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Mike Harris Newsletter — September 14, 2026
📞 On Call with Mike Harris | District 3 | September 14, 2026
Happy Monday, Merced,
Here are three numbers to start your week: 255 traffic stops, 62 drivers on their phones, and one driver doing 64 mph on Olive Avenue. That was a single day of enforcement around our school zones last Wednesday, and the full story is below.
It was a week of harder conversations, too. Local artists came to Tuesday night's council meeting to talk about fair pay for public art, a community gathered at Merced College to remember a life taken far too soon, and Friday marked 25 years since September 11. There is a lot to cover, so let's get to it.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 One day, 255 traffic stops around our school zones. On Wednesday, Sept. 9, Merced PD joined forces with the CHP and officers from Atwater, Gustine, Dos Palos, and Los Banos for a regional traffic safety operation focused on the streets our students use to get to school. Twenty-two patrol vehicles made 255 stops in one day: 62 cell phone violations, 42 for speeding, 31 seat belt violations, and 71 other moving violations. The fastest driver was clocked at 64 mph on Olive Avenue. Police Chief Steven Stanfield said operations like this one "reinforce the importance of making safe choices behind the wheel."
→ 📊 By the numbers: The department recently reviewed five years of traffic data, and collisions and fatalities have declined year over year for two straight years. That trend is not an accident. It is enforcement plus education, and it is exactly what the traffic safety grant dollars we accepted at Tuesday's meeting are built to sustain. With Pedestrian Safety Month underway and District 3 being the most walkable part of this city, I could not ask for a better one-day illustration of why this work matters. Slow down out there, especially near a school.
👉 Read the full operation results
🔹 Twenty-five years since September 11. Friday marked a quarter century since that Tuesday morning in 2001. I served in the Air Force and spent most of my working life alongside the kinds of people who ran toward those towers: firefighters, police officers, paramedics, dispatchers. The best way I know to honor the 2,977 lives lost, and the responders who gave everything in the days after, is to take care of the people who still answer the call here at home, and to check on the veterans and first responders in your own life. If you paused to remember on Friday, thank you.
💼 Economic Development
🔹 Artists asked us to pause two mural projects. Here is where I landed. At Tuesday's council meeting, four members of Merced's arts community asked us to freeze the current request for proposals for two $10,000 murals, one on the M Street Bridge and one at the Public Works Corporation Yard, arguing that after insurance, materials, equipment, and wall prep, too little of that money actually reaches the artist. Some history: the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission originally recommended up to $15,000 for a single mural, and the council later stretched $20,000 across two projects. I sit with that commission as an ex-officio member, and I said Tuesday that this item never really reached the commission the way it should have. I also raised concerns during the earlier funding discussion that $20,000 did not look like enough for all the work being considered.
→ 💬 My take: I did not support stopping the RFP mid-stream, because applications are open until Sept. 30 and artists deserve a process that does not change the rules midway. As I said at the meeting, "I agree with letting this play out and maybe restarting it with the right information." Merced's murals helped earn downtown its state Cultural District designation, and the people who paint them should be paid fairly. Staff will also deliver a report on arts spending back to 2022 by Oct. 19, and the commission meets Thursday if you want to weigh in.
👉 Read The Merced FOCUS coverage
🔹 Two quick follow-ups: parking and rail. My parking structures item got its first airing Tuesday night, and that conversation is just getting started. On High-Speed Rail, we are still awaiting the Authority's formal response to the joint City-County letter I walked you through two weeks ago. The community's monthly rail meeting is tomorrow night, and the details are listed below.
🩺 Healthcare
🔹 A vigil at Merced College, and a conversation we cannot look away from. On Sunday, Sept. 6, more than 20 community members joined family in front of the Lesher Student Services Center to remember Brittney Harris, a 38-year-old graduate of Merced College's nurse assistant program who was working toward becoming a registered nurse. She was killed on Aug. 30, and her estranged husband has been charged with her murder. Her death has our community talking about domestic violence, and that conversation needs to continue past the candlelight.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Domestic violence is not someone else's problem in Merced County, and help exists right now: advocates, shelter, safety planning, and counseling. This is also why I was glad the council finalized a three-year agreement Tuesday for specialized forensic nursing exams, so that survivors of violence in our community get expert, compassionate care from the very first hour. If you or someone you love is in danger, call 911. For everything after that, start with the resource guide below, and please share it. You never know who quietly needs it.
👉 Find local domestic violence resources
🔹 September is Suicide Prevention Month, and Thursday, Sept. 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day. You have heard me say that mental health sits at the root of so many of the crises we respond to in this city, from the 911 load to homelessness. Here is the one thing worth memorizing: 988. Call or text it any hour, any day, for yourself or for someone you are worried about. Three digits can hold a door open until help arrives.
👉 Learn about the 988 Lifeline
📅 Meetings & Community Events
🔹 High-Speed Rail Community Action Meeting: Tuesday, Sept. 15, 6 p.m. The community-organized monthly meeting for residents following the station discussion. Registration is required, and the location is provided when you sign up.
🔹 Arts and Culture Advisory Commission: Thursday, Sept. 17, 4 p.m. Council Chamber, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St. After Tuesday's mural discussion, this is the room where the arts conversation continues, and public comment is always open.
🔹 Merced Certified Farmers' Market: Saturday, Sept. 19, morning, downtown Merced. Every Saturday, rain or shine. Your grocery list, handled by the people who grew it.
🔹 Senior Theater One Acts auditions: Saturday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Merced Multicultural Arts Center. No experience required, just a willingness to take the stage. I love seeing downtown's arts spaces full at every age.
🔹 City Council meeting: Monday, Sept. 21, 6 p.m. Council Chamber, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St., second floor. We are back on our regular Monday schedule. Come tell us what is on your mind, or watch from home.
👉 View agendas, minutes, and video
🔹 Planning Commission: Wednesday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m. Council Chambers, Merced Civic Center. Growth and housing decisions start in this room, and public seats are always open.
🔹 Hispanic Heritage Month begins Tuesday, Sept. 15. A month to celebrate the families, businesses, and traditions that shape so much of Merced's story. Watch for cultural events downtown in the weeks ahead.
📢 Stay Connected with Merced
🔹 Get city alerts on your terms. Subscribe Merced lets you pick the topics you want, from emergency notifications to city news, delivered straight to you. September happens to be National Preparedness Month, which makes this the perfect week to spend two minutes signing up. If you sign up for nothing else, sign up for the emergency alerts.
👉 Sign up for Subscribe Merced
☎️ The Direct Line
Looking ahead: the rail meeting is tomorrow night, the arts commission meets Thursday, and we are back in the council chamber a week from tonight. If you are an artist with thoughts on how Merced should fund public art, or a neighbor with a parking story I have not heard yet, I want both.
My number is (209) 385-6203. You can also reply to this email or write me at HarrisM@cityofmerced.gov. If a neighbor would find this useful, pass it along.
Have a good week, Merced.
