Marc Medefind: Some Christmas wishes for Merced

Welcome to this second holiday “Top 10 Wish List” for Merced. Last year’s wish list for Merced might have asked too much. Of the items requested, only two were fully realized, though others received partial fulfillment.

Still, I’m a big fan of “Miracle on 34th Street” and a bigger fan of Santa Claus, so hope springs eternal. Here’s my 2015 list:

1) Trader Joe’s – Whenever I hear talk about new businesses that should open here, the top choice is always Trader Joe’s. I know the franchise is picky about demographics, but I think the fact that we have a UC campus and a much more “foodie” conscious population should push the point (everyone can help this along by going to TJ’s website to request a store in Merced).

2) A Mediterranean restaurant – Speaking of “foodies,” why, oh why, don’t we have a restaurant featuring Mediterranean cuisine? Modesto has eight, Fresno a dozen and Turlock two. Merced has nearly 200 restaurants. At least one should specialize in Mediterranean food!

3) Expand “gateway” status – Let the jewel that is Yosemite reflect more of its luster on Merced. We are the Gateway to Yosemite! Let’s take advantage of this fact via Merced promotions and events to draw many more of the 4 million tourists who travel to Yosemite each year to our fair city.

4) Expand our status as a “college town” – College towns are amazing! Davis, Eugene, Cambridge, et al., are cosmopolitan and arty. Let’s turn Merced into a “college town extraordinaire.” First, look at what other college towns do, then do it better (perhaps even by including a Mediterranean restaurant). Our new city manager must embrace this visionary attitude.

5) Homeless solutions – When I was a child, the only “homeless” people in Merced were transients one might see along railroad tracks. Now, we have more than 800. Some cities have made huge progress toward housing and providing for the homeless. We can, too. We just need the political will to make it happen. In the meantime, we need a day shelter, a warming/cooling shelter, and a homeless shelter that does not limit individual stays to six months.

6) Xeriscaping ordinance – We basically live in a desert and we’ve been dealing with drought for going on five years. It’s time we passed an ordinance requiring all new homes to use only water-wise plants and continue providing rebates for homeowners willing to switch to xeriscaping. Hint to nurseries: Stock mostly water-wise plants.

7) Finish the Campus Parkway – We should either finish or rename our campus parkway. There is just no easy way to travel from Highway 99 to areas on the north side of town. If we can’t push this through, we should rename it the Dead End in an Almond Orchard Parkway.

8) Start a Cops ’n’ Kids program – Modeled after successful programs elsewhere, it would partner law enforcement officers with at-risk grade school kids for fishing trips, sports events, etc. Much like the very successful UC Merced Police Mentor Program that partners UC students and police with fourth-graders, it would humanize law enforcement officers for kids of color and others who might only have experienced negative interactions with the police. This could be a game-changer in terms of Merced’s gang problem.

9) Make public spaces family-friendly – Parks, greenways, bike paths and even school playgrounds need to be reclaimed. Public school playgrounds should also be open to the public after school and on weekends. Also, these areas are public recreation areas, not campgrounds (see wish No. 5).

10) Peace and goodwill – A requirement for all Christmas lists. Greet strangers; offer help to those in need; pay the restaurant bill of a veteran or a service person. Perform “random acts of kindness” all year round. Merry Christmas!

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 1:29 PM with the headline "Marc Medefind: Some Christmas wishes for Merced."