Turlock setter Handy leads youth volleyball team to title 1B MONDAY JULY 6 2015 $1 VOL. 138, NO. 187 STAY CONNECTED MODBEE.COM Leader tells Top 10 things people might not know about the fair 7B FACEBOOK.COM/MODESTOBEE TWITTER.COM/@MODBEE SUNNY, WARM 92 64 FORECAST, 12A NEWS ALL DAY. YOUR WAY. WOMEN’S WORLD CUP MONDAY Q&A Turlock library adapts, thrives U.S. brings home crown with goal onslaught The U.S. women’s soccer team won the World Cup 5-2 over defending champions Japan. The U.S. got a hat trick, three goals, from Carli Lloyd. Soccer fans in Modesto, from right, Connor Ricci, Kimberly Humke, Jeff Teese, Chris Ricci, Leonard Puls, Javier Torres and Chris Torres celebrate the winning goal at P. Wexford’s Pub on Sunday. 1B ANDY ALFARO [email protected] BY NAN AUSTIN Tourism plan criticized [email protected] TURLOCK Libraries, once just the repository of dusty tomes, have joined the digital age, and the stereotype of the shushing librarian needs an update, too. Turlock librarian Diane Bartlett spends her days trying to keep up with reader requests in the bustling rooms of the Minaret Avenue branch, not trying to keep them silent. The Stanislaus County Library’s one-eighth-cent sales tax brought her to the stacks the first year after voters passed it, 1995. Bartlett was one of several new hires that year as the library expanded its hours to serve more Diane people. She has worked Bartlett as a children’s librarian in Modesto, branch manager in Oakdale and in Salida, and since 2002 has spent most her time in Turlock. The Bee caught up with her to ask what’s new and noteworthy at the library this summer. Q: Libraries have housed books since they were papyrus scrolls. But this is the computer age – how have libraries adapted? A: It has been fun to observe the changes in electronic services over the course of my career. The library in Stanislaus County strives to “foster the love of learning and open the doors to knowledge.” We accomplish this mission in the best way possible, which could mean finding a print copy of a classic, or an electronic copy of the latest bestseller, or performing an Internet search to find the most reliable report of a historic event. We are continually adding to the electronic reQ: A. JOAN BARNETT LEE [email protected] Jennifer Mullen, left, executive director of the Modesto Convention & Visitors Bureau, and executive assistant Dana Hohn will be reclassified as city employees for one year under a proposal approved by the City Council. ............................................................................................................................... BY KEVIN VALINE [email protected] Modesto’s decision to end longtime contract with Convention & Visitors Bureau shocks some ............................................................................................................................... Modesto wants to reinvent how it lures tourists and visitors to the area, but it already has attracted questions and criticism over its decision not to renew its contract with the Modesto Convention & Visitors Bureau. The City Council on June 23 approved a proposal that reassigns the CVB’s functions and its $249,071 budget to the city’s Community and Economic Development Department over the next year while the city develops a new model to promote Modesto. The proposal reclassifies the CVB’s staff – consisting of longtime Executive Director Jennifer Mullen and executive assistant Dana Hohn – as city employees for one year. Nearly a dozen people spoke at the council meeting on behalf of Mullen and Hohn. Mullen was praised for her tireless efforts to promote Modesto. The speakers said they were blindsided by the city’s change in direction. Councilmen Tony Madrigal TOP STORIES STAY CONNECTED City will develop new organization to promote area over the next year ............................................................................................................................... Official says city wants to build on CVB’s success ............................................................................................................................... JOAN BARNETT LEE [email protected] Control of the Convention & Visitors Bureau’s functions and budget has been reassigned to the city over the next year. and Dave Lopez joined those praising Mullen and said they wanted to make sure Mullen and Hohn were protected despite the city’s change in direction. “I had no idea this was coming,” CVB board Chairman Neal Khatri said in an interview. He added that city officials told him and the other CVB board members about their decision the week before the council meeting. Interim Deputy City Manager Brent Sinclair said the city notified the CVB in April that the contract was expiring. Mullen spoke at the council meeting and said she was humbled and grateful for those who spoke on her behalf, including council members. City officials are calling their new effort Destination Modesto, though the name is expected to change. The effort calls for the coordinated marketing of the city’s three golf courses, its John Thurman Field – home of the minor-league Modesto Nuts baseball team – and Modesto Centre Plaza, the downtown convention center. The expectation is that if these facilities perform better, they will need a smaller subsidy from the city’s general fund. Sinclair said the subsidies are estimated at $855,268 for the golf courses, $209,783 for John Thurman and $512,000 for Centre Plaza for the city budget year that ended Tuesday. But Sinclair emphasized Destination Modesto would promote all of the city’s tourSEE TOURISM, 3A LOCAL NEWS STATE OPINION WORLD Traffic accidents kill two in Modesto, Ceres. Sen. Barbara Boxer, set to retire, still packs a punch. Finding our way to better roads will be tough. Greek voters reject terms of economic bailout. 3A 5A 11A 10A Classified Comics Crossword Explore Horoscope SEE MONDAY Q&A, 4A LOCAL NEWS ILLEGAL FIREWORKS SUSPECTED IN FIRE Firefighters were kept busy with multiple blazes Saturday night during Fourth of July celebrations. Illegal fireworks were suspected in the destruction of the Modesto home of a retiree who has lived there since 1972. 3A 8B 6B 5B 7B 8B Local News Lottery Opinion Sports Television 3A 2A 11A 1B 8B
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