Linda Roach: Merced remains stagnant despite our new university
My family moved here from Southern California 13 years ago. My husband had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of the building of the 10th University of California campus. We also thought that with Merced being a small town, the new University would bring endless possibilities of growth and development. Here we are, 13 years later, and we have lost more businesses than we have acquired; restaurants have opened and closed; housing developments have stopped mid-construction.
Like many others, I get most of our local news out of Fresno. I find it so frustrating and humiliating to watch the news day in and day out and constantly be bombarded by how Fresno is developing this area or that, new shopping centers with large flagships stores, restaurants, etc.
It was my understanding the location of the university was down to two areas, Merced and Fresno. Yay! We got it. But I’ve yet to see any growth from it. What is there to do around here? Do the powers really want change? Don’t they want to grow and prosper? Merced’s unemployment is one of the highest in the country and stuck where it was 13 years ago. Let’s get this area to grow; stop making it so difficult for new businesses.
Linda Roach, Winton
This story was originally published August 24, 2016 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Linda Roach: Merced remains stagnant despite our new university."