CVJC Newsletter Oct. 9 edition: The latest Merced and Valley news
Here are some of the top news items that made recent headlines in the San Joaquin Valley
Merced County workers are shown Friday, Oct. 6 , 2023 outside the County Administration building, protesting the rising costs of their healthcare coverage.
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The following is a collection of news items written by CVJC, in addition to KVPR, Fresnoland and other partners.
Scroll through this newsletter to see these highlights:
Merced campuses team up to build joint $100M student housing complex
Los Banos city manager’s inexperience is an issue. So is needing a 5-0 vote to fire him (Westside Express)
‘We’re going to feel the pinch.’ Merced County adopts cautious $1.17B budget
‘Stop sacrificing our kids.’ Merced school board takes heat over firing of search firm
What's happening with the Merced Mall? New $4.5 million project could bring businesses
Merced County workers protest higher health coverage costs
Dozens of Merced County workers gathered outside the County Administration building on Friday, Oct. 6 to protest the rising costs of their healthcare coverage and urge the county to find better options.
Increases set to take effect on Jan. 1 “will be devastating for our employees,” said Jerald Phelps, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 2703. “It’s going to be devastating to families.”
Drivers honked in support as they passed the group on M Street. The workers cheered in response and chanted “county workers matter!”
“We want the Board of Supervisors to recognize that these workers are what keeps Merced County working,” Phelps said. “These workers provide vital service through Merced County every day, every night and during every critical event.”
AFSCME, one of several unions representing county employees, has about 1,000 Merced County workers in its local organization, Phelps said. They include staff from departments such as probation, roads, public health, and many more.
According to its website, Merced County is one of the area’s major employers, with a workforce of more than 2,210.
-Reporting by Michelle Morgante
UC Merced one step closer to joining city limits
UC Merced is one step closer to being brought into the city limits, signaling Merced’s future growth north toward the campus. READ FULL STORY
Merced campuses team up to build joint $100M student housing complex
UC Merced and Merced College officials are set to begin construction on an apartment-style building with capacity for nearly 500 beds. READ FULL STORY
Los Banos city manager’s inexperience is an issue. So is needing a 5-0 vote to fire him (Westside Express)
In 2021, Josh Pinheiro was not included on a list of names compiled by a recruitment firm paid to find Los Banos a new city manager. When two city councilmembers asked that Pinheiro’s name be added, the recruitment firm declined.
How then did Pinheiro become the city manager of Los Banos not once, but twice? Photo by Gene Lieb. READ FULL STORY
‘We’re going to feel the pinch.’ Merced County adopts cautious $1.17B budget
As Merced County adopted its largest-ever budget at $1.17 billion, county officials said stagnant sales tax revenue could signal a coming economic downturn, and the county’s spending must remain conservative to ensure sustainability. READ FULL STORY
‘Stop sacrificing our kids.’ Merced school board takes heat over firing of search firm
At a packed meeting of the Merced City School District this week, teachers and parents pushed the board of trustees to acknowledge and release results of a community survey compiled as part of the search for a new superintendent. READ FULL STORY
What's happening with the Merced Mall? New $4.5 million project could bring businesses
The owner of the old Sears property at the Merced Mall has a business permit application pending with the City of Merced. It would transform the building near R Street and Olive Avenue into a number of smaller spaces to accommodate a variety of retailers. READ FULL STORY
A new California law could improve higher education outcomes among the formerly incarcerated
A California law set to take effect in January will allow parolees to transfer to a different county than the one they’re assigned, but under certain circumstances. One of the key conditions is to enroll in a university. READ FULL STORY
Remembering Christopher Adams, Berkeley architect who designed UC Merced campus (Berkeleyside)
He was the founding campus planner for UC Merced and directed its first master plan and coordinated the design of its first buildings. READ FULL STORY
Valley agencies in a race against winter and a fast-approaching state deadline to repair flood damage (SJV Water)
All across Tulare County, the race is on to repair flood-damaged infrastructure before an anticipated El Niño winter and an even more looming expiration of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that relaxed permitting for levee work and debris clean up. READ FULL STORY
This is the ‘weirdest stuff’ Yosemite hikers have dropped into Half Dome (SF Chronicle)
“There’s a big honey hole of lost stuff that slides off and all accumulates there — it’s like a big catch basin for trash.” READ FULL STORY
Flood insurance out of reach for many businesses in Planada (ABC 30)
A study by the ABC Owned Television Stations Group shows many Americans with homes and businesses at risk of flooding in the next thirty years don't have flood insurance. READ FULL STORY
Meetings and events calendar
Highway 59 Lane Widening Public Hearing — 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10 at Merced Civic Center inside council chambers, 678 West 18th Street in Merced. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss a plan to widen Highway 59 from a two-lane roadway to four lanes from the 16th Street intersection to about 600 feet south of Buena Vista Drive.
Merced City Schools District board meeting — 7p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, STEAM Center, 2900 Green Street in Merced and on YouTube at @mercedcityschooldistrict9067.
Riley Brothers Remembrance Walk — 12 p.m. Saturday Oct. 14, meets in the FoodMaxx parking lot at West Olive and Meadows avenues. The event remembers brothers Michael and Marlis Riley, and other victims of violent crimes in the Merced area.
Merced City Council meeting — 6 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St. in Merced.
Merced County Supervisors, 10 a.m. Oct. 17 County Administration Building, 2222 M St. in Merced.
Livingston City Council meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, 1416 C Street in Livingston.
Atwater City Council, 5:30 pm. Oct. 23, 650 Bellevue Road in Atwater.
Merced County Nut Festival — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced. Admission is free. mercedcountynutfestival@yahoo.com.