Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Matilda Torres Ariana Garcia drives in for a first half bucket in Thursday’s victory over San Joaquin Memorial. In the second game of a brutal four-game week, the Matilda Torres Toros girls basketball team jumped out to a comfortable lead, and cruised to a 48-25 victory over the San Joaquin Memorial Panthers. The win over the Panthers on Thursday was also the first of three wins in three days and four wins in a six-day stretch for the Toros

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera’s Janyah Spotwood rises up for a pull-up 15-foot jumper in Friday’s overtime loss to Justin Garza. Spotwood recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. With a team of just one senior, the Madera Coyotes girls basketball team has been improving all year, and that was evident in an overtime loss to North Yosemite League leaders, Justin Garza. With a win, the Coyotes would have tied the Guardians for the league title. Howev

The Madera Tribune File Photo The Madera South Stallions’ show cheer team puts performs at last year’s Nationals Showcase. This year, all three high schools qualified for USA Nationals, and will perform at Monday’s send-off at Madera South High School. The Madera South Stallions will host the third annual Nationals Showcase on Monday that will begin with senior recognitions. Tickets for the event are $5 from any team member of $8 at the door. The Showcase will not only fea

It seems the buzzword captivating Americans these days is “affordability.” Yet everywhere you go, prices still seem to be increasing here in California. We’re all seeking relief from the high costs of living, with no end in sight. This trend is already being compounded by a hidden cost driver known as the “tort tax,” which this year totals $2,567 for each Californian. This number represents the hidden tax and the extra burden every Californian pays per year to compensate for

Lisa Gardner has a talent for writing prose that is both raw and visceral. It pulls the reader into the story on an emotional level. In “Never Tell” (2019, 399 pages) the book unfolds through the narration of several characters, including Detective D.D. Warren, Evie (a former and present suspect), and Flora (a former victim of a vicious kidnapper, survivor, confidential informant for Det. Warren, and street-smart amateur sleuth). Sounds confusing, but it’s not because of the

For The Madera Tribune Dr. C.E. Brown, Madera’s first physician, conducted business in this building, the Yosemite Hotel, Madera’s first structure. The doctor came to Madera in April 1877, when it was just six months old. The young, upstart village then consisted of 25 buildings, most of them dwellings. It could hardly compare with the mining community of Buchanan, from whence C.E. Brown came, but it had promise. That’s why he decided to remain and become Madera’s first physi

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera Rotary Speech contest winners from left, Jazzy Duque, Matthew Hernandez and Adriel Ornelas, joined by their teacher Betty Klein after receiving their certificates during a meeting. The Madera Rotary Club held a speech contest at its regular meeting in January. There were three contestants, Jazzy Duque, Adriel Ornelas, and Matthew Hernandez, from Juvenile Hall’s Endeavor/Voyager Secondary School. The contest was introduced by Rotarian

For The Madera Tribune The historic Shay #12 steam engine will make its way to California to the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad next week. FISH CAMP — A rare and historic moment in California rail history is set to unfold as Shay #12, a nearly century-old steam locomotive, returns to California to join Shay #10 and Shay #15 at the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad. Built in April 1926, Shay #12 is a 60-ton, three-truck Shay steam engine that powered logging operati