By JAEGER MOORE Special to the Tribune Typically walking down the streets of downtown Martinez, you never know what kinds of interesting things you may find. Goers of last weekend’s Annual “Bay Area Craft Beer Festival” were pleasantly surprised to walk the streets and find Downtown Martinez’s Art Beat, a …

By PAUL CRAIG Special to the Tribune Ruth Boyer is our head librarian! Ruth is a non-stop bundle of energy and ideas. She showed Rotary her “musical bananas” during a recent meeting of the Martinez Rotary. Real bananas. Touching them makes music. The educational “thing of it” is that her …

Kiwanis Club of Martinez members shared cake and champagne in celebration of receiving its Kiwanis International Charter on April 15, 1926, making the local chapter 90 years old. Speaker for the occasion was Justin Gomez of States Coffee & Mercantile, which roasts its own coffee beans and offers a selection …

Sacramento Sucker fish migrating up Alhambra Creek to spawn Wednesday afternoon. The fish, pictured here near Ward Street, were spotted about three months after a Steelhead Trout was seen heading up the creek near Ward. According to Michelle Leicester of the Department of Fish & Wildlife, suckers are a hardy …

Martinez’ iconic Pine Meadows Golf Course of the recent past now stands on the dismal abyss of becoming an unwanted, unneeded, unethically wrangled housing project. From my perspective, the machination reportedly being carried out by city officials in cahoots with a “wannabe” building code manipulator in order to excavate, black …

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced that 758 elementary schools in California have been selected as 2016 California Gold Ribbon Schools, an awards program which is temporarily taking the place of the California Distinguished Schools Program. The program recognizes some of the state’s most exemplary public schools. Contra …

A telescopic forklift loading a support beam through a doorway at Victoria’s Café on Estudillo Street in downtown Martinez last week. The café and second-story apartments on the corner of Main Street have been vacant since a 2013 fire caused heavy damage to the building. Future plans for the building …

Jay Neal Archibald April 24, 1942 – April 3, 2016 Jay Neal Archibald, a long time Martinez resident, passed away early Sunday morning April 3 with his wife Janet at his side after having suffered a massive stroke Friday morning. He was 73. Besides Janet, he is survived by son …

Founder Heidi Perryman talks beavers By DAVID SCHOLZ Martinez Tribune MARTINEZ, Calif. – More than eight years after one woman spearheaded an effort to address the plight of one fury creature from demise in Alhambra Creek, that effort subsequently generated national interest and has given more attention to the health …

By DAVID SCHOLZ Martinez Tribune MARTINEZ, Calif. – The Earth Day 2016 celebrations being held locally will mark many milestones and much progress in the environmental movement that can be traced back to the labors of John Muir, whose name graces the national historic site in Martinez. The National Park …