Community

The Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services, a Gilroy-based nonprofit known as CARAS, will be holding its first-ever fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Gilroy to honor “community champions” including Assembly Member Luis Alejo, and world boxing champion and Gilroy native Robert Guerrero.

The annual Downtown Holiday Parade, an event sponsored by the Gilroy Downtown Business Association, will likely see swarms of attendees descend upon downtown Gilroy on Saturday afternoon.

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze watch for the Santa Clara Valley for later this week, and local emergency authorities are reminding residents to prepare their homes for the extreme cold weather on the way. The NWS alert will be in effect from Tuesday night through Thursday morning for most of the Bay Area, including South Santa Clara County, according to the NWS website. “A mainly dry cold front will pass over the Bay Area by Tuesday morning with the coldest air so far this season filtering in behind the front,” the alert says. A freeze watch means that sub-freezing temperatures are expected, and these conditions could kill crops and other vegetation, according to the NWS. This week’s forecast for Morgan Hill predicts low temperatures of 29 degrees both Wednesday and Thursday nights, and temperatures as low as 27 degrees the same nights, according to the NWS website. The City of Morgan Hill sent out a press release advising the Centers for Disease Control offers the following precautions for residents and homeowners during extreme cold weather: -If you plan to use a fireplace or wood stove for emergency heating, have your chimney or flue inspected every year.-If using a fireplace, wood stove or kerosene heater, install a smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector near the area to be heated.-Insulate any water lines that run along exterior walls so your water supply will be less likely to freeze and burst. -If you have pets, bring indoors. If you cannot bring them inside, provide adequate shelter to keep them warm and make sure they have access to unfrozen water. 

Nathan Heredia hasn't always spent the Christmas holidays surrounded by family and friends.

A shallow double earthquake just four miles from Gilroy was reported early Monday morning according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

As one woman exited out of the Sunglass Hut at the Gilroy Premium Outlets, she let out an audible sigh and exclaimed, “I survived.”

Residents with warrants for minor crimes and traffic violations can avoid jail and spend the holidays with their loved ones by surrendering to authorities during the month of December, according to police. “Operation Second Chance” starts Saturday, and will continue through Dec. 31. During this time, individuals with non-violent misdemeanor criminal and traffic warrants can to their local sheriff’s or police station and receive a citation with a new court date, rather than being booked into the County Jail. The warrant citation will contain a “promise to appear” court date. Operation Second Chance is directed toward most misdemeanor warrants, no matter the bail - including warrants stamped “no cite and release” and “no bail,” according to authorities. The following warrants do not qualify for forgiveness during Operation Second Chance:-Felony warrants-Any warrant involving violence-Any warrant involving a firearm-Any warrant involving resisting arrest-Any warrant involving giving false information to a peace officerStill, individuals with these types of warrants are still encouraged to surrender to authorities so they can take care of their matter in court, authorities said. Over the past seven years, more than 2,400 local residents have taken advantage of Operation Second Chance and avoided spending the holidays in jail by surrendering, according to a sheriff’s press release. All law enforcement agencies are participating in Operation Second Chance, and individuals who qualify can go to their local police station to surrender and be released instead of going to jail, authorities said. In South County, residents can take care of their warrants at the following locations:-Sheriff’s Office South County Substation, 80 W. Highland Ave., San Martin, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.-Morgan Hill Police Department, 16200 Vineyard Blvd., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.-Gilroy Police Department, 7301 Hanna St., Gilroy, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.For more information about this program, contact the Sheriff’s Office records staff at (408) 808-4717.

Small businesses are fighting back in a climate of national retailers touting doorbuster sales on Thanksgiving Day, which as early as Tuesday prompted some zealous bargain hunters to pitch a couple tents outside Gilroy’s Best Buy.

The Emergency Housing Consortium LifeBuilders, a Milpitas-based nonprofit which provides shelter housing opportunities and supportive services to people in crisis and the Silicon Valley's homeless, has announced the cold weather shelters will open for the season at 6 p.m. Dec. 2.

Gilroyans Mia and Chris Eaton have spent the holidays over the past year thinking about their son, a U.S. Army sniper, who at any given point could have been laying prone in hostile territory in Afghanistan.