Community

GUSD board president in council run Fred Tovar, a first-time Gilroy City Council candidate and current president of the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education, says he seeks to bring a spirit of inclusion to the city’s legislative body.“My biggest asset is I collaborate with people—no matter what end of the spectrum they are on. I want to ensure everyone is part of the process, whether it’s about land use or transportation. It can be a long process, but we owe it to the members of our community to make sure everyone is involved,” said Tovar, during an interview in downtown Gilroy on Aug. 20.“We may not agree, but we can work together to get to a decision we are both happy with. I love to talk things through with everybody.”Tovar said he’s not one to make “rubberstamp” decisions. During his eight years on the school board, he’s pushed for more discussion during meetings and further inquiry.“I’m not a micromanager and I believe in the talent we have, but if I have questions about something in our packet, I will go straight to the source and ask.”It was during his tenure on the board that saw the updating of aging facilities, new school construction, the successful passage of two school bond measures and inclusion of prestige programs like the Biomedical Science Academy at Gilroy High School and K-12 Spanish Dual Immersion Program.While talking to Tovar, the phrase “raising the bar” came up repeatedly. During his time on the school board, Tovar said he championed policies that pushed students and the district to do better.Born and raised in San Jose, Tovar moved with his wife, Patricia, and their two kids, Jordan and Ciarra, now 21 and 18 respectively, to Gilroy 10 years ago to be closer to his parents, Teresa and Carlos Tovar.Tovar has worked at the Stanford University School of Medicine for the last 15 years and is currently the director of student affairs and assistant director of admissions for the Stanford University School of Medicine Primary Care Associate Program.In this dual role, he supports students as they make their way through school and reaches out to prospective students, including those from underrepresented communities in rural areas like El Centro, Bakersfield and Salinas.“I want to build collaborations with counselors, different school administrators, but I also want to expose kids to the idea that they too can go to Stanford,” said Tovar, who each year invites a group of 30 to 40 Gilroy students to the university campus. Does his homework“Fred is a straight shooter,” said GUSD board trustee Mark Good, at Tovar’s campaign kick-off event last week at The Golden Goddess, a new spray tan salon in downtown Gilroy owned by his niece, Alexis Tovar. Tovar’s City Council candidacy has been endorsed by the entire GUSD board. “What he says in public, he says in private also.”Good, who is running for re-election to the board in November, called Tovar a “hard-worker” who listened and used good judgment.“There is a lot of reading and research that goes on when you are sitting on a board or city council, and you have to do it competently, which he does,” said Good. “He always does his homework, talks to people and then votes for what he thinks is right.” ‘We can do this’Over DJ music at the salon, Tovar’s campaign manager, Art Barron, offers the lowdown on the next couple months.“This is going to be a grassroots campaign,” he said. “We’ll have volunteers getting out the vote, registering new voters, knocking on doors, fundraising.”Barron, who helped Tovar with his first successful run for the school board in 2008, said they also plan on holding a number of events or speaking engagements so the larger Gilroy community can learn more about Tovar, who has already received endorsements from Mayor Perry Woodward, Councilmember Peter Leroe-Muñoz, and Rebeca Armendariz, a city planning commissioner and founding member of the Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services, which this year presented Tovar with a Community Champion Award.“Fred is for smart growth and is a big supporter of our downtown businesses,” said Barron. “He wants to work with all small businesses and help new ones get started.“He will be the voice of the community,” Barron added.  

The Dispatch has returned to downtown after a hiatus of nearly 30 years, and is now located at 64 W Sixth St, the site of a former internet cafe and next to Garlic City Auction.

Downtown Gets New Begonias, Twinkling Lights Fresh bright red begonias in new hanging planters greeted thousands of visitors to the 15th Annual Garlic City Car Show in downtown Gilroy last Saturday courtesy of the city of Gilroy and a one-time expenditure of just over $1,000 dollars.As pretty as the more than 160 classic cars and trucks showcased along Monterey Street and side streets were the 50 hanging flower baskets, grown and arranged by family-owned and operated Kawahara Nurseries of Gilroy and Morgan Hill, part of a two-day effort to spruce up the district.Moises Rodriguez and Gilberto Bucio of city contractors BrightView Landscaping, were seen affixing the new planters on Aug. 18.The city also purchased twinkling lights for the trees that line Monterey Street in a move the city administrator said was consistent with the City Council’s goal to revitalize downtown.A group of volunteers donning orange vests helped string up the lights and later unpacked boxes and shelved books for the soon-to-open BookBuyers bookstore at the former Dick Bruhn’s Building.The all-hands-on-deck volunteer force and welcoming committee on Aug. 18 were sustained by sandwiches provided by Cafe 152 Bread Company on Fourth and Eigleberry streets.

Go to jail, get free college

“This has been the best year yet,” said Christine Vatuone, CEO/executive director of pregnancy resource center Informed Choices, one of 25 community-based organizations distributing information at Party in the Park at San Ysidro Park on Aug. 12.Featuring a climbing wall, jump house, live DJ music, dance performances and an assortment of games and prizes for the kids, the final installment of the fourth annual event series aimed to beat its previous attendance record set last month, when 650 people strolled, cycled or drove to the eastside 9-acre park.“Two hundred and fifty was our largest attendance before,” said Brian Hames, coordinator of the event, which aims to create safe, community spaces in neighborhoods with a history of gang activity.“We want to raise awareness and provide information on the many resources that are available to people,” said Hames, adding the event was modeled after Los Angeles’ Parks After Dark and is similar to Viva Parks! in San Jose, a series of free public events that focus on health and wellness resources, physical activities, and community engagement.In a half-circle of tables around the handball courts were representatives from agencies including CalWorks, Planned Parenthood, Santa Clara County Re-Entry Resource Center and clinics providing free health screenings.Getting a jump on Attendance Awareness Month in September, employees of Gilroy Unified School District were also on hand, reminding parents to get their children back to school on the first day of classes and promoting “Challenge Five”—encouraging students to have less than five days of absence per year.Jennifer DelBono, GUSD program administrator for school climate and student attendance said the district is looking at ways of partnering with local businesses to incentivize student attendance and hopes to launch a program soon.“We have such incredible partnerships in Gilroy,” she said.Gilroy resident Michael Martinez said he’d been going to Fifth Street Live downtown on Friday nights this summer but decided to come to the park with his seven-year-old son, Brayden, now smiling widely with his new balloon hat and pirate sword, after seeing a flyer at soccer signups.Over at the face-painting booth, Hollister residents Emma Torres and husband, Gabriel, with their three kids, Emily, Andrew and Bianca, looked through their goodie bags.“There is a lot of good information about the local nonprofits,” said Emma, who saw the event notice in Out and About magazine and decided to check it out. “We all run into people that could use this type of help and if we have these resources, we can pass it on to them.”

For the first time in years, Luis Carrillo was absent when the new school year started this week.

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.”