Candidates gear up for November election
As the four-week window to file for a spot in Gilroy’s political scene opened Monday, three Gilroy mayoral candidates and four City Council candidates are stretching at the starting line, as they brace themselves for their big campaign kick-offs in August.
City releases some info on policies
Nearly two months after the death of Steven Juarez in police custody, friends and family of the Gilroyan are not giving up in their effort to demand answers from City Hall and its police department.
Specifically, Juarez’ family—consisting of several generations of Gilroy residents—wants to...
Gilroy Car Insurance is Sky High
Car insurance costs more in Gilroy than in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles, according to a recent study.In fact, the southernmost Santa Clara County city has the 17th highest insurance costs in the state.The average yearly premium in Gilroy is $1,882, or 13 percent above the $1,661 average price in California. For comparison, San Joseans pay $1,393; Los Angelenos pay $1,624 and San Franciscans pay $1,783.The study was done by ValuePenguin.com, a site that helps people manage personal finances. Researchers did the study using a 2011 Toyota Camry driven by a 30-year-old to determine the average in 142 California cities for $50,000 to $150,000 of coverage.Craig Casazza, who did the study in the New York-based company, said he was interested in insurance pricing because it’s a mandatory expense for car owners and can be a burden on people’s budgets.Why is Gilroy so expensive?Casazza said he could only speculate. He surveyed 20 companies for each city to determine the prices, but the companies keep their pricing methodology secret.“Generally prices are more expensive where there are more accidents,” he said. Car theft can also play a role.Big cities usually have higher prices, but Gilroy is higher than neighboring metropolises.However, it’s cheaper than Santa Clara at $1,896, Sunnyvale at $1,974, Oakland at $1,976 and Cupertino at $1,970.California’s most expensive insurance rates are in Paramount, near Compton, at $2,373 a year. The cheapest is Fullerton at $1,266.To read the study, go to www.valuepenguin.com.
Hospital battle rages in Gilroy
It was squeeze-in-only room at Gilroy City Hall as an overflow crowd of more than 100 people squared off over the proposed sale of Saint Louise Regional Hospital and DePaul Medical Center in Morgan Hill. Dozens waited hours for a two-minute chance to give their two-cents on an issue that has divided communities and a union.
