Community

Whether it was creating a robot, a rolling vehicle, a design constructed of paper or a marble maze roller coaster, each of the 220 students participating in the first annual Thingamajig Convention Challenge had fun and discovered the joy of inventing.

What an incredible quarter century I have spent working for these community newspapers. Twenty five years spent learning, teaching and contributing to producing your local newspaper. I had several mentors over the years, who each had many more years here than I have racked up. They taught me so much about each department, how it works and how they all fit together. Thank you to each and every one of you (you know who you are) for investing in me and making me better. Much of my work was behind the scenes, planning and organizing, making sure everything came together on deadline.  I loved every minute of it!

I recently took a trip up to Camino Arroyo near Costco, where I had my tires replaced. With an hour or so to burn, I took a walk with my kids and discovered that none of the crosswalks included an audible chirp when it was time to cross. Neither was there an accompanying voice to notify the walker, or a blind person, for that matter, that it was safe to move. These are such busy intersections—it doesn't make sense that there are no guides to help people to prepare to cross. Traversing one of these intersections without enough time is dangerous and with two kids in tow, I could have easily missed my moment. What would it take to get an audible signal at these crosswalks?

BookBuyers, a used bookstore which recently relocated from Mountain View, has set up shop in downtown Gilroy. But the store has run into delays as it works to open for business.“I assumed we were going to be able to open by June 1,” said owner Hotranatha Ajaya. “Then I thought July 1. Now we’re on August 1 and we’re still not able to open.”Ajaya and his wife, Punita, run the business together, while two dedicated staff members, Michael and Amy Allen, work part-time shelving books and selling books online to keep a “trickle of money” coming in. Ajaya is the only one installing bookcases.“Our biggest problem is we’ve got 470 bookcases here, and I’ve got to get them all put up,” Ajaya said. “I’m not complaining, it’s just that I cannot get to it all and we really need to open.”“With only two business owners and over 400 shelves, the workload is intense and discouraging,” said Abigail Smith, who met the Ajayas last week while working on a project for the Gilroy Downtown Design Committee with her mother. “What we need is a collective effort from the members of our community who inherently care about this business, and are willing to use their skills to help the operation.”Ajaya plans on hiring more employees when the time is right.“I will need employees before long, but we’re not going to take any on until we have the money to cover them,” he said.Which leads to another obstacle: funding.“I saved up $75,000 to be able to make this move,” Ajaya said. “That’s long gone.”BookBuyers started aGoFundMe campaign when they were still in Mountain View to help cover costs. The campaign is a little less than halfway to the $35,000 goal.“I thought we needed that much to make it, but we’ve made it this far without it!” Ajaya said.The goal was set at $35,000 to help cover moving costs, as well as establishing a robust WiFi network and a Point of Sale system.“We’ve never had a Point of Sale system,” Ajaya said. “We need one so when somebody comes in and says, ‘Do you have that book?’ We can say, ‘Yes, our database says it’s here.’”The building that houses the bookstore is currently undergoing earthquake retrofitting. And while construction is being taken care of by the building’s owner, it’s another setback for the store.“It worries me and my mother to see the amount of work that they need done,” Smith said. “We want this business to succeed in our community.”Smith is leading the charge to drum up community support for BookBuyers by posting on Facebook and sharing the store’s GoFundMe campaign. She believes the store is a vital addition to downtown Gilroy.“These owners have visions far beyond just selling used books,” she said. “They have plans to create a space for books to be celebrated—local students to hang out and do homework, special events such as book discussions by local authors and artists, and story-time hours for parents to bring their children. This type of space would be a huge step for our community, because it emphasizes the value of local talents, local resources, and pride in our town. This is a place that promotes not only reading and literature, but invites members of the community to enjoy a unique atmosphere of learning and creativity.”Despite the hurdles in their path, Ajaya and his wife are optimistic and determined to get the store open.“This place is going to be better than anything we’ve ever seen,” Ajaya said. “It’s old, it has character. We’re thrilled about the place and all the people we’ve met here.”

Mark Sanchez, 24, has one of the hottest jobs in Gilroy—so hot he has to wear ice packs under his outfit.

