Source:
Fresno BeeWith a staggering unemployment rate, severe water shortages and a struggling economy, the last thing this impoverished farming town needed was more bad news.
City officials learned recently that Mendota soon will lose its only bank. When it closes next month, the self-proclaimed Cantaloupe Capital will become the only incorporated city in Fresno County without a bank.
... One city official estimated that 60% to 70% of people in Mendota use the Westamerica bank branch in the middle of town.
Jose Garcia, a farmworker who stopped by the bank on a recent afternoon, said he will have to start stashing his money in his wallet after the bank closes. But he is worried he and others will be targeted by the groups of unemployed men who are known to jump residents and steal their cash in this
largely unpoliced town.
... The Mendota bank once was a branch of Merced-based County Bank. But that bank failed earlier this year and was sold by the federal government to San Rafael-based Westamerica.
... Mendota has always struggled economically and
has a 39% unemployment rate this summer -- significantly higher than the last two summers. Thanks to the recession and regulatory restrictions on water supplies, the agriculture-dependent town is facing renewed concerns over whether it can survive.
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http://www.fresnobee.com/local/story/1544426.html
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