I’m reading in the Dispatch about the ‘Driver Set for Sentence.’
You know there was a man run over on his birthday named Norman
Watenpaugh and there has been nothing about who hit him, any kind
of circumstances.
justice for all

“I’m reading in the Dispatch about the ‘Driver Set for Sentence.’ You know there was a man run over on his birthday named Norman Watenpaugh and there has been nothing about who hit him, any kind of circumstances.

There has been so much publicity on these two children, why are we not focusing on everybody? Whoever has hit this Norman Watenpaugh has gotten off free and clear and I’m wondering why?”

Red Phone:

The driver hasn’t gotten off free and clear: The accident is being investigated by the District Attorney’s office. A decision has been reached, said deputy district attorney Frank Carrubba, but the office is waiting to notify the driver’s family before telling the Dispatch.

Accidents take awhile to investigate before district attorneys decide what charges, if any, to file against a driver. It was more than six months before Robertina Franco, who accidentally killed 5-year-old Brayan Trejo in June, pleaded no contest to the charge. Whether or not the driver who killed Norman Watenpaugh goes to trial, the Dispatch will cover the decision.

marketing needs refresher

“Let me see if I have this straight. We’re not smart enough or rich enough for Trader Joe’s in Gilroy, yet Hooters is actively looking for a site here. Perhaps the economic development office needs to take a refresher marketing course.”

Red Phone:

Contacted Larry Cope, executive director of the Economic Development Corporation in Gilroy.

“We did not market the Hooters,” Cope said. “They are like every business, they are just looking for a location.”

Cope said the city has marketed to both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, since his tenure, and he plans to continue.

“We are not going to give up. We will continue to visit with a number of individual businesses that you might find in places like Santa Cruz, Monterey, Carmel and Palo Alto.”

Cope said economic development has yet to speak directly with Hooters. As of now, a real estate agent, working as a mediator for the corporation.

Red Phone asked, why did Traders Joe’s choose Morgan Hill over Gilroy?

“There are a lot of the reasons Trader Joe’s went to Morgan Hill. One is they have a slightly higher income, and are closer to San Jose. They look at demographics.”

So caller, perhaps it’s not the economic development corporation that is recruiting Hooters, it seems it might be other factors. Could it be the outlets or maybe the mega mall that may some day grace Gilroy’s farmland?

set the record straight

“I’m calling about your article, restricted parking, in Jan. 10 issue because I just want to set the record straight. They are not security guards at Village Green, they are gate attendants. And it was a new security guard, I mean gate attendant, that whoever called in that had the problem with was. There are two other security guards, I mean gate attendants and they’re getting a bad rap because it was the new one who did that. So I just wanted to call and set the record straight.”

Red Phone:

Thank you for your input caller, now that we know that the ‘gate attendant’ was a rookie it might explain his confusion on where motorists may park. But from the previous column city engineer Don Dey said residents may park where they would like in that area because it is a public street and any restrictions would be enforced by Gilroy Police.

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