Ripon High holds off Riverbank to clinch playoff berth SPORTS | Page C1 A VALENTINE’S DAY DINNER FOR TWO TASTE | PAGE D1 The Modesto Bee modbee.com WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015 MID snubs water rate hike County to target runoff pollution IDEA POSED AT WORKSHOP ON DISPARITY IN CHARGES, COSTS FOR UTILITY SERVICES By Garth Stapley [email protected] TOUGH STANDARDS AIM TO MEET STATE STORMWATER RULES By Ken Carlson [email protected] Stanislaus County will adopt and enforce stronger regulations for reducing pollutants in stormwater in unincorporated areas. The county needs to comply with a state permit issued in February 2013. And that will mean tougher standards for new construction, penalties for violators and broader responsibility for the county to act as stormwater police. Public Works Director Matt Machado said the state is making the county responsible for knowing whether private businesses are contributing to stormwater pollution, for monitoring discharges in the Tuolumne and San Joaquin rivers, and for watching runoff from county property and parks. An updated stormwater ordinance will include fines if someone is POLLUTION | Back page, A8 Harvest of grapes for wine fell last year BUT NO SHORTAGE AFTER RECORD 2013 By John Holland [email protected] California’s wine grape harvest dropped 8 percent last year from the record 2013 crop, the state reported Tuesday, but Modesto-area wineries still had plenty of raw material. The 2014 crop came in at 3.91 million tons, compared with 4.25 million a year earlier, the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced. Even with the decline, it was the third-largest harvest on record and a sign that wine drinkers continue to have plenty of choices. “The quality was great and the consumer is in a good position to enjoy it,” said Erica Moyer of Riverbank, a broker and partner with Turrentine Brokerage, a Marin County firm that buys and sells grapes and wine. The news was not all good: Tonnage declined in the premium Lodi region, and per-ton prices slipped for growers in Stanislaus County GRAPES | Back page, A8 Just to start the conversation, Modesto Irrigation District staff on Tuesday asked board members: What if we triple water prices in the next couple of years? Not so fast, said most members of cent in 2016 and 50 percent in 2017 – representing a jump from the current $9.30 an acre-foot to $29.25 – is too much, most board members agreed. “I think we can do this a little softer, take a little more time,” said Larry Byrd, board chairman. Tuesday’s workshop was promoted as a time for the board to consider whether electricity and water prices cover the district’s true cost the MID board, a majority of whom are farmers. Some agreed that a gradual increase in farmers’ water rates, in light of their multimillion-dollar subsidy borne by electricity customers, probably is a good idea. But hikes of 40 percent this year, 50 per- A prosecutor on Tuesday told a jury how authorities believe Francisco “Frank” Jose Drumond, a former police officer and MJC instructor, molested four teen girls. The defense, however, said the stories from the girls have continued to change. Page B1 FLOORING TRENDS 2015 of providing those core services, and if not, what to do about it. It’s clear that farmers have underpaid since MID began delivering water in 1923. Even if the board approves a 40 percent rate hike in a few weeks – and some board members have hinted that’s too steep – MID will collect $14 million less from farmers than the district’s $18.8 million cost to deliver the waMID | Back page, A8 TICKETS DROPPING BUT CRASHES RISING, REPORT REVEALS Council updated on traffic, crime Above, emergency crews respond to a crash at Sixth and K streets in Modesto on Friday. At right, a Modesto K-9 officer searches for a burglary suspect on 12th Street in June. By Kevin Valine [email protected] Motorists who drove too fast or ran red lights in Modesto were less likely to get a ticket last year compared with 2013. But the drop in citations was accompanied by an increase in traffic incidents. The number of citations dropped 16.2 percent, from 15,753 in 2013 to 13,199 in 2014, while the number of traffic incidents increased 9.4 percent, from 3,077 in Andy Alfaro [email protected] 2013 to 3,365 in 2014. Police Chief Galen Carroll presented this information Monday to the City Council’s Safety and Communities Committee as part of a report on traffic statistics for 2013 and 2014. Carroll said this is the first time in a while that the Police Department has provided the committee with this data, and it plans to start providing it on a quarterly basis. TRAFFIC | Back page, A8 Stewart ending his 16-year run on ‘Daily Show’ By Scott Collins and Meredith Blake Los Angeles Times Jon Stewart will step down as host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” this year, ending a 16-year run that changed the way Americans view the news. Stewart, 52, made the announcement to his studio audience as he recorded Tuesday night’s show in New York. Under his watch, “The Daily Show” navigated new frontiers in comedy and journalism. He tweaked newsmakers and news organizations with equal relish, along the way helping influence the media elites he frequently pilloried. “In my heart, I know it’s time for someone else to have the opportunity,” Stewart said. “I don’t have any specific plans. ... I’ve got a lot of things in my head. I’m going to have dinner on a school night with my family. “This show doesn’t deserve any even slightly restless host, and neither do you.” Under Stewart, the show’s stature grew so much that even mainstream news outlets borrowed from it. MSNBC found a hit with Rachel Maddow, a host whose TODAY’S SCOOP LOCAL NEWS $1 NATION Brian Williams, the embattled NBC news anchor whose credibility plummeted after he acknowledged exaggerating his role in a helicopter incident in Iraq, was suspended for six months without pay, the network said Tuesday night. Page A5 OPINIONS The fall of anchor Brian Williams is a sorry window onto the news business. In the digitally disrupted, corporate-owned industry, journalistic standards have become muddled and anchors are not just journalists, but multimedia stars. Page A7 LOCAL NEWS Members of the Golden Valley Chorus will be crisscrossing Stanislaus and Merced counties Friday and Saturday to sing “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” or “Heart of My Heart” on behalf of Valentine’s Day romantics. Page B1 99¢ WORK & MONEY The United States ranked 19th in the world for retirement security, according to an annual ranking of 150 countries by Natixis Global Asset Management. It’s held that spot for three years. Switzerland topped the list for the second year. Page A6 INSIDE Bridge Classified Comics Crossword Local News Lottery Obituaries Sports Taste Television Work & Money smirking delivery and arched eyebrow instantly recalled Stewart. On CNN, the usually sober Anderson Cooper delivered the “Ridiculist,” a snarky editorial segment that would have been hard to imagine on a news show in the pre-Stewart days. “He’s been a really significant part of the civic conversation, at STEWART | Back page, A8 Foggy, then sun 66 | 44 C6 C6 D3 D2 B1 B2 B4 C1 D1 C6 Complete forecast Page B6 Thanks for reading The Bee! To subscribe or to report a late or missing paper, call 1-800-776-4233 A6 The Modesto Bee, © 2015 Spring Flooring The latest flooring trends at incredibly low prices! 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