Politics

Gilroyans will get their first chance in 2012 to sit down and chat with Mayor Al Pinheiro at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21 at City Hall, as a new year of "Coffee with the Mayor" kicks off.

March is Women's History Month. To commemorate the outstanding women in our communities, Assemblymember Luis A. Alejo will name one leader from the district the 2012 Woman of the Year.

A split Gilroy City Council voted 4-3 Monday night to place a lien on a former developer's home for more than $2,300 - a penalty that once stood at approximately $45,000 before the city realized it couldn't recover a bulk of attorney fees associated with the case.

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority welcomed new leadership to its Board of Directors Thursday by appointing Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager Chairman. Yeager has served on the board for the past 11 years, most recently as vice chair last year. Town of Los Gatos council member Joe Pirzynski, who chaired the VTA Board in 2005, was appointed vice chair.

A former developer fined more than $45,000 by the City of Gilroy stemming from an out-of-code barbed wire fence he built after suffering a brutal beating at his home in 2008 will only pay a fraction of that because the city misread its own municipal code and incorrectly charged him for a large portion of attorney fees.

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are now competing to influence the next big review of California high-speed rail, underscoring the project's new political vulnerability.

SACRAMENTO - The California Legislature should not authorize the issuance of $6 billion in bonds to start building the state's $98.5 billion bullet train project, a state-appointed review panel says in a key report to be released Tuesday.