Local News

MUSD's Porterfield Resigns: Accepts Position with Central

MADERA - The exodus continues at the Madera Unified School District as Associate Superintendent Kelly Porterfield has announced his resignation. He has accepted a position with the Central Unified School District as Assistant Superintendent of Business.

Porterfield said he was recruited by Central Unified after a phone call from the districts superintendent, Mike Berg. Berg was conducting a salary survey of neighboring districts and one thing led to another. He said it was a hard decision for him because his heart is at Madera Unified but this was a good move for himself and his family.

Escaped Inmate Arrested After Nearly 30 Years

AZUSA, CA. - Special agents from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) arrested an inmate Thursday who escaped from custody nearly 30 years ago.

Special agents from the Rancho Cucamonga Special Service Unit arrested Carlos Campo, 50, at his residence in Azusa. Campo, who was convicted of second-degree burglary in Los Angeles County, escaped from a work-furlough re-entry program on August 26, 1983.

Fifth District Appellate Court Upholds Decision on Attorneys’ Fees to be Paid by MUSD in Voting Rights Lawsuit

Decision brings a conclusion to a case which started in 2008

MADERA – A state appellate court has upheld a Madera County Superior Court judge’s decision regarding the amount of attorneys’ fees to be paid by the Madera Unified School District as part of a 2008 lawsuit which challenged the school district’s method of electing its governing board members.

In a ruling dated Feb. 28, 2012, the Fifth District Court of Appeals upheld Madera County Superior Court Judge James E. Oakley’s ruling from August 2010, which stated MUSD was responsible to pay only $162,500 in attorneys’ fees to the San Francisco-based Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, the law firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher and Seattle University assistant law school professor Joaquin Avila. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Madera residents Maria Esther Rey, Carlos Uranga and Jesse Lopez Jr.

Former Madera County Judge Eric Wyatt Dies at Age 45

MADERA - Former Madera County Judge Eric Wyatt passed away Saturday at the age of 45 after a three year battle with brain cancer. Judge Wyatt was born in Visalia and raised in Salinas with his younger brother Keith. He graduated from Salinas High School and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis.

He earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and began his law practice in the early 1990’s with the firm of Mortimer and Oakley. He would later become a partner in that firm before leaving to begin his career with the Madera County District Attorney’s Office.

Shots Ring Out on Madera's West Fourth Street

MADERA – Shots rang out in Madera Thursday night on West Fourth Street. While an Officer was finishing an unrelated investigation at Madera Community Hospital the victim of a gunshot wound was brought to the hospital’s emergency room by a relative.

The relative advised the officer that the victim had been beaten up. The Officer responded by calling for medical staff at the hospital to come and treat the victim. He was taken into MCH and provided care before being transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno for more advanced treatment. The victim is in stable condition.