Plans for a new 10th Street bridge over Uvas Creek that will connect homes on the city’s west side to the heart of Gilroy provide a glimpse into the city’s future.The new bridge and associated roadway improvements will link residents of Glen Loma Ranch—Gilroy’s largest housing development at more than 300 acres and nearly 1,700 homes at full build-out (expected by 2020)—Eagle Ridge and other westside subdivisions to the center of the city and Highway 101.“This is not the 10th Street of today,” said Mayor Perry Woodward, a native Gilroyan, at the Aug. 1 City Council meeting, where the council approved the final design contract for nearly $2 million to Bengal Engineering.“When you open it up to 1700 homes in Glen Loma, and all the homes in Eagle Ridge and other developments to 101; it’s going to become a much more heavily trafficked corridor.”Later, he added: “The bridge itself will create a new way for people coming down from Miller Avenue to get to Highway 101 and regional-serving businesses on Highway 152.”In addition to a new 10th Street bridge over Uvas Creek, other major items in the multi-million dollar project—funded through developer fees paid into the city’s traffic impact fund—include two new roundabouts along 10th Street, one at Uvas Creek and the other at Orchard; the re-routing of the levee trail to accommodate the new bridge and allow trail users to pass under the new 10th Street roadway; two new airport-style drop-off zones along 10th Street at Gilroy High; and a center median that keeps cars and pedestrians from crossing the roadway.The 10th street project has been under consideration for a long time. Councilmember Cat Tucker recalls discussing some variation of it in the early aughts during General Plan 2020 meetings.“We know that something has to be done,” Tucker said, but she still has reservations about some aspects of the design, which was last presented to the council in February at a special joint session with Gilroy Unified School District.At that meeting, Tucker and others expressed safety concerns about pedestrians and students walking to Gilroy High under the new 10th Street extension at Uvas creek.Called a “breezeway” by Gilroy Public Works staff, because it is open at top, the pathway has also been called, somewhat derisively, a tunnel.“My main question is, why create a tunnel?” said Tucker, recalling her days growing up in Los Angeles where she had to venture through graffiti-laden pedestrian tunnels.David Stubchaer, senior engineer and operations manager for the city, told the council that after hearing those concerns at the February meeting, the design was amended and the pathway in question was widened to 23 feet. The overhead clearance, he said, was about 10 feet—or enough to ride a bicycle standing up and not hit your head. There will also be graded skylights, he said.Tucker said she intends to keep an eye on the plan going forward and attend public meetings that are scheduled as the consultation process continues.“This is not going to be taken lightly,” said Tucker. “People from all over the city need to be aware of this, not just those who live near [10th Street].”Councilmember Roland Velasco said he wanted residents who lived off 10th Street by Gilroy High School to be consulted.“I want to ensure they are aware of the project and there is reasonable accommodation made for them to get in and out,” he said.To keep pedestrians and motorists from illegally crossing 10th Street, a divider (in this design, a wrought iron fence) will run along the median.Councilman Daniel Harney was concerned about emergency responders who would not be able to cross.“The length between the areas where you can make a U-turn is really long. How long will it take emergency responders to make a U-turn to make the call?” he asked.While Harney worried the stretch of 10th Street in question would become a speedway, he liked the two new drop-off zones planned for Gilroy High School.“Using the same approach as airports use for drop-offs is good,” he said.Public works staff said they are in the process of firming up a community outreach schedule.“It will take as long as it takes for us and the council to ensure that the bridge is being designed adequately,” said director of public works, Rick Smelser. “We don’t want to rush this.”Overall, change is coming.“It is a different street today from what it was in 1975,” said Woodward, who lived off 10th Street for a while when he was a boy. “Just as it will be different in 2035 from what it was in 2016.“The future is going to be very different,” he added.

“I wanted to learn something new,” said Linda Mitchell, a Gilroy resident who has been volunteering with Child Advocates of Silicon Valley for 10 years. The group recruits, trains and supports Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) in the region.

While a mobile game is getting people out of the house to search for elusive Pokemon characters, author and ultramarathoner Gary Dudney has been hitting the pavement for decades. The 63-year old runs eight 100-mile races per year in all sorts of rugged terrain and his latest book, The Tao of Running, offers a glimpse into how and why he does it.A longtime columnist for Ultrarunning Magazine, Dudney will speak about his running adventures and sign copies of his book at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy on Saturday.“I started running in 1982-83, when I first got interested in running for a marathon,” he recounted over the phone last week.After 10 years of running marathons and shorter races, a friend introduced him to ultrarunning, and he started to prepare for his first 50-mile race in the early ’90s.“Once I started doing long trail runs, it began to dawn on me that running was a big part of my life and who I was,” said Dudney. “Not only is it a great stress reliever, but it contributed to my self-esteem.”Like mindful meditation, he saw how running helped him focus on the present, with acceptance.“Running is a great vehicle for focusing on the present,” he said. “With the rhythmic motions it becomes very easy to monitor your thought process. You are not distracted by daily things like working and chores.”In the book, Dudney shares details of some of his 100 mile races.“You get to that point of pain and exhaustion where everything is telling you to stop, but then you tap into those resources you never realized you had,” he said. “You get in touch with yourself mentally and physically, you learn how much water or how much of that sandwich you will need to keep you going for another couple hours.“You learn to use your determination to keep going,” he added.But it’s not all long-distances and quick bites from an energy bar in the wilderness.“Every time you go out and run there is something out there for you,” he said, noting that when he was working as a project manager in a small office, handling crisis after crisis, there was no better feeling than at the end of the day, when he would take off his tight suit and tie and put on a pair of silky shorts and a technical running shirt in preparation for a night run.“When you walk out the front door and take your first steps it’s like being launched—it feels so liberating.”Gary Dudney will discuss and sign copies of his new book, The Tao of Running, on Saturday, July 30 at 2 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 6825 Camino Arroyo, Gilroy. 

Ever wonder where people bought their clothes and why they chose them?