countyofmerced

Merced College is welcoming students back for the 2026-27 academic year this week, following several years of substantial enrollment growth and with major projects taking shape across the district. The college served 21,722 students in 2025-26, an all-time high and an increase of more than 40 percent since 2021-22. That growth has been…

UC Merced is welcoming the largest class in university history this fall, as record numbers of first-year and transfer students propel total enrollment…

By SARAH LIM Special to the Times What better name for a building than “Land of Sunshine”? To many Chicagoans in the late 19th century,…

A community giant is no longer with us. Roger Wood — an Atwater native son with a legacy as a businessman, civic leader, and radio show host who helped unite the region through conversation — died Aug. 5 at home after a brief illness. He was 85. "Roger had a profound impact on our community," said Kory Billings, a family friend and…

The Merced City Council voted 6-1 on Monday night to place a 1-cent general sales tax measure on the November election ballot in an effort to help…

By SARAH LIM Special to the Times The 7-Up sign by Marie’s Mexican Kitchen at 259 W. Main Street is a prominent landmark in Merced,…

By JILL CUNNINGHAM  Before there was a campus, before there were graduates, before there were traditions, there were people who believed Merced County deserved a community college. One of those people was my grandfather, Byron Cunningham. In 1962, he served on the founding Board of Trustees that helped turn an idea into…

By SARAH LIM Special to the Times  It is America’s big birthday, and we are celebrating it Merced County style.  On June 25, the “America 250 –…

The Merced County Courthouse Museum will open the “America 250 – Merced County” exhibit on Thursday, June 25, at 5 p.m.  This exhibit commemorates the U.S. Bisesquicentennial, celebrating a remarkable journey from 1776 to 2026, and offers a glimpse into the rich tapestry of U.S. history, California’s evolution, and the unique story of…