Community

Six years ago, Troy Garcia’s brother, Dino Garcia, a former Gilroy Hawk and Gilroy High wrestler who carried his passion for the sport far past his 1986 graduation, died of complications from diabetes at the age of 36.

Not long ago, Hunter Collins and Jesse Delgado were two pieces to the most successful Gilroy High wrestling season to date. Four years later, the pair of GHS graduates, each with decorated careers as Mustangs – including two state titles and eight Central Coast Section championships between them – will cross paths on the collegiate stage Jan. 8.

Lilac-hued walls inside the seventh-floor break room stand out from the otherwise uniform hospital hallways at Kaiser Permanente in San Jose, where Fran Braverman's No. 38 locker is still stuffed with handwritten notes, medical supplies and a stethoscope with her name on it. The shiny plaque hanging nearby reads, "In memory of Fran Braverman, a caring nurse, our colleague, our friend."

Gazing through the front window at BookSmart Kids - now an empty building lined with bare shelves, a freezer depleted of ice cream and miscellaneous clusters of inventory waiting to be picked up - Queen's 1980 single "Another One Bites the Dust" comes to mind.

Want to freshen up your diet with a little green goodness during the sugar-laden holiday season?

Local winery owners are "pretty happy" with recommended revisions to county ordinances that would make it less of a headache to legally host events, install a commercial kitchen, showcase live music or invest in agritourism accommodations - but the optimism is laced with caution as proposed changes are subject to upcoming reviews.