Politics

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has confirmed it will hire longtime San Jose Mercury News crime reporter Sean Webby as its new media coordinator.

California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Roelof van Ark will resign, the Authority has confirmed.

Despite having been outspent nearly 4-to-1 and now having to face an incumbent who defeated him by 22 percentage points in the 2010 election, Hollister Republican Rob Bernosky is hoping a pro-education, lower regulation message will resonate with voters in the redrawn 30th Assembly District during the fall election.

Sandwiched between waves of growing criticism over California's controversial bullet train project, high-speed rail's highest honcho paid a vist to Gilroy Friday morning to meet with South County brass.

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.