California stands at a crossroads with Proposition 50, a measure that threatens to unravel the progress we’ve made toward unbiased, transparent redistricting. Californians strongly rejected partisan gerrymandering by establishing the Citizens Redistricting Commission, taking map-drawing power from self-serving Sacramento politicians, and putting it in the hands of an impartial group dedicated to fairness, not politics. The Commission has been far from perfect, but it beats th

Madera County Clerk-Recorder and Registrar of Voters, Rebecca Martinez announced that in order to be eligible to vote in the November 4, Statewide Special Election, persons must register to vote by Monday, October 20.  In order to be eligible to register to vote at the November 4 Statewide Special Election, voters  must be a United States Citizen, live in Madera County and be 18 years old on or before Election Day.  Individuals who are currently on parole for the conviction o

Three hundred million dollars. I opened my mail the other day and found out Gov. Nuisance wants all California taxpayers to pay that much so we can have a completely unnecessary election. Why?

Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone. — John Adams, Second U.S. President Let’s face it. The United States is not and never has been a true democracy. But we began the grand experiment with a document that was close. Only it was not as close as we’ve been led to believe.  The concept of democracy can be traced back to Greece in the fifth century B.C. when men (but not women, slaves, or foreigners) could participate in decision-making. The philosophers at that ti

Madera Police Department officers responded to the intersection of Avenue 16 and Road 23 regarding a two-vehicle traffic collision. Upon arrival Monday morning at about 6 a.m., Officers observed a male juvenile standing outside of one vehicle and two adult occupants trapped inside the second vehicle.  Officers and emergency medical personnel immediately initiated life-saving measures. However, both adult occupants succumbed to injuries sustained during the collision.

Madera Police Department Officer Jose Barajas conducted a traffic stop on a blue Honda sedan in the 1100 block of Country Club Drive on Saturday.  The vehicle had been reported stolen. The driver, Jose Solorio, 39, was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Madera County Jail. In a separate incident Saturday night, Officers Phillip Thomas and Daniel Ruby responded to a burglary alarm at a local restaurant in the 1400 block of East Yosemite Avenue.

SACRAMENTO — Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria’s penalty increase bill for sexual battery in a hospital (AB 848) — was signed into law Friday by Governor Newsom. Soria’s Medical Safety Chaperone Act (AB 849) was signed into law earlier this week, making her public safety bill package complete. “These bills bring to light the injustices that are taking place when felony sexual battery is committed by a hospital employee against a patient,” Soria said. “We need to send a message to

For The Madera Tribune The Brown house on Yosemite Ave. in 1920. Although I am not anxious to go there permanently, I do love to visit Arbor Vitae Cemetery. Not only is it beautiful, it is the final resting place of so many folks whom I have met through the years while doing research for this column.  Just the other day, I went out to stroll up and down the rows looking for my friends from the past. First there was Dr. Joseph Borden and Levin Sledge, two members of the Alabam