This year's offering from the Los Banos Performing Arts Group will feature more set changes than usual, a large cast and a 6 1/2-foot rabbit.

Twin brothers suspected in a double homicide behind a Los Banos nightclub last summer arrived back in town Wednesday morning.

Monterey County had the highest youth homicide rate in California in 2010, followed by Alameda County, according to an analysis by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit group focused on curbing firearm violence.

Central Valley farmers are slowly getting hip to the idea that tilling land before planting seeds may not always be necessary.

Having a loved one die suddenly is difficult. The emotional trauma of them being killed and not knowing who did it or why is nearly unbearable.

The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity will start a construction project this weekend that has a slightly different objective than its usual work.

Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching and there is no better way to show your special someone how much you care than by buying him or her an FFA sweetheart balloon.

What is happening with stem cells as the hope for major cures for disease, brain and nervous system disorders?

The Airport Advisory Commission reviewed a five-year plan and reorganized its panel Tuesday at its first meeting of the year.

"There are no second acts in American life," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald. But, then, Fitzgerald had never met John Spevak, who is indeed living a very fulfilling second act.

California regulators issued $61,425 in citations to a Los Banos-based labor contractor last week.

People who purchased full paper bowls were given empty ceramic ones as three groups combined to promote the fight against hunger and raise some cash for a good cause Tuesday night.

Rosa Parks will be celebrated Feb. 4 at the Miller and Lux Building with song, poetry, music and testimony.

A man involved in a domestic dispute led police on a short car chase that ended in a crash Friday.

Reorganizing for the new year was discussed at Wednesday's Community Resource Council meeting.

Police have arrested a second suspect in last week's drive-by shooting in the 800 block of Illinois Avenue.

Scores will gather next week to celebrate the life and impact of a man some call the greatest-ever American.

A local history group came a step closer to honoring a national hero last week.

Having fewer services for the homeless on the Westside affected 68 Los Banosans in 2011, according to last year's official count.

The Los Banos Unified School District thought it was finished with the environmental cleanup of Pacheco Park. Now lead has been found in the dirt.

Local secondary educators have begun ongoing training for a 44-state initiative that would align standardized testing, and was adopted in California in August 2010.

One man tackled and held a robber until police arrived, while a tip from another person led to an arrest in a burglary. Both incidents occurred early last Friday.

The Los Banos City Council voted Wednesday not to become the successor agency to its redevelopment agency.

A proposed money-saver for the state could have an effect on the youngest students in the Los Banos Unified School District.

"Capistrano has its swallows, Pacific Grove has its butterflies and we got crows," said City Manager Steve Rath.

Police ask for public's health. Updated: Jan. 6, 2012 4:41 PM |Full Story

City staff has begun the dissolution of the Los Banos Redevelopment Agency after the California Supreme Court last week decided the state can squash redevelopment agencies, the city manager said.

Merced County Transit/TheBus will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 and Presidents Day on Feb. 20. In previous years, TheBus hasn't operated on either holiday. For more information regarding programs available through Merced County Transit/TheBus, visit www.mercedthebus.com or call (800) 345-3111.

A Los Banos man found dead in his home on Thanksgiving was killed by his girlfriend's adult son, police said this week.

The city has three weeks to respond to a revamped complaint from Stonecreek Properties in a nearly $40 million lawsuit stemming from a dispute over a proposed annexation.