After sifting through all the info, think our champion boxer and good guy, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero got New Yorked big time. Unless there’s a change in facts, there’s something terribly wrong with what went down in John F. Kennedy Airport. Recap: On his east coast media swing, Guerrero brings a gun in a locked case and magazine clips – no ammunition – that he plans to use at a gun range in Las Vegas, where he’s directly headed to after the east coast swing. He presents the gun in a locked case at the airport and gets arrested. Somebody leaks the story that a celebrity got popped with a gun at the airport to the NY TV stations and the media mob grabs ahold. That’s how it works folks, and the first reports are, “Guerrero arrested with unlicensed handgun at JFK.” Not good, but by-golly-gee the initial press release from Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown conveniently ignores the fact that Guerrero registered the gun in California and buries the fact that he voluntarily declared the gun at the ticket counter following what he believed was the law. Instead there’s this “rich” quote from the grandstanding New York DA: “I hope that Mr. Guerrero fights better than he thinks. For anyone who hasn’t gotten the message, let me be crystal clear. You cannot bring an unlicensed weapon – loaded or unloaded – into this county or this city. And if you do you will be arrested and face felony charges.” Should Guerrero have known better? Sure, it wasn’t the brightest move. Should he be convicted of a felony and spend time in prison? Without further damning evidence, absolutely, positively NO! Guerrero made a few mistakes, perhaps the biggest is not talking to the local newspaper. We’ve followed him since he was fighting in Lemoore, CA and not to speak directly to the people in Gilroy who have so long supported him is a judgment error, no matter what “the handlers” are telling you. Next time have Federal Express deliver the gun to Vegas (if that’s legal) and stay clear of New York, it’s full of trouble and big mouths.
At long last, open your mouth and enjoy a frosty cold beer at the Gilroy Golf Course. Ousley Park is no longer a dry county. After months of tribulation, you can now pair a beer with one of Troy Garcia’s tasty lunch menu items or grab a cold one and hit the driving range. With the warming and the deck beckoning, the new liquor license is welcome indeed.
Welcome the return of the real estate/housing industry which provides so many jobs for our area. In that vein, congratulations to Gilroy-based Coldwell Banker agent Debbie Corona named to the company’s International Sterling Society, for being a top sales associates worldwide. She also earned the Gilroy office’s Habitat Champion honor for her involvement in the Habitat for Humanity fundraiser and volunteers at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. Nice work!
Whenever I pass Rossi’s Engine and Drive train auto parts store on north Monterey Street, I marvel at the wonderful job they did on the building makeover – it’s very fresh, retro and cool – and wish that there were more owners downtown that would take such pride of building ownership.
Plenty of pride in Beaver nation at Oregon State University. That’s where daughter Mariah is a junior and where Gilroyan Dawson Bean is a freshman. Gilroyan Jim Langdon met Mr. Bean over OSU’s spring break at a recent swim meet at Monte Vista Christian School because the freshman sported an OSU Beavs shirt. Like Mariah, he loves Corvallis, the school and the teachers, reports Langdon. Passed that info on to Miss Mariah and now they’re friends on Facebook. It’s a small world.
Small world also involving daughter, part II: When I wrote about former Gilroy Little League softball pitcher, middle daughter Cayla, landing a prime pediatric intensive care nursing position at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, TN, I received an email from Jesse Ruiz that his daughter Rachel, a friend of Cayla’s from little old Gilroy, “matched” at her first choice for her pediatric residency at Vanderbilt University Hospital. Passed along that info to Cayla, but am not sure if the two have reconnected. Congrats to Rachel on a fantastic achievement – just love those Gilroy roots success stories – and I hope they get together.
Speaking of success, how about your San Jose Sharks? – 6 victories in 7 games as of this writing after trading Doug Murray, then Michal Handzus, then Ryan Clowe … instead of cap and trade, we’ve got contend and trade. Think Sharks make the playoffs now in an uncanny resurrection.
Uncanny title for this event caught my eye, and I like paying a visit to the Tractor Supply store on 10th Street east of town anyway, so head out for the parking lot flea market “Amigos of the Hoof Fundraiser” to help abandoned horses stay alive. Starts at 8 a.m. on Sunday, April 14. Whinny over and make my friend Flicka smile.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com
