Spoking my mind: April’s tremendous two
Welcome to April! Before we discuss the upcoming month’s tremendous two, let’s quickly check my 2024 New Year’s weight loss resolution. As of mid-March, my loss was 10.6 pounds. I’m working hard, and so are you!
Longtime cyclists all know that the fourth month is...
State officials propose penalties for gas price gouging
Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Nancy Skinner announced a proposal Dec. 5 to penalize oil companies in an effort to deter gas price gouging.
The proposal would make it illegal for oil companies to charge excessive refining margins—the price difference between the cost of...
Hopes raised for promised pay increase
Cristina Cortez earns just $20.70 an hour running dialysis procedures for older patients suffering from kidney failure in the city of Gilroy. Because of her husband’s serious work injury in 2017 and their need to economize, her family of five moved an hour away...
Gavilan College opens food pantry on Hollister campus
To ensure students get basic nutrition, Gavilan College opened a food pantry with a ceremonial ribbon cutting Feb. 25 on its Hollister campus.
The well-stocked room is a collaboration between the college and the Community FoodBank of San Benito. Annette Gutierrez, Gavilan’s director of basic...
The year of the returning bulb
This past year has been a flurry of events, milestones, changes, victories and losses that shaped Gilroy and South Santa Clara County. And as the region continues to face the challenges and embrace the hopes related to ongoing growth, 2026 promises to keep local...
Love spans a century for local family
Bernice “B” Bode and her great-granddaughter, Jasmin Sauer, have similar personalities and they enjoy spending time together—in much the same way that intergenerational members of many families do.
But Bernice and Jasmin’s relationship is unique because they are 100 years apart in age. Bode, who...
California’s food insecurity rises as pandemic aid ends
Food insecurity in California ticked upward over the past year, bringing the share of hardship back up to levels early in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data released by the California Association of Food Banks on Dec. 12.
“Families are buying less food,” said May...
First West Nile death reported in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County health officials on Aug. 14 reported the first local death attributed to West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness.
The death this month of an immunocompromised adult at a local hospital “after experiencing West Nile virus symptoms” is the second reported human case...
Newsom proposes lower spending on homelessness, affordable housing
After Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled out a deficit-bridging budget plan in January, advocates pushing for more affordable housing and shelters hoped he might reconsider his intent to make deep cuts—or scrounge up some more money.
On May 10, Newsom released a revised proposal showing that...
County celebrates new ambulance fleet at Saint Louise Regional Hospital
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,...






















