Central Valley News - Merced Sun Star

The Big Climb: Speed duo take back their record for reaching top of El Capitan's nose
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- Hans Florine and Yuji Hirayama weren't just another pair of climbers on El Capitan's immense, 2,900-foot-high granite face. They were climbing it faster than anyone before them.
Atwater council may call for change in prison policy
Councilman John Carlisle thinks Bureau of Prisons administrators will share a good laugh if they read the City Council's resolution demanding policy changes to protect correctional officers.
Man arrested after stealing two cars
ATWATER -- A 35-year-old Atwater man stole a second car Thursday morning after the first one he snatched ran out of gas, according to the sheriff's department.
Big year for almonds
The Almond Board of California has come out with a new forecast for this year's almond crop, and it's a big one.
July 5 in Merced history
July 5, 1958
Declaration of spirit at Atwater's Fourth of July parade
ATWATER -- Beneath a blue sky and whipping American flags, residents celebrated the United States' independence as they watched the city's annual parade weave through downtown.
Meetings on Saturday, July 5, 2008, and Sunday, July 6, 2008
SATURDAY
Long-awaited veterans center in Modesto opens doors to region
For 10 years, organizations lobbied the federal government to put a Vet Center in Modesto.
Local labor contractor reopens, then is shut down again
The company that employed the 17-year-old girl who died of a heat stroke has been shut down by the state for a second time after briefly reopening.
County nixes bonuses for retirement notice
The Merced County Board of Supervisors finalized a decision this week to scrap a controversial policy that gives bonuses to elected officials who provide at least one-year notice before leaving office.
Highway patrol doubles force for holiday
If you drink and drive during the Fourth of July weekend, chances are you will be arrested.
Bureau of Prisons ready to consider protective vests
ATWATER -- Federal Bureau of Prisons officials say they are expanding the availability of protective vests after the fatal stabbing of a correctional officer.
Toxicology tests reveal no drugs, alcohol in father who beat toddler
MODESTO -- Toxicology tests came back negative Thursday for the Turlock man who savagely beat his young son to death last month, adding to the mystery of why a father would commit such a heinous act.
Loose Lips: Governator shows he is a cut above
Students, this week Loose Lips presents a lesson on the privileges of power.
Students share Very Special Arts
As Mario Guerrero recited his poem titled, "He is," to the audience at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center on Friday, it sounded like he was describing his best friend.
Thompson not guilty
Robert Thompson is a free man.
July 4 in Merced history
July 4, 1958
Fires force postponed July 4 celebration
MARIPOSA -- Because of large fires in Mariposa County, the Fourth of July celebration put on by the Mariposa Kiwanis Club and the Mariposa Parks and Recreation Department has been postponed.
U.S. prison officials considering safety vests, union rep says
WASHINGTON -- Bureau of Prisons officials are now considering equipping federal correctional officers with safety vests following the murder of Jose Rivera in Atwater, union leaders revealed Wednesday.
Dirty shame -- Valley counties failing to create healthy areas
People in the San Joaquin Valley are more likely than others in the state to live in unhealthy neighborhoods, and the state needs to make those communities a health priority, according to a report.
County Supervisor Pedrozo says he has prostate cancer
Supervisor John Pedrozo has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, he announced Wednesday. Pedrozo, who turns 51 today, learned he had early-stage prostate cancer in June.
Fewer customers visit fireworks booths
Denise Pursley and Kristi Hamel sat underneath a blue plastic canopy next to the Merced Bears Wrestling Club's fireworks booth Wednesday, waiting for customers to arrive at any moment.
High gas prices crunch summer travel plans
Rising gas prices and a struggling economy appear to be curtailing vacations plans this summer.
Jury: County jail too crowded
Merced County won't be expanding its jails anytime soon, though chronic overcrowding and staffing shortages keep them at "crisis levels," according to the civil grand jury.
Clerk reports assault, robbery at cigarette shop
Merced police are seeking two robbers who attacked a clerk at a cigarette store on Tuesday.
