The Awkward Family Photo Fundraiser

MULTICULTURAL ARTS CENTER 645 W. Main Street Awkward Holiday Photo, $25 Have you ever marveled at an old family Christmas photo and wondered, ‘what were we thinking?’ This is your chance to take a photo that will go down in infamy and be talked about at family dinners for generations. And it all goes for [...]

Dan Hong Uses Creativity to Build Community

Sometimes, success is not measured in only dollars and cents. For accomplished and perseverant entrepreneur Daniel Hong, success means being a constructive part of his community. After studying at Fresno State University, Hong returned to Merced acquiring a job at Map TV, a local company that produced television commercials. It was there that he got [...]

Taste of Merced — Food and Music in Bob Hart Square

Rarely is community service ever this fun. The Mercy Medical Foundation is bringing a night of great food and live music to downtown’s Bob Hart Square in an effort to raise money to bring a high tech machine that can increase early detection of cancer to Merced. The event, scheduled for Sept. 28 at Bob [...]

Family Style — Pinnochio’s using family’s recipe for success

A pair of brothers with a long family history in the restaurant business, have put their name on one of the centerpiece locations in Downtown Merced. Located in Bob Hart Square where Bishop’s on the Square and Main Street Cafe once called home, Pinocchio’s opened earlier this summer with its Italian family-style offerings that the Pinocchio [...]

21 REASONS TO EAT IN DOWNTOWN MERCED

Find out what customers are saying, how much money it will cost and what you should eat the next time you come downtown to eat. You may just find your next favorite restaurant. ALL PHOTOS BY JUNO APPLESEED

The Falconer: George Pena has turned a childhood hobby into a soaring business

So you’re a kid. You have all these big dreams of being a superhero, or a firefighter, or say, a falconer. I mean, you’re like six years old and you literally eat, sleep and breathe this stuff. But you grow up.  You go to different schools, make different friends, and endure your fair share of [...]

ARTIST PROFILE: Downtown’s Andy Warhol

“Garland Daniel is the Andy Warhol of hair,” says stylist Kat Vrabec over the roar of a passing motorcycle outside of Vin One Hair Studio. Daniel pauses for a second, doubting the comparison, but Vrabec assures its accuracy with such conviction he seems to have no other choice but to accept it. Daniel, 30, began [...]

State of the Arts

The DLM talked to the leaders of many of Merced’s local arts organizations to gauge their health. They were open and frank about their financial struggles, excited to share their successes and all optomistic about what’s to come for the Merced art community.

ARTIST PROFILE: John Tharp

John Roy Tharp (“Little John”) is living the dream. “Everything all of my teachers told me I would never be able to make a living doing … I’m doing,” says Tharp, owner of Main St. Tattoo. “I wanted to make a living drawing dragons and skulls and I’m doing it.” Tharp, 43, grew up in [...]

The Art of Expression

On the third floor of the Multicultural Arts Center the sounds of clamoring chairs and chatter amongst friends bounce off the walls. The commotion is easily heard from Shannon Essig’s office on the opposite end of the floor as she sits behind her cluttered desk sending emails. Essig is the architect of Enrichment Center as [...]

The Line in Line

Where is the line when you’re waiting in line? Suppose you’re kind of in a rush and need to get a few things at Walmart. You feel happy and accomplished at correctly figuring out a route around the store so you don’t needlessly backtrack. You walk gleefully to the checkout, and then see all your [...]

Big Banks vs. Credit Unions

Whether or not you follow or support the Occupy movement, changing your primary financial institution is something you should at least learn about so that you can make the right decision, which is always an informed one. I had been banking with Bank of America since 2006, but recently made the switch to Travis Credit [...]