The following organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this
week:
The following organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
Cheers: to Comcast for choosing to locate in South County. The company, which provides cable service to 1.6 million customers in the Bay Area – but not to South Valley residents – will open a customer service call center this fall in Morgan Hill’s Madrone Business Park. The company’s decision means up to 500 new jobs are coming to the area.
Cheers: for organizers, participants and donors for the annual Relay for Life, which benefits the American Cancer Society. Gilroy’s Relay committee has committed to providing a 24-hour event this year and is making plans for what sounds like a fun time with a serious purpose. If you’re approached by a participant for sponsorship dollars, please consider giving. And it’s not too late to start a team for the June 21 to 22 event. To participate in Gilroy’s Relay for Life, contact Gabriel Nino at 891-7897.
Jeers: for activists who are trying to kill incentives for the Newman Center. The group – which is upset by Wal-Mart’s interest in building a Super Wal-Mart at the regional shopping center that already houses a Costco and a soon-to-be-opened Lowe’s Home Improvement – is still missing the point. Killing the incentives won’t stop Wal-Mart.
Cheers: for Rachel Muñoz, community services officer with the Gilroy Police Department, for her work in Gilroy’s lowest-income neighborhoods. She has helped them receive more than $25,000 in grants to plan social events (such as ice cream socials), awareness programs and beautification efforts. Keep up the good work!
Cheers: to the Perchlorate Medical Advisory Group which met for the first time Tuesday night. The group is made up of health officials, medical professionals and area residents who plan to review the existing body of medical information on perchlorate’s health effects.
Perchlorate’s affect on people’s health has been the most pressing problem since the chemical was first discovered in South County resident’s wells. For instance, at the meeting, participants talked about how some people wash their babies in bottled water and are concerned about their children accidentally swallowing water while splashing around in the pool. Children and pregnant women are counted among the sensitive population, and obviously parents and expectant mothers want to error on the side of being overly cautious. Taking a team approach is the best way to find answers – and hopefully temper people’s reactions with truth. The group will take its recommendations to the advisory board, which meets next on May 8.
