State Senate race, take two; Blakeslee, Laird face off in Aug. 17 special election
A ballot for state Senate District 15? This must be Groundhog
City looking to fill seats on building appeals board
The City of Gilroy is looking to fill two open seats on its
Council member Paul Kloecker dies
Longtime public servant Paul Kloecker, 82, died Friday morning.
Kloecker, who lived in Gilroy for more than three decades, served on the City Council from 1983-1995 and rejoined the City Council in 2016.
He was a dedicated public servant and was committed to the community in...
Council committee to seek in-house attorney
City Council voted to form a committee to look for an in-house attorney Feb. 24 - a sea change from its position since the early 1990s of using the City’s contracted legal firm, San Jose-based Berliner Cohen.
On the Table: A Gun Shop and Plaza Downtown?
A gun shop and an outdoor plaza might bring some big changes downtown. The firearms shop is considering moving to the Pinnacle building on Monterey Road, the first storefront for firearms since Walmart stopped carrying them. Right now there are eight dealers with permits to sell weapons out of their homes and one of them has appeared before city staff to see what would be needed to rent the downtown space.“If it’s done right, fine,” said Mayor Perry Woodward. “It’s just another retail use. We’re still a rural community in many ways and fishing and hunting are popular here. If you come back and tell me it’s all assault rifles, I might have a different point of view. If it’s done responsibly and within in the law, it serves a need.”Woodward got to talk about his real dream for downtown Monday for the first time, because he sold a property he owned there that kept him from voting on downtown issues. He wants to knock down the former billiards hall and put a public plaza there with trees, a stage and benches. It would be a place for the community to come together for activities, after which they would shop in businesses catering to them.“I want to see the day when people in Morgan Hill say they wish they had a downtown like Gilroy’s,” he said. It would require the city to buy the building and the one behind it and knock them down. The billiards hall is now slated to house the Community Media Access Partnership television station now housed at Christopher High and a computer center for people to study and use desktops.John Russell, of Rally Round Downtown Gilroy, said he would be happy with a gun shop or any retail, "as long as it's not another salon or piñata shop."
