By DEBRA MORRIS Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association Known as the divine food in Japan because it’s so sweet, the persimmon is an orange to orange-red fruit about the size of an apple, with four prominent, large, papery leaves at the crown. It has a very thin, smooth, delicate skin …

By DEBRA J. MORRIS Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association From little kumquats to large pomelos, citrus fruits will add flavor, color, and zest to your holiday meals. You all know that citrus is vitamin C in a tasty little package, but did you know that citrus also has antioxidants, potassium, …

By DONNA-BETH WEILENMAN Martinez Tribune Jimmy Johnson leads just six laps, letting others run at the front of the AAA Texas 500 in Fort Worth for 330 laps. But those six laps let him play spoiler in the Chase for the Championship when he won the race Sunday at Texas …

By DONNA BETH WEILENMAN Martinez Tribune MARTINEZ, Calif. – Redmond O’Connell cried in New Zealand. But the Martinez resident shed no tears. Instead, his “cries” were eloquent and at times witty elocutions as part of a town crier competition. O’Connell, who sometimes uses the performance name Redmond O’Colonies, has been …

Dear Editor, Saturday night, many of us here in the Bay Area and beyond were puzzled by a strange light in the sky. As it turned out, of course, this was the unarmed Trident II D5 missile, launched by the U.S. Navy from the Pacific Test Range north of Los …

By DONNA-BETH WEILENMAN Martinez Tribune Jeff Gordon jumped around like a kid, not a driver with a 23-year Sprint Cup career, after winning Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 under dusky skies in Martinsville, Virginia. “We’re going to Homestead! We’re going to Homestead!” he kept shouting. The win in the …

By DONNA-BETH WEILENMAN Martinez Tribune Joey Logano swept the Contender Round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship at Talladega, Alabama, Sunday afternoon in a controversial green-white-checker finish with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in hot pursuit. The calamity happened behind Logano, who got the lead for good when Greg …

By KRISTIN HENDERSON Special to the Tribune Vince Ferrante of Pittsburg writes: “In 1978 when I was 13 … Dad took me to Amato’s bar to visit his cousin Vince who was working. … Vince Amato asked me if I liked baseball … he then asked me if I would …

By DONNA BETH WEILENMAN Martinez Tribune MARTINEZ, Calif. – Shortly after Mayor Rob Schroder and members of the Martinez City Council honored those who had restored the “Joltin’ Joe” boat that belonged to Martinez native son Joe DiMaggio, the panel agreed Wednesday night the city should seek out sites for …

By JAMIE JOBB Special to the Tribune “Oh very young, what will you leave us this time You’re only dancin’ on this Earth for a short while …” When Cat Stevens wrote those lines in 1974, little did we know his lyrics 40 years later could introduce so splendidly “Let …