry sherbet and coffee or tea. The member price was $7.50. Nonmembers paid $9.50 for four great bubblies, food and cool wine information, which made for a good time. It’s no wonder why all of our events were sold out and not one wine snob was present.

We did one event each month. Here are a few dinner tastings I still remember: Jim Concannon from Concannon Winery drove over the hill from Livermore on a foggy night and brought five wines including the 1978 Petite Sirah at the Cask and Cleaver. Dan Lee from Turlock presented his four wines at the White Rabbit Restaurant including the 1983 Morgan Chardonnay paired with salmon mousse with beurre blanc. Steve Millier, winemaker for Stevenot Winery in Murphys met our group of 40 W.I.N.O. members at the Stone Clubhouse at Henderson Park on the Merced River and brought eight wines to pair with chicken-sausage cacciatore.

We started our chapter by signing up our Thursday wine friends and convinced the features editor of the Merced Sun Star to run the press release about our upcoming wine-dinner events. By the end of the first year we had almost 100 couple memberships. It took a lot of work but it was fun and we met some wonderful people. The equation is simple, good food, good wine and good friends equals a great evening

So many wines, so little time

In 1986 I started my first term on the local City Council. That and teaching full time seemed to be a full load. So after four years we turned over the leadership to an enthusiastic W.I.N.O. member. In the 90s we continued our adventures in all the wine regions in California and most of Oregon and Washington. Also we have cruised the Douro River in Portugal, the Rhine and Mosel in Germany and the Rhone in France. My partner in 2005 retired, I did the same in 2006 and my first Wine Line column was published Sept. 5, 2007.

Wine Line Turns 18

In 2007 a good friend, colleague and one who never missed a W.I.N.O. event suggested I write a wine column. “About what?” I asked. He said just basic stuff and keep it simple. I took a couple sample columns to the Sun-Star features editor, yes that same one. She pitched them to the editor and he liked them. She called and asked if I could write weekly and I said no. That would be like a real full-time job. So we settled on the second and fourth Wednesday on or near the food page. After six years, The Modesto Bee picked up the column and a few years later so did The Fresno Bee. I haven’t missed a deadline in 18 years. This September’s Wine Line column would be number 428. But there will be no September Wine Line column because I’m going to retire one month shy of 18 years.

Thank you to the hard working staff of The Merced Sun Star, The Modesto Bee and The Fresno Bee for publishing Wine Line for those many, many years. To all those folks in the wine industry, from owners to tasting room hosts to public relations to wine writers. All have been very helpful with positive feedback. To you Wine Line readers, thanks for all your support and comments. And finally, I couldn’t have done it without the part-time Navigator and full-time wife, Jeannie. She has been steering me in the right direction for more than 57 years and the last 18 have been amazing. Cheers to you all.

What’s on our table

In the last Wine Line, I said, in my opinion, there are five wine brands that have an excellent quality-to-price ratio, are readily available and are under $12. Bogle Family Vineyards and McManis Family Vineyards are consistently on my list. Readers wanted to know the rest of my list, so here goes. Seaglass Wine by the Trinchero Family Estates, Noble Vines Collection by Delicato Family Wines and Dark Horse by Gallo. Cheers!

UnitedHealthcare will discontinue its Medicare managed-care plans in Stanislaus County, effective Jan. 1.

A few thousand Medicare recipients covered by UnitedHealthcare will need to sign up with another insurer to continue Medicare Advantage benefits.

More than 3.5 million people in California are in Medicare Advantage plans, which are government-subsidized insurance plans that cap the out-of-pocket costs of the Medicare program. Medicare Advantage plans usually expect beneficiaries to use a network of physicians and hospitals and include prescription drug coverage, dental, hearing and vision care.

Reuters reported that UnitedHealthcare will cease offering Medicare Advantage plans in 109 counties in the United States. About 180,000 people in the Medicare program will be affected. UnitedHealthcare indicated notifications were sent to customers Oct. 2.

In Stanislaus County, the three Medicare managed-care plans called AARP Medicare Advantage United Health HMO, available in previous years, will not be offered in this county in 2026, according to Medicare.gov. Two of the plans contracted with Sutter Health and AllCare for physician services and with Memorial Medical Center. The other plan’s network included AllCare, Memorial, Doctors Medical Center and Emanuel hospital in Turlock.

