My jaw didn’t drop at news that the new price for the Gilroy
police station is nearing $30 million. Did yours? I do have a
tongue-in-cheek suggestion for Gilroy’s City Council. Why not start
a betting pool on what the new police station’s final price tag
will be?
My jaw didn’t drop at news that the new price for the Gilroy police station is nearing $30 million. Did yours? I do have a tongue-in-cheek suggestion for Gilroy’s City Council. Why not start a betting pool on what the new police station’s final price tag will be?
Once the betting opens, I’d advise everyone to hurry to buy their way into the pool before all the likely $30-million plus spots are taken. After all, even Mayor Al Pinheiro has predicted that’s where the project’s cost is headed. You sure don’t want to get stuck with one of those laughable $19 million, or even worse, $9.45 million (does that number ring a bell?) spaces.
If city officials and police brass can sell enough entries for enough money – an enticing prize, perhaps several summer passes to Morgan Hill’s new aquatics center, would help that effort – they might close that new police station budget gap without raising developer impact fees or dipping into rainy-day funds.
* * *
Here’s an automotive pet peeve: Selfish and/or ignorant drivers who park in those diagonally striped spaces next to handicapped parking spots. They’re not parking places (the stripes should make that abundantly clear), they’re extra space for reserved wheelchair users to maneuver in and out of their vehicles.
It’s not just a matter of etiquette, it’s the law. The California Driver Handbook (conveniently available online at www.dmv.ca.gov) states that there is no parking “in the space next to a disabled parking space if painted in a crosshatched pattern” and cites the California Vehicle Code, section 22507.8.
Nevertheless, I see cars parked in these reserved spots all over the place – schools, grocery stories, shopping malls – and it drives me nuts. Park a few feet away in a legal parking space, then spend a few seconds getting closer to the recommended 10,000 steps per day and being grateful you don’t need the space for your wheelchair.
* * *
Speaking of vehicles, I think I’ve got a way to help close the state’s budget deficit, and it doesn’t require Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to use his Hollywood charisma to charm municipal officials into accepting huge budget cuts: stepped-up enforcement of carpool lane cheaters.
Four days out of five, I drive an afternoon carpool from Morgan Hill to Martin Murphy Middle School in South San Jose and back. This involves two trips along U.S. 101 during the first hour of the afternoon HOV restrictions. It’s a rare afternoon that I don’t see at least one carpool lane cheater on at least one leg of the trip; I frequently see multiple carpool lane cheaters. With a hefty fine of $271 for first-time offenders, the state could easily pocket a pretty chunk of change with increased enforcement, while lowering the frustration level of those who abide by the law.
A few years ago, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one in five drivers using carpool lanes on the Bay Bridge during a morning rush hour was a carpool cheater. Along I-180 in Richmond and I-680 in Danville, The Chronicle found that 25 percent of drivers in the carpool lanes were using them illegally.
I’m not the only one irked by flagrant and widespread carpool lane cheating. Two Northern California carpool vigilantes started taking digital photos of carpool lane cheaters they encountered and posted the shots on a Web site, www.carpoolcheaters.org. Unfortunately, they’ve temporarily removed the pictures “due to several threatening communications from an individual … presently unknown to us.”
Gee, we saw that same chicken-livered tactic – anonymous, threatening communications – used in Gilroy during the fireworks ban debate last summer.
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I loved Dennis Taylor’s column on his experiences volunteering at Courageous Kids Day at Great America. It brought back fond memories of the two years my family attended this Mother’s Day event while our then-toddler daughter was undergoing chemotherapy. It’s a wonderful time and includes the entire family, which is appropriate, because of course the entire family feels the impact of a child’s cancer diagnosis.
Courageous Kids Day is another of the American Cancer Society’s many programs assisting cancer patients and their families. Remember, you can support the ACS by participating in or sponsoring the upcoming
Relay for Life events in South County. Gilroy’s Relay for Life is set for June 19 to 20 at Christmas Hill Park. Morgan Hill’s Relay will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 22 to 23 at Oakwood Country School. To donate, participate or volunteer, visit the American Cancer Society Web site at www.cancer.org or call Kate Reynolds at 879-1032.
