Merced County News Archives

What: A congressional briefing on water rationing conducted by Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno When: 10:30 a.m. Monday Where: Germino Building on the Los Banos Fairgrounds, 403 F St.

Incumbent Kelsey has outraised opponent's grass-roots campaign by a wide margin.

Fewer Northern San Joaquin Valley homes are under construction than at any time during the past 20 years, Construction Industry Research Board statistics show.

A Merced County soldier has been killed in Iraq. The Department of Defense confirmed Tuesday that Sgt.

A woman has come forward with allegations against an Atwater youth coach, who already faces felony child molestation charges.

Jerry Wayne Baxter, a parolee on the Merced County Sheriff Department's Most Wanted list, was arrested in Livingston on Wednesday.

Three women were arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession Thursday during a routine vehicle stop.

Jackie Hoffman sifted through a laundry bin filled with aging bread, choosing a loaf of white.

Thieves apparently used a cutting torch to cut up about 13 tons of scrap metal in a Los Banos-area demolition yard and hauled it away in a truck.

Caltrans began work on another part in the plan to improve the stretch of Highway 99 through Merced County.

The teen birthrate has gone up in California after a 15-year decline, with some of the sharpest increases reported in the counties of the San Joaquin Valley.

The Planning Commission Wednesday directed city staff to work toward expanding the limit line of the general plan so that a project will be included that could bring substantial development to the western ...

A Merced County supervisor's request to hand a quarter-million dollars in county money to the Merced Theatre restoration project has created a rare divide among the board's five members.

A man, who police say committed a brazen burglary at Helen and Louise Clothing Store and made off with $8,000 in merchandise, has been arrested.

Nearly 20 years after they were proposed, plans for the largest housing development in Merced County's history hit another delay Wednesday.Dubbed the Villages of Laguna San Luis, the 16,000-home development ...

CA) -- The Merced County planning commission has held off on approving what would be the largest housing development ever in the county. via KFIV-AM Modesto

Police say an Atwater man accused of child molestation was living at the home of a Merced County Superior Court judge when he was arrested last month. via KXTV

“We expected a significant increase in auction sales based on previous default patterns”

ForeclosureRadar.com said Tuesday that average daily auction sales in California exceeded 1,000 properties daily in April. via The KCRA Channel

A consumer watchdog group has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, saying a Merced County dairy is breaking federal laws for organic certification.

The Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute alleged in papers filed Monday that the Fagundes Dairy in Snelling, which supplies the nation's largest organic milk company, keeps cows cooped up in dirty pens instead of giving them access to pasture.

Another California supplier of Texas-based Dean Foods had its certification revoked last summer because it couldn't prove to investigators that its herd had access to pasture, among other requirements. Now the Case Vander Eyk Jr. Dairy can't produce or sell milk labeled as organic in the United States unless it's recertified. Read more

It took a couple of forklifts to carry all the rabbits and chickens into the arena for the Small Animal Auction at the Merced County Spring Fair last Friday.The auction included 45 meat pens of rabbits and nine ... via Los Banos Enterprise

“The proponents distort the facts and seek to distract the public from important issues affecting our city. Their scheme will not deter me from making decisions based on what is best for Los Banos.”

Mayor Tommy Jones may be facing a recall at the same time that he is seeking re-election this November.Local resident Gene Forte filed a notice of intent to circulate a recall petition on April 28 at City ... via Los Banos Enterprise

A subsidiary of aerospace giant Boeing Co. plans to open a pilot training center on a decommissioned Air Force base in Merced. via KTVN Reno

CA) -- An animal right group Tuesday released a video it claims shows abuse of hens in a Merced County egg barn. via LightHouse1280.com

“The vast majority of eggs and other foods farmed in our state are raised in a humane, ethical and responsible manner”

An animal rights group that accused two Central Valley egg farms of animal abuse wants voters to support a measure requiring less restrictive enclosures, officials said. via My58.com

“The hens are paying the hidden cost of factory-farm production.”

An animal rights group on Tuesday released undercover video showing chickens at a major California egg farm being mistreated by workers and housed in cages so small they can't spread their wings. via San Francisco Examiner

“I'm in the business for 57 years, we have improved conditions for birds every year.”

A farmer said "that's how you dispose of chickens" in response Tuesday to allegations animal cruelty was conducted at his Central Valley egg farm. via KCRA.com

“They won't stop until they destroy animal agriculture”

An animal protection organization is throwing back the curtains on the West Coast's largest distributor of eggs, releasing a hidden-camera video that shows chickens being mistreated by handlers and locked in ... via Los Angeles Times

Sheriff's deputies arrested a carnival worker at the Merced County Spring Fair on suspicion of committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child under age 14. via LightHouse1280.com

“Obviously, we feel strongly that we have enough information to prosecute”

Arraignment for an Atwater softball coach charged with child molestation was delayed by a visiting judge until Monday at the earliest. via The Modesto Bee

CA) -- The county of Merced received failing grades in an annual national pollution study, despite measured improvement in air quality. via KFIV-AM Modesto

A Merced father and mother were arrested and charged with child abuse after they took their baby to Mercy Medical Center claiming the child was injured after falling off a bed. via KSEE-TV Fresno

CA) -- A mother of six was stabbed to death in Winton Tuesday night during an incident of domestic violence. via LightHouse1280.com

CA) -- Further details are available about Robert Gerald Eaton of Atwater, the 40-year-old man who was shot to death on Monday at the Merced County Courthouse. via LightHouse1280.com