California families are paying some of the highest gasoline prices in America, and politicians continue acting like this happened by accident. It did not. This crisis was created through years of shutting down refineries, reducing in-state oil production, and making California more dependent on foreign crude oil imports from unstable regions of the world. Today, California imports the majority of the crude oil used by our refineries. According to the California Energy Commiss

The Chowchilla-Madera County Fair proudly celebrated its historic 80th anniversary Fair, held May 7-10, marking one of the most successful fairs in the organization’s history. This milestone year brought tremendous growth across nearly every aspect of the event, reflecting the continued strength and support of the community. One of the highlights of the 2026 Fair was the all-time record-breaking livestock auction, which generated $1,078,747.60 in sales, demonstrating the incr

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress formally adopted the text of the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and a committee of five. The date became our anniversary date. So, on the Fourth of July of this year, we will celebrate 250 years of our independence as a nation. This is definitely a time to celebrate! In 1776, we decided we no longer wanted or needed to be dependent on another country, and we wanted to write our own rules and laws. Since that

For The Madera Tribune The Madera Theater. As Madera moved into the 1940s, many looked forward to the return of good times. The Great Depression was over, and Prohibition had wilted away. Agriculture had replaced lumber as the town’s economic base, and business downtown was booming. J.C. Penny, located on the corner of E Street and Yosemite Avenue, was offering the latest in fashions at low, low prices, and Montgomery Ward was shocking the town with its Wednesday sales, one o

For The Madera Tribune The Fountain Saloon was located at Gateway and Yosemite. George Gruber, the owner, is shown here, second from the left. In 1907, Madera with a population of just more than 2,000, had 13 saloons within its city limits. The town’s trustees went on record as opposing such a high saloon/citizen ratio, and expressed a determination to reduce it. In this they were supported by a vocal segment of the population, especially the Women’s Christian Temperance Unio

Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors, a nationally recognized real estate brokerage and advisory firm specializing in retail property sales, announced that the firm has arranged the $12.18 million sale of a newly constructed, single‑tenant 7‑Eleven convenience store, gas station and commercial fueling facility in Madera. The transaction represents the highest‑priced single‑tenant 7‑Eleven ever sold in California, the first single‑tenant 7‑Eleven C‑store with Commerci

California’s energy reality: fewer refineries, more imported oil, and some of the highest fuel taxes in America are driving the cost at the pump. Every time tensions rise in the Middle East, many Californians assume that global conflict is the main reason gasoline prices spike at home. While world events can influence oil markets, the reality is that California’s gasoline prices are driven far more by the state’s own energy structure and policies than by events overseas. Cali

When I was growing up, there were many automobile manufacturers in the United States, some of their names will not be familiar to most people who are reading this column. But even those of us who were not raised in a car culture knew that the “Big Three” were General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Over the years, smaller companies like Nash, Packard, Studebaker, Kaiser-Frazer, and American Motors folded their tents and disappeared. It was probably around 1955 when I first saw a