$300,000 vehicle will assist Merced County Sheriff’s SWAT team
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 4, 2010 # Comments Off
It makes a Hummer look like a Honda.
The sheriff’s department unveiled its brand-new 2010 Lenco Bearcat this week — a tactical armored vehicle that will be used by the department’s SWAT officers to respond during emergency situations.
Full Story 407469
Video: 25 new citizens sworn in during Merced ceremony
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
Immigration officials welcomed 25 new U.S. citizens during a ceremony Friday at the old Bell Station post office on 18th Street.
Full Story 407476
Merced County layoffs, overtime pay add up
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
There have been layoffs, cutbacks and talk of furloughs, but apparently there’s been no stemming the flow of overtime hours in Merced County government.
For the past three years, county employees have earned more than $11.2 million in overtime payments and 121,000 hours of compensation time for working extra hours.
Those numbers are based on a Sun-Star examination of county payroll records. (Compensation time is used as vacation, or if the employee doesn’t take time off work, is paid out as cash.)
Full Story 407468
Atwater expects biggest Fourth of July celebration
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
ATWATER — With numerous fireworks show cancellations in Merced County the past few months, the annual show in Atwater is building up to be one of the biggest July 4 celebrations ever.
Full Story 407475
Merced County sheriff’s deputies crack down on illicit fruit sales
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
The man peddling fruit and roses at a busy intersection may want to obtain the proper county permits — if he wants to avoid the hassle of being cited by law enforcement.
Full Story 407470
A moving experience, thanks to Very Special Arts
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
Alexis Hill, 16, appreciates every single movement her body makes — even the simplest one like walking to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
Last February, Hill was struck by a truck as she was crossing a street — an accident that impaired her memory and at first prevented her from walking.
On Friday, Hill showed her appreciation for finally being able to walk again through dance, poetry and song during the Very Special Arts (VSA) of Merced County performance at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center.
Full Story 407467
Mike Tharp: History of Chinese in Merced
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
Fourth of July fireworks celebrate American independence. But they also serve as a reminder that for many decades in the 19th and 20th centuries, fireworks blazed the trail for Merced County’s Chinese population.
Full Story 407471
Steve Cameron: U.S., especially California, is home
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
Once in awhile, a reader will send me an e-mail to express disagreement with something I’ve written.
Full Story 407472
The Old Trainer: Take care of your pets on the 4th
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
July Fourth is a dangerous time of year for dogs.
Full Story 407473
Pepsi puts cap on rumor that Merced bottling plant is closing
MercedSun-Star.com: Local @ July 3, 2010 # Comments Off
Despite what its employees are saying, the Pepsi Bottling Group Merced plant is not closing.
Full Story 407474