Politics

The city's proposed budget includes a hiring freeze, but it does

Accusations that a homeless man sexually assaulted a woman at his makeshift shelter in San Martin remain under investigation, according to authorities. The man has not been charged with a crime, and was released from custody shortly after his arrest last week. The suspect...

Accepting a $2.3 million grant from the federal government to

The city council decided Monday night to consult downtown

Gilroy

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.

Gilroy native Matt Morley, a 29-year veteran of local government service, is the city’s new city administrator following a seven-month search to fill the top position at City Hall.  The Gilroy City Council unanimously appointed Morley to the city administrator’s post at the Jan. 5...

The Santa Clara Valley Water District violated state law by