Man fails in attempt to rob bank customer

Gilroy – A man tried to rob someone outside Wells Fargo Bank,
237 E. 10th St., Friday morning at 9:41am, approaching the victim
as they exited the bank.
Man fails in attempt to rob bank customer

Gilroy – A man tried to rob someone outside Wells Fargo Bank, 237 E. 10th St., Friday morning at 9:41am, approaching the victim as they exited the bank. The victim fought off the robber, aided by bank employees and customers, and the suspect ran away, getting into a vehicle located a short distance away.

Anyone with information on the case may contact Cpl. Jeff Guerin, 846-0350, or call anonymously at 846-0330.

Interim GUSD superintendent start date set

Gilroy – The contract for the new interim superintendent, Darrel Taylor, has been finalized with his start date set for Wednesday. He will spend his first three days tailing the outgoing superintendent, Edwin Diaz, and meeting the principal players in the district.

Taylor is currently the interim superintendent for the Pasadena Unified School District, where Diaz will start as superintendent March 12. Taylor will serve until 30 days after the new superintendent is announced May 17, or until a date mutually agreed upon by the district and Taylor.

New date for leadership profile report

Gilroy – The consultants hired to find candidates to be the new superintendent of the school district will present a leadership profile report, detailing input on what various stakeholders want in a district leader. The input was collected in a series of meetings and through collection of hundreds of surveys during a three day period from Feb. 26 to Feb. 28. The report will be presented to the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees in an open meeting starting at 6pm Wednesday.

Go to www.gusd.k12.ca.us or call 847-2700 for more information.

VTA selects contractor for 152-156 flyover

San Jose – The Valley Transportation Authority awarded a $17.1 million contract to build a highly anticipated overpass at the Highway 152-156 junction.

The work will begin in April and is expected to be finished by spring 2009.

The contract went to RGW Construction, Inc., the company working on the Highway 87 widening in downtown San Jose.

The 152-156 junction lies southeast of Gilroy and is a major bottleneck for motorists traveling back and forth between the Central Valley and the Bay Area.

Traffic is light most of the time, but on holidays, weekends and during rush hour, gridlock occurs as drivers attempt dangerous left turns against oncoming traffic headed east on Highway 152.

To eliminate the hazard, the VTA envisions an elevated “fly-over” ramp above west-bound traffic from Highway 152 to 156.

“The 152-156 intersection is a key gateway to South County and Silicon Valley as a whole,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage, a member of the VTA Board of Directors. “Bulldozers should be out there next month and I look forward to spring 2009 when the project will be finished.”

County awards $2.4 million for homeless housing

San Jose – In its strategy to end homeless in Santa Clara County in 10 years, the board of supervisors is providing $2.45 million for four projects that will create 49 housing units for people who are mentally ill and chronically homeless.

The money comes from the Housing Plus Fund, which the board established in 2006. The $4-million fund includes $2 million from the Mental Health Services Act and $2 million from the county.

The two companies building the housing are First Community Housing and Charities Housing. The first 27 units will be available this fall, with 10 more in spring 2008 and 12 more in summer 2009. 

All of the housing will be built in San Jose.

Santa Clara County is the first in the state to match funds from the Mental Health Services Act. Many social workers believe mental illness is a major factor contributing to chronic homelessness.

Board endorses sponsorship, advertising plans

San Jose – The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is endorsing a plan to raise money from the private sector by selling opportunities for advertising and marketing.

The county is considering several ways to generate additional revenue that include: beverage and snack vending contracts, offering a variety of advertising opportunities, including Web site advertising, selling special event sponsorship packages, selling naming rights and community giving campaigns.

The county’s consultant, Active Public Enterprise Group, outlined the possibilities in presentation Tuesday to the board of supervisors, showing the program could up to $5 million annually by its third year of operation.

The board unanimously supported much of the proposal, but raised concerns about billboards and vehicle advertising being too excessive. The board directed staff to make a few modifications to the proposal and return in April with plans for implementation.

Corporate sponsorship and marketing programs are in place in many California cities and King County in the state of Washington. Santa Clara County will be the first county in California to implement a comprehensive corporate sponsorship program.

Send news items to City Editor Robert Airoldi. FAX to 842-2206, mail to Gilroy Dispatch, 6400 Monterey Road, Gilroy, CA 95020, or e-mail ed****@****ic.com.