For The Madera Tribune Cal Fire captains Bryant Camarena, center left, and Craig Waag, center right, hold certificates they received Tuesday from the Madera County Board of Supervisors, honoring their retirement after 34 years of service. From left are Supervisors Bobby Macauley, David Rogers, Chairwoman Leticia Gonzalez, Camarena, Waag, Madera County Assistant Fire Chief Larry Pendarvis, Supervisors Robert Poythress and Jordan Wamhoff and Madera County Fire Chief Justin Maco

I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate those of you who took the opportunity to participate in the No Kings March held on October 18. You were successful, the United States of America does not have a king. Sorry to inform you, but that was settled long, long ago when we declared our independence.  I do respect everyone’s right to participate in the march, it is a right that is guaranteed by the Constitution of The United States. I have to agree that the majority of

I just re-read the long, silly letter by John Bowers, published in the Tribune on October 8. He compares Democrats to dogs who chase sticks. According to Mr. Bowers, the Democrats are “corrupt.” They have “no sense of humor,” (actually, I find this letter pretty funny.) “They have a low IQ,” and they “tried to kill Trump twice.” They have “no experience with intelligence.” He repeats some of Trump’s insulting playground names for his opponents, and so on with more ridiculous

For The Madera Tribune John Gordon (far right) continued serving as Madera’s mayor in 1948. The year 1948 proved to be a watershed in Madera’s politics. Earlier city elections had been fairly tranquil. Over the previous 40 years, if an incumbent was challenged, the contest didn’t raise anybody’s blood pressure. City elections in 1948, however, revealed that Madera had grown up. All of a sudden city leaders such Mayor John Gordon, Councilmen Arthur D. Cook, J. Wesley Smith, Jo

Our national government and corporate titans rob the poor to feed the rich. We vote for politicians who fail us. Working-class Americans feel left behind.  We struggle to recover from a worldwide pandemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, shuttered small businesses, and divided communities with anger and distrust. Small men threaten war. Gun violence headlines our newspapers. Racism infects hearts and minds. Snake oil salesmen take advantage of religious believe

For The Madera Tribune Richard Nixon campaigns on Yosemite Avenue in Madera. In 1950, national politics caught the eye of most Maderans, especially the race between Congressman Richard Nixon and Congresswoman Helen Gahagan Douglas for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by Sheridan Downey. While the record shows that Douglas campaigned in Madera once, Nixon upstaged her by doing it twice. On April 11, 1950, Nixon came to Madera to campaign from the back of a station wagon. He pa

Well, the elections didn’t go the way I had hoped, but they did go the way I thought. Proposition 50 was a given, or a Gavin. California voters are predictable. East Coast, however, is a misunderstanding. They think the “Robin Hood” theory is a form of government. Socialism and Communism is a smoke screen. Kinda like hemp. It makes you feel good for a short time.