The following individuals and organizations deserve either
CHEERS or JEERS this week:
The following individuals and organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: For the case of the two missing Gilroy teens, 14-year-old Michelle Aguilar and 13-year-old Sheyla Aguilar. The teens have been missing for three weeks. Gilroy police believe they went willingly with the older sister’s 18-year-old boyfriend, “Jose” or “Yoshio” Ayala. That may be true, but it should not lessen the sense of urgency. Two South Valley Middle School students are missing and may be in the company of an adult male who may have gang connections. They need to be found quickly – and hopefully neither has been harmed.
JEERS: For the power outage Tuesday morning which came at an awful time for the school district. Elementary students were just beginning their STAR testing when a PG&E transformer blew. But hats off to the teachers, administrators and students who did an admirable job working through the outage.
CHEERS: For Mother’s Day Sunday. Remember the gifts of time and effort are the most valuable (but don’t forget that special card).
CHEERS: For Gilroy High senior Ben Hemeon who tied the all-time single season record with seven round-trip hits. Let’s root for one more Hemeon big fly.
CHEERS: For Marty Johnson and Jon Baker, the two retiring vice presidents at Gavilan College. Both dynamic individuals have served the community college well. Johnson, in particular, has been a staple with his service as interim president, involvement in the Leadership Gilroy Program and 19 years at the campus. We wish them both happy and productive retirement years.
JEERS: For the legal advocacy firms that rustled up some plaintiffs and filed suit against the city of Gilroy over affordable housing. Moreover, the suit claims the city’s housing policies result in racial discrimination because low-income residents, who are mostly Latino, cannot afford the high rents. Could Gilroy have more affordable housing? Sure, but so could every other city in Santa Clara County. What about Los Gatos or Cupertino? The truth is that Gilroy has worked hard with agencies like South County Housing to incorporate low-income projects into the housing mix. The Public Interest Law Firm, Public Advocates, Inc., California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. and the The California Affordable Housing Law Project have to justify their existence somehow. Too bad they can’t help solve the problem in constructive ways rather than spending a lot of time, energy and taxpayer money in a court battle.
CHEERS: For the city’s adoption of a new policy that spells out the guidelines for naming facilities. Basically, if a person, family or company is generous enough to make a large contribution to the construction of a public facility, it can be named accordingly. OK, we’ve got a proposed sports park and an arts center on the drawing board. Both facilities are sorely needed. Anybody willing to step up to the plate?
