Ian Whitaker 59 posts 0 comments

Life is finally returning to normal in Planada after floods swept through the small town earlier this year. This Saturday the town will be holding its annual Community Day, complete with parade, live music and a deep-pit barbeque. Every year the community chooses someone from the town to act as Grand Marshal for the occasion.…

A group of Planada residents demonstrated at the foot of the County Administration Building on Tuesday morning, raising signs calling for a halt…

Jesse Hunt was first drawn to art by his older brother. “He was really good at art and naturally I was like, ‘Yeah, let me try that!’” he said.…

Residents of Planada let loose on county and federal disaster officials in a town hall meeting last Thursday, criticizing the slow recovery effort after January’s flood left much of the town underwater. They filled the gym at Cesar Chavez Middle School, voicing concerns ranging from having to drive all the way to Merced to collect mail to a…

Members of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars are once again asking Merced County leaders to intervene to help them find their own meeting space. They took…

Residents of an apartment complex affected by the recent flood are speaking out after being forced from their homes. People who live on the…

It was Max Brown’s biggest regret in life. He had never contacted the family of Lazaro “Lester” Martinez, the 19-year-old kid who had held him when he was certain he would die on the shores of a distant island in World War 2. On Max’s deathbed in 2001, his son Scott made him a promise. He would track Martinez’ family down, and tell them in…

Popular downtown flea market Superflea has crammed a lot of things into one over the past seven months. Craft fair. Art show. Thrift-heaven.…

ASIP is back! One of Downtown Merced’s popular coffee shop hangouts reopened on Dec. 11 in a 5,000 square foot brick building on Main Street between O…

Have you ever called the police to report something, only to wait on hold and hang up out of frustration? In Merced County, chances are the person on the other end of the line probably feels the same way. Local dispatcher Andrew Gallagher has been a lone voice in calling attention to the problem of staffing and retention among Merced County’s…