Monthly Archives: August 2012

Delia Reveles Centeno, 61 of Gilroy, was stopped by police for suspicion of  driving under the influence July 10, but no arrest was made nor any charges were filed because it could not be proven Centeno was above the legal limit, according to the District Attorney’s office on July 26.

After years of being on hold, the Uvas Creek Extension Project is back on City Council's agenda Monday night, when they are scheduled to vote during their regular meeting to award a $312,632 contract with Guerra Construction to get the project started.

• Back into the Gardens. Let’s keep this jewel sparkling. • I’m going with the South Valley Pool!  Those kids over there need that fabulous summer fun! • Gilroy Gardens, that makes the most sense!n If Gilroy Gardens needs maintenance and they don’t have funds in their budget, by all means put the money into park maintenance. Of course, my other suggestion would be South Valley Middle School Pool.  I’m sure the city has other funds to pay for the pool though. Regardless, the city needs to pay for the pool.  Most of their sales tax and TOT funds come from the east side. They need to keep a positive asset in that community with some of those financial resources. • Gilroy Gardens. I imagine there has been deferred maintenance and it’s important to continue to invest in this wonderful community asset. Gilroy Gardens is just as important as the pools and parks are to our community. The venue has the additional benefit of drawing visitors which is another important aspect in determining where to invest our dollars. • It should go back to Gilroy Gardens. • Monies into the park. This city purchased the park and has devoted money, time and work into keeping it a viable activity for Gilroy citizens and our tourism. It has a great relationship with the managing board, which is doing a good job keeping the park running and, as you see by this question, in the black. No matter what happens to the park the assets belong to the city so continued investment at this time is very important. • Gilroy Garden’s maintenance, we brought it this far don’t lose it now! • Hands down the money should be used for the South Valley pool! • Gilroy Gardens. The city owns the entire property including the Gardens, the unused areas, the open space and all the improvements. Just like any other City owned property, it is in the City’s interest to maintain its assets. The cost to not do so will far exceed the $130,000.  • For the Gilroy Gardens maintenance as it was earmarked for. That park is beautiful and should not be shortchanged.  • I think “plow” is a poor description, but I do think that the city should direct the money back into the park to maintain it’s investment for the long haul. I think the park board would have a pretty good idea of how to do that.

Government survey warnings to Saint Louise Hospital ‘nothing new’ – ‘it happens all the time’

Always interesting to see how government operates when the kitchen gets hot – and the proposed Cordoba Islamic Center in San Martin is a scorcher. Santa Clara County planning department staff, after beaucoup studies and years of back and forth with the project’s backers recommended approval. Percolation tests were done, the regional water board said A-OK, concluding flood issues were phantom and … and then came the flood of public opinion. Three meetings were set – all lined up in a row this week. The San Martin Planning Advisory Committee, the South County Joint Planning Commission and the Santa Clara County Planning Commission. But the flood came. And it wiped out the staff recommendation for approval – at least for now. More tests are needed to address the latest concerns voiced by the public is the official government word. Really? Years going through government bureaucracy and “more tests are needed”? Wish I could say I was surprised. Can say that I feel for the project’s backers like Hamdy Abbass, a Gilroy Rotary Club member, and Sal Akhter, a Morgan Hill resident for 20 years. Five years ago – way back in 2007 – the Muslim community, which meets regularly in Morgan Hill’s community center, held an open house to reach out to the community. Said Akhter at the time, “We’ll talk a little about our membership, who they are, how long they have lived in the community. We are people who have been here 20, 30 years, and not immigrants who just came and started something new. … I guess (the project) is controversial, but I don't understand the controversy. We have our principles we go by that we are a tolerant nation and so forth, but I think sometimes that tolerance gets tested. And then trying to bridge those gaps and create better understanding is the best thing to do.” Well, the court of public opinion is the harshest of all and getting beyond it to the point of true understanding can be a very tough thing to overcome even if you’ve been working at it for years.

1. Wishing the troubling report to vanish just won’t make it so