The July 20th issue of The Madera Tribune covered such topics as youth allegedly sparking a 4-acre fire, more claims of impropriety in the masseur case, heat wave predictions, four arrests on drug and child endangerment charges, a Christian R&B artist performing at the park Sunday, Democrats slow progress in Washington and more. What are your thoughts about what was published? What wasn’t in this issue that could have been? Feel free to let everyone know below.

Please note that all comments will be reviewed before appearing on the Web site. Comments may also be published in The Madera Tribune or El Sol de Madera.

The July 19th issue of The Madera Tribune covered such topics as three proposed shopping centers, a rise in DUI cases, the science of flavor, the end of Harry Potter, the Chowchilla trial of 1977 and more. What are your thoughts about what was published? What wasn’t in this issue that could have been? Feel free to let everyone know below.

Please note that all comments will be reviewed before appearing on the Web site. Comments may also be published in The Madera Tribune or El Sol de Madera.

The Red Line, which already allows Maderans a chance to share their opinions over the telephone, officially begins online as well with issue 92 (volume 116) of The Madera Tribune , which was physically published July 18.

Issue 92 covered such topics as the reason PG&E gave for Saturday’s power outage, state legislation restricting beekeeping, new charges against a Madera masseur, the governor’s new efforts to protect the delta, a reversal in the government’s green card policy and more. What are your thoughts about what was published in issue 92? What wasn’t in this issue that could have been? Feel free to let everyone know below.

Please note that all comments will be reviewed before appearing on the Web site. Comments may also be published in The Madera Tribune or El Sol de Madera.

Anything missing from this calendar of events (July 18-24) for the San Joaquin Valley? Comments on any of the events? Let everyone know.

Please note that all comments will be reviewed before appearing on the Web site. Comments may also be published in The Madera Tribune or El Sol de Madera.

Wednesday-Friday, July 18-20
Vacation Bible School — 6:15 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, July 18-20, Madera Avenue Bible Church, 124 Walnut St. at Highway 145. The theme is “Son Force Kids.” Open to all children ages 3 years through eighth grade. For information, call Tammie Dodson, 673-0611.

Wednesday, July 18
Surplus Commodities — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Madera County Community Action Partnership, 311 S. Pine St. #2. Last names R through Z pick up commodities. Bring medium size boxes to carry food away. For information and eligibility requirements, call 673-9173.

Madera Youth Soccer — 6:30 p.m. Alpha School Cafeteria, 900 Stadium Rd. Mandatory coaches meeting for the upcoming season. Coaches packets and player cards on July 18. For information, call Angel Garza, 706-2577 or 673-9143, or Denise Romero, 975-5911.

Friday, July 20
Harry Potter Book VII — 9 p.m. Friday, July 20 in the library at Thomas Jefferson. Open to all Madera Unified students grades four and higher. Readers of the first six books may check out “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at midnight. No books will be sold. For information, call Sharon Stockdale, 664-9098.

Madera Christian Singles — Video and snack night at 7 p.m. at Madera Christian School, 17326 Ave. 26 in Madera. Bring a snack to share. Open to all singles. For information, call Howard at 673-6743 or Carmen at 645-4312.

Energy Efficiency Workshop — 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, July 20, Madera Center, Room AM120, 30277 Ave. 12. Hosted by California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance and PG&E, this workshop is open to anyone responsible for energy management in wineries and vineyards. Includes lunch. For information, contact Lisa Francioni, 415-356-7545 or lisa (at) wineinstitute.org.

Senior Dance (50+) — 7 to 10:30 p.m., July 20 (the third Friday of each month), Tex-Mex-style music by Tradicion del Valle sj at the Frank Bergon Center, 238 S. D St. Donations accepted. For information, call Toni Guillen, 661-8410.

Saturday, July 21
Camp Chawanakee Reunion — 1 to 5 p.m. Celebrating 60 years of what has been called the best camp in the Western Region for the Boy Scout of America. All former camp staff are invited to gather for the reunion. For information or to RSVP, contact Mike Gerardi at 320-2100 or e-mail mgerardi (at) sbcglobal.net.

Car Show — 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Chubby’s Diner, 2263 W. Cleveland Ave., suites E and F. Enjoy cars, raffle prizes and 50s music at the family-friendly Chubby’s Car Show. For information, call 661-7503.

