It sits as a cornerstone of Downtown Merced. Known to most locals as the Mondo Building on Main Street. Facing Bob Hart Square, the Mondo Building looks like it had been plucked out of Rome, with its beautiful columns climbing toward the sky. It has been there since 1928, built by Gene Mondo as the local home of the Bank of Italy. Later…

By Steve Tietjen, Ed.D. & Salvador Sandoval, MD It has been more than a year since the COVID-19 health crisis disrupted our lives. While most…

Our valley is looking at 41 percent of the normal rain fall this year, and yet we continue to water our beautiful grass lawns. Remember, this land we…

Paradise, California is like a moonscape. It has been more than two and half years since the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history — the Camp Fire. The blaze was also the most expensive natural disaster in the world in 2018 in terms of insured losses. Today, there are some new homes being built on what were once…

With 41 percent of the normal rainfall in most areas of California, what are we looking at this fire season? The same as the past, only worse. There…

EDITOR’S NOTE: Publisher John Derby drove more than 4,000 miles in less than a week to be with his sister for her 88 birthday and present in Illinois for…

We are in the GREEN tier! That means we can toss the masks, go buy gas for less than $2 per gallon and head for Fresno for a flight to London! … Not. APRIL FOOLS! Unfortunately, Merced is one of eight (of 58) counties stuck in the purple tier that indicates widespread outbreak. But things are slowly progressing. Last week, our…

I'm working on my 18th trip to Kenya in December. On my second trip to Kenya, I saw a Maasai elder with a deep scar across his chest. I asked my friend,…

By Juan Sánchez Muñoz Fifty-five years ago this week, a major movement in U.S. civil rights history spent the night in Merced on its march from Delano to…

We see old cars and trucks in many different conditions these days. Some still look just like they did on the showroom floor while others are little more than scrap in a junkyard. One's eyes are naturally drawn to a pristine, like-new car with a gleaming paint job, unmolested engine compartment and neat-as-a-pin interior. Some of these cars…