People who were enrolled in the UnitedHealthcare plans can change to another insurance provider during Medicare’s fall enrollment period, Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

The Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP) in Modesto will hold a forum at 9 a.m. Oct. 17 to inform people about changes to the Medicare program effective Jan. 1. The forum will be held at the Stanislaus Veterans Center, 3500 Coffee Road.

Along with officials from HICAP and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, representatives of the Medicare-approved Advantage plans in this county will speak at the forum and answer questions about plan benefits.

Advocates advise seniors to make sure the plan they select includes their doctors and covers their prescription drugs. The HICAP office was verifying the other Medicare Advantage plans that contract with Sutter and AllCare so comparisons are available at the Oct. 17 forum.

With the departure of UnitedHealthcare, the county still has nine insurers offering Medicare Advantage plans. The premiums ranged from zero to $97 per month in 2025.

Stanislaus County’s HICAP office provides assistance with navigating Medicare at 3500 Coffee Road, suite 19, Modesto, 209-558-4540.

Are you looking for work in Modesto?

From retailers to restaurants and health care clinics, several businesses in Modesto are hiring for full-time and part-time positions.

The Modesto Bee looked through online job boards including Indeed, LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter to find open positions.

Wages range from $16 to $30 an hour.

Here’s which jobs were available on the businesses’ websites, as of Monday, Sept. 15, and what they pay:

Looking for work in Modesto? These restaurants are hiring

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse is looking to hire a part-time cleaner on the janitorial staff.

The cleaner is responsible for providing a clean environment by disposing of trash, handling cleaning chemicals and cleaning floors.

Benefits of working at BJ’s include health insurance and flexible spending accounts, with eligibility based on hours worked.

In-N-Out Burger

In-N-Out is looking to hire a part-time store associate.

Store associations are responsible for serving customers, preparing food and providing a clean store environment for guests.

Benefits include a free meal during each shift, paid vacation time and flexible scheduling, according to the job posting.

Panera Bread

The position of salad and sandwich maker is currently open at Panera Bread.

The salad and sandwich is responsible for cleaning, stocking and making food.

Benefits of working at Panera Bread include tuition discounts, free on-shift meals and flexible scheduling.

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut is hiring for a shift manager.

The shift manager is responsible for leading sales and overseeing day-to-day operations.

Pizza Hut employee benefits include opportunities for career growth and competitive pay.

Red Lobster

The position of busser/runner is currently available at Red Lobster.

The busser/runner is responsible for refilling drinks, clearing dishes from tables and providing guest support.

Benefits include discounted meals, flexible scheduling and weekly pay.

What are available security jobs in Modesto?

Sutter Health

Sutter Health is looking to hire a full-time security officer.

The security officer is responsible for providing a safe environment for staff and visitors as well as monitoring violent patients and investigating security incidents that occur in the facility.

Benefits for this position include a flexible work schedule.

Which local stores are looking for workers? Target, Home Depot and more

Home Depot

Home Depot is currently looking to hire a freight/receiving associate.

The position is responsible for stocking merchandise on the sales floor as well as operating forklifts and loading and unloading trucks.

Benefits include paid parental leave, merit increases and performance bonuses.

Ross Dress for Less

There is an available retail associate position at Ross Dress for Less.

The retail associate helps customers have a great shopping experience by being friendly, keeping the store clean and making sure products are displayed properly.

Employee benefits listed include discounted merchandise and competitive wages.

Target

Target is looking to hire a guest advocate.

The guest advocate is responsible for creating a welcoming environment for guests and helping locate merchandise throughout the store.

Target’s employee benefits include mental health resources, competitive pay and flexible work schedules.

Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty is hiring for a full-time master stylist.

The master stylist helps clients with their hair care needs, recommends products and services and provides high-quality styling with a focus on the client’s overall look.

Other duties include supporting managers by boosting sales, following procedures and ensuring great customer service.

Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off and health insurance, according to the company website.

What do you want to know about life in Modesto? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@modbee.com.