July 3 in Merced history
July 3, 1958
Bomb scare at downtown bank draws police attention
The Merced Police Department's Bomb Unit responded to Citibank at 1840 M St. on Tuesday, after a man threw a bank duffle bag on the south side of the bank.
Atwater prison policies leave staff in grave danger, correctional officers say
It was 3:30 in the afternoon — count time on housing unit 5A at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater. Jose Rivera was a half-hour short of finishing his shift.
U.S. prison officials considering safety vests, union says
WASHINGTON -- Bureau of Prisons officials are now considering equipping federal guards with safety vests following the murder of Atwater correctional officer Jose Rivera, union leaders revealed Wednesday.
Police seek two men who robbed Merced store
Merced police are looking for two men who took an undetermined amount of money Tuesday from a cash register after pistol-whipping a store clerk and firing several shots into the ceiling.
Northern San Joaquin property owners delinquent on tax bills in record numbers
Record-high property tax delinquency rates were revealed Tuesday for the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Landowners haven't paid $120.4 million in taxes, primarily because so many homes have been lost to foreclosure.
Upside to the housing slump: Lower taxes
As property values continue to plunge, Merced County homeowners can take comfort in the housing slump's silver lining: lower tax bills.
Homicide suspect found dead in peach orchard
DELHI -- The man who apparently shot his girlfriend to death in rural Atwater over the weekend was found dead Tuesday inside a black Lincoln Navigator in a peach orchard with a bullet wound to his head, Merced County sheriff's investigators said.
'Just not the right time': County CEO backs off retirement
Instead of retiring at the end of this year, Dee Tatum will stay on as Merced County's CEO, he said at the Merced County Board of Supervisors' meeting Tuesday.
Draftsman spends nights teaching black belt moves in Atwater
ATWATER -- As a teenager, Tony Deziga watched Bruce Lee jumping, kicking and punching in the television show "The Green Hornet."
New crisis center eases transition
There was no lapse in help for domestic abuse victims when A Woman's Place closed and Valley Crisis Center took over Tuesday.
Merced County's Most Wanted: Jose Hernandez Mendez
MERCED COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Tribe's casino plan near 99 back on track
WASHINGTON -- A proposed Madera County casino is back on track after avoiding a detour that some feared might have killed the ambitious North Fork Rancheria project.
Firefighters on the front lines find haven in Merced
If it weren't for all of the smoke, you'd think Merced was hosting a firefighting convention.
July 2 in Merced history
July 2, 1958
Holiday closings in Merced, Atwater
Merced city offices will be closed Friday to celebrate Independence Day.
Meetings on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Public Meetings
CHP patrols focus on new phone law
California Highway Patrol officers are holding roving and fixed patrol posts along roadways to ensure motorists are abiding by the new law, which took effect Tuesday.
Two arrested for meth, handguns in STAR raid
Two suspects are in custody after 60 grams of methamphetamine were found after members of the Sheriff's Tactical and Reconnaissance team conducted a search warrant in the 6900 block of Hall Boulevard.
Authorities accuse youth of vandalizing property
A 13-year-old boy is in custody after allegedly spray painting graffiti at several locations in Merced.
Homeless center has moved, city officials say
The city would like to remind residents that the city's homeless services have moved. Code enforcement officers said people are still leaving donations of clothes and other items at the Merced Community Action Agency's 1414 R St. location, the former site of the C.O.T.S. Homeless Day Center.
Officials forecast bad air's return
The forecast calls for blue sky in the northern San Joaquin Valley through the Fourth of July, but the thick smoke that hung over the region last week could return by the weekend.
Preschool out of neediest kids' reach
Minority and children from low-income families would get the most out of a high-quality preschool program, but they are the least likely to be going to one, according to the recently released RAND California Preschool study.
Mother killed in county's 2nd homicide in 24 hours
A 29-year-old mother of two became the county's 13th homicide victim on Sunday -- and Merced County sheriff's investigators are asking the public for help in locating the suspect.
Police ID teen victim, mother, stepfather
Merced police have identified a 17-year-old girl who was killed Sunday in an apparent murder-suicide as Eileen Her.