Distracted driving ends in bizarre crash
The bizarre collision of a car that ended up inside the back of an empty stock trailer Wednesday afternoon on Highway 41 just north of Avenue 12 brought traffic to a crawl as motorists did double takes at the unusual scene. Ranchers pulling the trailer said they had just dropped off a cow about 2 […]
No strike — yet
MUSD, MUTA reach agreement until June Madera teachers have voted to accept Madera Unified’s latest offer in the contract negotiations that have been under way for several months between the teachers’ union and the district. According to Kent Albertson, Chief Human Resources Officer for Madera Unified, the teachers have voted to ratify the agreement that […]
Chowchilla gets second city admin in three months
Chowchilla City Finance Officer Rod Pruett Tuesday night was named interim city administrator, replacing Police Chief Dave Riviere, who served about three months, filling in for former City Administrator Brian Haddix, who left Chowchilla at the end of December. Riviere was the second Chowchilla police chief to take over as city administrator. Former Police Chief […]
Service to local health honored
Madera County presented its 2019 Public Health Champion awards this week to employee Claudia Morales-Bray, City Councilman Donald Holley and CEO James Maxwell of Agriland Farming. This is the first year for the new award, according to director Sara Bosse of the county’s Public Health Department. Those lauded for “embodying” the department’s “vision” were nominated […]
Old Timers Day Parade at risk of becoming history
One of Madera’s most traditional events, the Madera Old Timer’s Day Parade, may be coming to end. For over eight decades, participants have paraded down Yosemite Avenue, bringing the area alive with thousands of spectators. The Madera Downtown Association funds the annual Old Timers Day Parade held every year on the last Saturday in September. […]
Belle and the Beast welcome students
Young ladies and gentlemen dressed to the nines were delighted to attend a Fairy Tale occasion on April 5. Picture, if you will, the trappings and elegance of a fancy affair in yellow and blue. More than 125 students enrolled in the Madera County Office of Education regional programs enjoyed Spring Prom, a semi-formal event. […]
Opinion: Can surfing save El Salvador?
On returning from his four-day fact-finding trip to El Salvador to find out why so many El Salvadorans try to sneak into the United States, Gov. Gavin Newsom, opined that perhaps it might be a good idea to establish a surfing industry in El Salvador, and turn what is now largely a crime economy into […]
The president lost his charm
In 1904, the Ohio Legislature adopted the scarlet carnation as its official state flower. There was nothing controversial about the choice, and under normal circumstances, this action by Ohio’s lawmakers would hardly have been noteworthy. However, in this case, the naming of the scarlet carnation as the state flower came about as the result of […]
Opinion: Utility troubles could be consumer opportunity
Jog your memory back just nine years to 2010 and you’ll find California’s Big Three privately owned electric utilities spending more than $70 million — $46 million from Pacific Gas & Electric Co. alone — trying to pass a ballot proposition making it almost impossible to create new publicly owned utilities. Imagine the outcry today […]
Opinion: We are all one race, the human race
“We hold these truths to be self-evident…” are the words beginning the second section of the arguably most important document ever drafted — the Declaration of Independence. Our forefathers signed that document almost 243 years ago. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their […]