The following organizations and individuals deserve either
CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: For the latest shenanigans from the folks at the Valley Transportation Authority, who are hell bent on getting a new tax to fund the ever-ballooning BART-to-San Jose project. Just when we thought we’d heard everything, voilá the sales tax projections for the 30-year tax “inched” forward by $2 billion dollars, and the list of promised Christmas presents … er, transportation projects, grew by leaps and bounds. This is a charade that the voters have to put a stop to.
CHEERS: For the news that Jane Howard will be taking over as interim director of the Gilroy Visitor’s Bureau. Her background promoting Gilroy in the economic and political arena in addition to her local knowledge make her the perfect choice.
JEERS: For a $100,000 mistake in the new $26 million-plus Gilroy police station. Assistant Chief Lanny Brown, who is co-construction manager of the project, has hinted that the cost overruns may be significantly higher than just the $100,000. The City Council, as the watchdogs for the taxpayers, shouldn’t be worried about micro-management. In this case, they should be receiving weekly updates with complete financial data for this hugely expensive project.
CHEERS: For Luz Gonzalez, who landed an internship in Washington D.C. The UC Berkeley student and Gilroy High School graduate didn’t speak English when she came to this country at age 9. But through hard work, parental support and some inspiration from her teachers at Las Animas Elementary School, she has become a success. Hopefully, she’ll come back after the internship and share her story with many students at Las Animas.
ChEERS: For Al Gagliardi’s efforts to retain the history of the canneries in Gilroy. He’s started a drive to collect the tokens given for payment – often to child laborers – to preserve the history of the cannery in some concrete fashion. The tokens are a fascinating piece of Gilroy history. “Good for 50 cents or a pair of shoes,” one reads. It’s our “Cannery Row,” and all the efforts to recall it and preserve it are worthy.
CHEERS: For the Gilroy Unified School District Board, which is seeking input from the community on whether those students who fail to pass the high school exit exam should be allowed to walk across the stage with their fellow students and receive a certificate of sorts. Our inclination is that this defeats the purpose of an exit exam, but it’s certainly worth discussing.