Sunday, July 22
Concert in the Park — 7 p.m. Sunday, July 22, Lions Town & Country Park amphitheater. Snack bar available. Christian musician Jon Gibson will play as part of the free summer-long series sponsored by the Madera County Arts Council.

Tuesday, July 24
Internet Travel Agent — 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, July 24 at Madera Adult School. Class fee is $49. Learn how to get the best deals. Become a referring travel agent and get certified. After the class, students will receive a three-day/two-night mini vacation with several locations to choose from. For information, call 675-4425.

All calls are edited for length and content. Due to content some calls may not be published. Please limit your calls to two minutes or less. Repeat messages on the same subject adding to the length will not be published. Some weeks, due to the number of calls and space, some may not be published.

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A woman called “about the Madera South High School median strip and the weeds 2 to 4 feet high.” She also mentioned “the high school’s architecture looks like a prison. If the city or county can’t take care of it (the median), why can’t you have school kids or school parents come out and pull those weeds. It’s disgraceful.”

A man said, “Mr. Emo came up short in his congratulations to the parks department for a great 4th of July spectacular fireworks. He did not acknowledge the golf course crew that did the majority of the setup.” (Editor’s note: The Golf Course is a division of the parks department.)

What sounded like the same male voice later left a message concerning the fireworks show. “Security and City PD left before the fireworks show ended.”

“Why hasn’t the Tribune mentioned our kids going to the Special Olympics?” asked a lady. “We’ve got some real good kids going there on the volleyball team and swimming. Get on the ball you guys,” she suggested.

A man wondered, “When are they going to have a traffic cop at the corner of Paintbrush and Doubletree Lane? People don’t seem to obey the stop sign and drive like maniacs down Doubletree.” He also asked, “What is going to be done about the garbage being thrown into the canal on Riverview? Do we have an ordinance for that?”

A gentleman asked, “Why did they even paint the lines on Howard Road? They are already so smudged and faded you can’t make them out. Especially near Taco Bell heading toward Pine and the railroad tracks.”

A male caller wanted to know why the developers are not responsible for at least “putting the roads (they tear up) back to their original condition.” He said, they are worse than ever after they have completed development and wanted to know if they would “pay for his (car’s) front end.”

A man called and referenced a “letter from Joe Galleano (July 10) running for the MID board.” He noted “when this land was bought, Joe’s son, Roger, was on the board and he voted to fund the water bank, including the purchase of the land. It will be interesting to see what Mr. Galleano has to say about that.”

A woman was upset about “the police department changing its phone number. They not only changed their phone number, they don’t even transfer you to the new one and you have to call back. It was very dumb,” she said and added, “they don’t respond to calls half the time anyway.”

A man called, but cell phone, road and wind noise (it seemed) made the message garbled. He mentioned the lady who called about the downtown and business colors “referring it to little Tijuana.” After saying things about the overall condition of the city of Madera, he concluded, “there are a lot more beautiful cities in Mexico that are more attractive than Madera.”

Another man called about illegal immigrants and said, “They should start (prosecuting) the people who hired them and the contractors. They’re the ones making money off the illegal immigrants.” He also said “we wouldn’t be eating (several produce items) if it were not for the illegal immigrants.”

“That lady, last week, who called in about unmarried people having children hit the nail right on the head,” said a gentleman.

A man noticed the Red Line call last week about “a person involved in an accident with someone who had no insurance.” He had also been involved in a similar situation having been “t-boned by a woman with no license, no insurance and spoke no English. Again, they (the police) released her. Now,” he said, “they can’t find her, the phone’s been disconnected, and they don’t live at the address anymore.” He said a friend of his had a solution to “send the bills to the government of our friends south of the border to pay for the accident caused by their people here illegally.”

A gentleman called about the spay-neuter bill and said of the letter from Carrie Tuttle. “She is absolutely right on. The people who are running around saying they have a right not to spay or neuter their animal have not read the bill. They do not understand the bill.” He suggested they volunteer at the animal shelter for a few hours and see how “puppy mills and indiscriminate breeding of animals” leads to thousands being euthanized.

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Thank you for your calls. Remember, the Red Line is open for your messages 24-hours a day by calling 674-4478.