Scott Forstner

When Morgan Hill resident Daniel Reyes would tell his friends and family that he was a writer, some would respond with skepticism and ask for a sample of one of his published works.

Woodside’s sharp shooters were not quite the match for Christopher High’s X-factor and some clutch buckets all around as the hometown Cougars advanced to the next round of the Central Coast Section Boys Basketball Division II playoffs with Thursday night’s resilient 69-66 victory.

MORGAN HILL—Accused Morgan Hill child molester Nicolas Lhermine agreed to a 60-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting four young female victims at a YMCA daycare center at Paradise Valley Elementary School.

Recreational boaters hoping to get on the local waterways one more time this summer got an unexpected and unwanted surprise this week as Anderson Lake County Park was officially closed to all vessels.“Due to the projected lowering water levels, Anderson Reservoir will be closed to all vessels effective Monday, August 17,” reads the announcement on the Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Department website. That notice was posted Wednesday, Aug. 12.A ruptured water pipe near Casa de Fruta on Aug. 1 caused the shutdown of a pipeline from San Luis Reservoir, the county’s main water supply to its water treatment plants, according to Santa Clara Valley Water District spokesman Marty Grimes.“We’ve been using Anderson Reservoir to feed our treatment plans at a much earlier time than we thought we were going to,” Grimes said.County parks had hoped to keep the reservoir open for recreational boat use through Labor Day, but the water was dropping so fast and boats could not be launched based on the water level projections, Grimes added.If the water level reaches around 40,000 acre feet, then boats can’t be safely launched.Before rupturing, the pipe had been transporting water from San Luis Reservoir to the county’s three water treatment plants. When it was shut down earlier this month, the water district began using water from Anderson instead.Repairs to the busted pipe are expected to be complete by Sept 3, Grimes said.Lexington Reservoir in Los Gatos is also closed due to low water level, according to the county parks site.

There are few events so universally ingrained into memory as the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Sakata Seed America has gone solar.

A trio of local wineries were given high praise at the 33rd annual San Francisco International Wine Competition, held June 14-16 at the distinguished Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco.

When the Gilroy High football team walked out to its field last week, it did a collective double-take.

So thanks to Sharon Albert, former councilwoman, for alerting us  about a simple way to help beautify Gilroy. Benjamin Moore, the paint company, is having a voting contest to pick a city that could use a paint job for its downtown and Gilroy made the list. Just go to www.paintwhatmatters.com and click on the general geographic location where we are. Gilroy pops up on the list and then click to vote. “Main Street Matters” is the overarching theme. I wholeheartedly agree with that notion – our downtown is a reflection of our community – and ours could use a fresh coat and then some. But every little bit helps and this would be a big bonus if we get it together and pass the word along.

I recently took my 2 -year-old son to watch some of the local