Community

The Gilroy Police Department’s Traffic Unit will conduct a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint from 9 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday at an undisclosed location within the city limits.

Following a career that has spanned 24 years, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Susan Valenta has announced her retirement. Valenta will remain on staff though late 2013 to ensure the selection and transition to new Chamber management.

In November 2008, council members canceled the Hollister Motorcycle Rally for the second time in less than three years. Top officials in the deficit-straddled city decided financial security outweighed the escalating costs – primarily a $360,000 security price tag – which came with Hollister’s signature event.

A landmark event for a local Native American tribe with roots tracing back to this area nearly 3,000 years is approaching Saturday, when Bishop Richard Garcia of the Monterey Diocese will offer a mass of reconciliation at the San Juan Bautista Mission and “apologize for the tragic events which occurred during mission times.”

South Valley Community Church is hosting a vigil for families of the victims in Newtown Conn. at 6 p.m. this evening.

Two abandoned horses discovered wandering by the highway four months ago have gone from walking skeletons to walking tall.

Kevin Barber has been hired as a pilot for California Shock Trauma Air Rescue (CALSTAR), according to an announcement from cheif operations officer Tad Henderson with CALSTAR. Barber has been assigned to work at the company’s base in Gilroy.