Global media swarmed to Modesto for 1990 vote to ban cruising. What locals said then

More than 30 news outlets from near and far descended on Modesto when it banned cruising in 1990.

How, the reporters asked, could this youthful pastime have gone so wrong in the very city that inspired “American Graffiti”? Native son George Lucas based the acclaimed 1973 film on his memories of cruising on and near 10th Street in the early 1960s.

The Modesto Bee dipped into its archive in advance of the expected repeal of the cruise ban on Tuesday, July 11. Police Chief Brandon Gillespie has urged the current City Council to end it after 33 years.

An earlier council heard from both sides at a March 27, 1990, meeting that drew more than 500 people.

“We spend a lot of time and money on our cars so we can go out and show them off,” said a member of the Provocative Car Club. “We’re not there to do harm.”

A different view came from a woman who lived within earshot of McHenry Avenue, the main cruise route. Police reported shootings, assaults, substance abuse and other crimes on nights that could draw as many as 5,000 cars.

“I’m a mother of four and I lay awake on weekends and hear breaking glass,” the woman told the council. “I hear girls screaming and I wonder if the screaming is because they’re playing and having fun, or is someone hurting her.”

The ordinance has mainly applied to McHenry, one of Modesto’s main thoroughfares. The city manager could have designated other streets, but that did not happen.

Cruisers still could take part in a few sanctioned events, such as the Graffiti Summer parade and car shows each June.

Gillespie said the recent boost in city revenue would cover the overtime needed to patrol the cruises. He has worked in recent months with low-rider clubs on two test events that he said went well.

‘The threat of civil unrest is very real,’ chief said in 1990

In 1990, the police chief was Gerald McKinsey. He said the cruises drew many troublemakers from out of town and kept his officers from responding to other calls.

“The threat of civil unrest is very real and demands our attention and best efforts to avert disaster,” McKinsey said in an early January report to the city manager.

Other media got wind of what The Bee was reporting about the pending ban. McKinsey said 32 outlets on three continents either called for interviews or visited Modesto to see a cruise live.

The London-based Independent newspaper took part in the frenzy, as did Channel 9 in Australia and a paper in Vancouver, Canada.

The New York Times was among the big U.S. dailies on the story. So were the Baltimore Sun, Los Angeles Times, Kansas City Star, USA Today, New York Newsday, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury-News.

National TV viewers saw Modesto on CBS News, CNN and “Inside Edition.” Stations in Sacramento and San Francisco covered the cruise debate. Local and national radio outlets joined in.

‘It’s a slice-of-life story,’ New York editor said

A Bee reporter asked Steve Gunn, assistant national editor at Newsday, why the issue resonated with his East Coast readers.

“It’s a slice-of-life story,“ Gunn said. “Everybody’s seen “American Graffiti.’ Everybody has a stereotype of California, and cruising is a big part of it. On Long Island, you have kids driving up and down, but it’s nothing like on the scale of California. Everybody’s going to know what we’re talking about.”

The Bee itself ran a four-page package in the Sunday paper nine days before the council vote. Reporters tagged along with police on a McHenry cruise, examined bans in other cities and talked with locals who shared varying views. (The same front page had a wire story on East Germany’s first free elections after the fall of the Berlin Wall.)

Mayor Carol Whiteside shared the police chief’s concern about the demands of cruise nights.

“McHenry has become a real drain on our police, with one-third to one-half of the force out there on weekend nights,” she said. “We can’t sacrifice our community atmosphere to this anymore.”

The council scheduled the vote for the main convention hall at Modesto Centre Plaza. The old City Hall chambers were too small for the expected crowd.

Members ended up voting 7-0 for the cruise ban. It came over protests from defenders of the right to drive up and down streets at night.

“I don’t think Modesto should be run like the Soviet Union,” one lamented.

Said another, “What would San Francisco be without the Golden Gate Bridge? Don’t take cruising away from us. It’s our identity.”