Dear Editor, I agree wholeheartedly with your April 25 editorial
alerting South County residents to pay attention to the Coyote
Valley draft environmental impact report, especially this:
”
If it’s poorly planned, development of Coyote Valley would clog
our roads, reduce farmland, pollute our air [and] drain our water
supply.
”
Editorial on Coyote Valley EIR on the Money – ‘We Have to Get a Better Handle on Development’
Dear Editor,
I agree wholeheartedly with your April 25 editorial alerting South County residents to pay attention to the Coyote Valley draft environmental impact report, especially this: “If it’s poorly planned, development of Coyote Valley would clog our roads, reduce farmland, pollute our air [and] drain our water supply.”
Coyote Valley isn’t the only place to watch out for bad development. Plans for a mega-mall on farmland in Gilroy, would do the same thing the editorial predicts for Coyote Valley. The sprawling retail off Pacheco Pass has created traffic nightmares and polluted air. Let’s protect our remaining farmland from a similar fate. One way to do that would be to strengthen Gilroy’s agricultural mitigation policies, which so far have done little to mitigate for farmland lost to development.
Coyote Valley will have an enormous impact on South County, and so will South County development decisions. In Morgan Hill, San Martin, and Gilroy, we have to get a handle on development with better planning. It’s time to stop annexing land and pushing development out to the edge, and start protecting our farmland.
One positive note: finally, Morgan Hill and Gilroy are starting to invest in their downtowns – it’s long overdue, but well worth it.
Michele Beasley, South Bay Field Representative, Greenbelt Alliance
Residents Can Choose to Elect a Whole New Council, But Gilroy Still Better Run Than Morgan Hill
Dear Editor,
If I were a stranger to Gilroy, and my only information about it came from reading the Dispatch, I would think that this is one of the worst run cities in the country, and that the city’s leaders should be run out of town.
However, I have lived in Gilroy for 36 years, and I believe that Gilroy has been one of the best run cities anywhere during that time. I don’t know how many times I have read about the problems that Morgan Hill, Hollister, Watsonville and others have had and thought “thank God I live in Gilroy”. I still say that.
It isn’t that I agree with every decision that the mayor, City Council members and city staff make. I expect them to make some decisions that I consider wrong. If they make too many mistakes (according to me), then I will vote for someone else in the next election – if that person demonstrates to me that he or she represents an improvement.
I won’t be that candidate, though, because I don’t have the guts to go through the scrutiny that all candidates have to face to get elected, and then face all of the criticism they receive once they are elected.
I respect the right of everyone to express his or her opinions, but I do want to tell that stranger reading our newspaper that this is a great town, and to say that I am grateful to all of those leaders-past and present–who have helped make it great.
Ken McDonald, Gilroy
Born at Wheeler Hospital and Searching for Her Parents
Dear Editor,
My name is Jacqueline Guzman Larsen Harkcom. I am looking for my parents Patsy Morales and Albert Guzman. I was born Feb. 7, 1942 at the Wheeler Hospital 65 years ago. I was raised in Monterey, California by Margaret Caton Larsen and Alexander C. Lee Larsen.
Also I would like to know if anyone has any information about Margaret Gonzales, she was my guardian at the time of adoption. Contact me at 1-218-894-2701.
Jacqueline Guzman Larsen Harkcom, Minnesota
