atwater

More than 100 officers with state and local agencies hit Atwater, Beachwood, Winton and Merced in a gang sweep Thursday that led to 58 arrests.

The unspoken currents bubbling below the surface of Thursday night's forum for Atwater's city council race centered on the stewardship of City Manager Greg Wellman, whose contract will run out in 2010.

U.S. Penitentiary Atwater has a new warden on the way in and its most dangerous inmates on the way out.

ATWATER -- Winners of the Atwater Fire Prevention Week poster contest were recognized by the City Council on Oct. 13 and celebrated at a pizza party on Oct. 17 at Fire Station No. 21. The contest had seven winners: Abisag Garcia, Arianna Garcia, Maryann Ceja, Thomas Thao, Adilene Ruiz, Alex Chacon-Lopez and Julian Rodriguez.

Merced County Sheriff's Department deputies say they've found no apparent motive in the case of a 61-year-old man wounded Monday in a drive-by shooting.

ATWATER -- The northbound Atwater Boulevard onramp to Highway 99 will be closed from Nov. 3 until Dec. 30 for construction work by Caltrans. Motorists should use Applegate Road as an alternate route on to 99 north.

Hang on to hope or cut your losses?

Merced County Sheriff's Department detectives say DNA evidence has identified a Winton man as a suspect in a Feb. 15 assault on an elderly woman in Atwater.

WINTON -- A 61-year-old man was flown to a Modesto hospital after being wounded in a drive-by shooting around 7 a.m. Monday.

Friends and family of slain Correctional Officer Jose Rivera are raising money to build a memorial in his honor.

Mark Hendrickson, Merced County's Director of Government Affairs, has been promoted to oversee the development of Castle Commerce Center.

MODESTO -- A Buhach Colony High School water polo player remains hospitalized after suffering apparent head and neck injuries during a tournament in Modesto on Saturday afternoon.

ATWATER -- In an effort to increase staff safety at the federal prison in Atwater, Rep. Dennis Cardoza announced that an East Coast penitentiary would house some of its most-dangerous inmates.

A man was stabbed in an apparent gang-related attack Wednesday night while walking through a park in Winton, according to the Merced County Sheriff's Department.

ATWATER -- My father specialized in opening new schools. That's probably one of the reasons why Tom Hosley was Atwater High School's first principal. He'd done it before.