Since last fall when we had the carpet replaced at our house, I have been trying like the dickens to get things organized and to pitch what I no longer need or want. Our church is having a rummage sale at the beginning of next month, so it is a perfect time for me to get my act together and pass on some items that are still usable. My closet has always been a real challenge for me when it comes to disposing of items. Now, I don’t have a lot of high-quality clothes, but my cl

Katrina Soliz/The Madera Tribune Mark IV Metal Products President Andrew Segal, left, cuts the ceremonial ribbon with Chowchilla facility General Manager Pedro Orozco as confetti flies to mark the official grand opening of the facility on Friday. Mark IV Metal Products officially opened its doors Friday at 4 Kings Avenue in Chowchilla. The facility is a distribution facility that stocks dozens of sizes of galvanized steel grates and frames and municipal castings, such as manh

For The Madera Tribune George Gruber, shown here second from the left, was the owner of the Fountain Saloon. He lost his liquor license after being accused of running a “disorderly business.” When Madera turned the corner into the 20th century and voted to incorporate in 1907, it had to elect a city council to pass the ordinances that would regulate life in the county seat. Chief among the concerns in those early days were the saloons that lined Yosemite, and at the top of th

Executive Summary Since approximately 2010, California has experienced measurable outflows of both business headquarters and high-value capital. Independent research indicates that hundreds of corporate headquarters have relocated out of the state, while billions of dollars in personal income and wealth have moved with departing residents. This report summarizes those trends using publicly available research, IRS migration data, and documented corporate relocations. Section

For The Madera Tribune The first Lucca’s restaurant in Madera. An inferno of flames stabbed at the darkness on Monday, Sept. 10, 1973. Lucca’s restaurant was ablaze, and according to retired Fire Chief, Alden Potter, it was the worst fire in town since the Madera Theater burned in 1941. Losses from the restaurant fire were estimated at $250,000. Bystanders could hardly believe their eyes. There had been a Lucca’s on the corner of Third and Gateway since 1934, when Giorgio an

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Popular Japanese retailer, Daiso, will open its doors next week with a grand opening weekend celebration at 2091 W. Cleveland Avenue in the Madera Marketplace. Popular Japanese retailer, Daiso, will host a grand opening weekend next week at 2091 W. Cleveland Avenue in the Madera Marketplace. Daiso is a Japanese value store that offers a wide variety of unique everyday items at affordable prices. They carry kitchen gadgets, stationary, snack

Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Lauren Millard of Madera Auto Center is celebrated with confetti as she cuts the ribbon during a celebration for their Chowchilla location on Friday. Madera Auto Center officially opened its doors in Chowchilla last week to showcase its brand-new used-car showroom while also bringing in the community service. Representatives from Chowchilla, as well as many community members joined in on the official ribbon cutting Friday, coordinated by De

My last column was entitled “Write your own obituary,” and as I ended the article, I stated that I would write my own obituary in 2026, with my “dead” line being Dec. 31, 2026. It was a bit of a joke, but it made me think about the word “deadline,” and I wondered just how that word came to be. Deadline seems like a funny word for what it means, which is a date or time when something must be finished. Why is the word “dead” used? In the newspaper business, we use the word de