Health

Gerald Foisy—largely known to Gilroy community members and garlic aficionados as Mr. Garlic—died on Jan. 7 after a battle with Alzheimer's. He was 83 years old.  For 29 years, Foisy volunteered as Mr. Garlic, the happy, healthy ambassador of the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival who...

Hundreds of registered nurses gathered Dec. 16 outside four Santa Clara County hospitals to protest what they describe as dangerous staffing cuts that threaten patient safety across the countywide hospital system. The rally, organized by the Registered Nurses Professional Association, brought together nurses from multiple...

On Aug. 22, the Valley Water Board of Directors allocated additional resources to support greater service and coordination toward cleaning up trash, debris and hazardous pollutants produced by encampments along waterways in Santa Clara County. The board approved two new staff positions, adding to Valley...

A fleet of 12 new ambulances dedicated to transporting patients among the county’s hospitals and medical offices was unveiled at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy on May 9.  The new emergency medical vehicles will improve transport times among Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s three hospitals—SLRH,...

Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were included in a list of areas statewide where people have been severely sickened by Amanita phalloides—commonly known as the death cap mushroom. A group of doctors from across California warned Jan. 14 that foraging for wild mushrooms can be...

Valley Water this week evicted about 60 unhoused people from encampments on two of its properties in Gilroy, and homeless advocates say the residents have nowhere else to go.  “We ask the public to understand that if tents, and people, and carts of belongings begin...

Recently, I’ve begun to feel very sorry for November. It seems like every year now, just about the beginning of the 10th month, October and December start to battle for supremacy.  In more and more stores, Halloween skeletons battle Christmas trees in one aisle, while...

Thousands of volunteers flocked to the California coast and waterways on Sept. 21 to participate in the 40th annual California Coastal Cleanup Day.   The event, which is the largest single-day volunteer event in the world, according to Guinness World Records, invited eco-friendly volunteers across the...

The Peninsula Open Space Trust purchased 2,284 acres of ranchland in southern Santa Clara County for $23 million, the organization announced Jan. 29. The acquisition brings POST’s total holdings at the former Sargent Ranch property to 6,114 acres and preserves sacred native land that...

The California Department of Public Health is urging Californians to get immunized against a triple-threat of viruses that are expected to surge in the coming months.  Rates of Covid-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are expected to spike in the late fall and...