Community

Today, nearly 7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s, including 720,000 in California. That’s roughly 36,000 in Santa Clara County and potentially 1,440 in Gilroy.  Without medical breakthroughs, this number is projected to nearly double in the next 15 years. These numbers can be...

Police last week arrested a group of armed juveniles who robbed and attacked two victims in Gilroy in April, authorities said.  About 4:45pm April 13, Gilroy Police officers were flagged down in the area of Monterey and Old Gilroy streets, the police department said in...

Athletic teams at local junior colleges Gavilan and Hartnell are often mostly populated by student-athletes from a cross-section of local high schools. The JCs provide a continuing avenue for education and athletics for many, and a large number look to move on to four-year...

The Rotary Club of Gilroy on June 12 launched the first phase of its new program, “Trees to Read Under,” by delivering 390 new books to Gilroy school libraries. The program is funded through an Amazon Web Services grant.  “Trees to Read Under” is a...

As the Independence Day holiday approaches—with some residents having already begun celebrating—law enforcement authorities and city officials are reminding people that fireworks are illegal in Gilroy.  One exception is the “safe and sane” fireworks that are available for sale at temporary, seasonal stands throughout the...

City Councilmember Zach Hilton recently wrote in a letter to the editor that the commuter rail service Caltrain should “pause” their service out of Gilroy (Dispatch, June 13, 2025). I feel that this action would be taking a step backward and do more harm...

In an effort to reduce the number of motorcycle crashes, the California Highway Patrol Hollister-Gilroy Area will deploy additional officers July 4-5, within south Santa Clara and San Benito counties. Officers will look for violations by both motorcycle riders and drivers that make roads...

It’s July! Congratulations, all you recent graduates! Happy birthday, USA!  Only one more year until the big 250th! Until then, is anyone else thrilled that the Gilroy Garlic Festival is returning this year, nestling into Gilroy Gardens on July 25-27? Bittersweet (but understandable) that the...

Every teacher in California wants their students to be able to read. But too often, we’re not given the tools to provide effective reading instruction.  While serving as an English language arts/English language development teacher on Special Assignment for Gilroy Unified School District, our Las...

A Gilroy man was arrested in Watsonville for reportedly selling illegal fireworks as law enforcement agencies continue to ratchet up efforts to snare people involved in such unpermitted activities.  The Watsonville Police Department said officers discovered a variety of fireworks in a man’s car, which...