Politics

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.

There were fiery exchanges in the first mayoral debate Tuesday between candidates Perry Woodward and Roland Velasco—and some distinctions made between their policies and hopes for the city.

Like its gaming neighbor San Jose to the north, Gilroy may soon tout in neon lights its gambling enterprise to folks driving on Highway 101.

The ideal of representative democracy is alive and well in Gilroy.

Residents of one of Gilroy’s most beautiful and environmentally fragile areas are fighting mad because PG&E is considering it for a power substation.

The company billed as owning the largest chain of indoor water parks in the world is in talks with Gilroy about building one of its popular family resorts at the city-owned Gilroy Gardens.

The 38th annual Gilroy Garlic Festival has come and gone, and while attendance numbers are down over last year’s, organizers say they should still be on track to reaching $11 million in donations over the lifetime of the event.

Gilroy Police reported an injury accident caused by Pokémon players. From a police report:"On the evening of July 21, 2016, a driver and his passenger were driving around looking for Pokémon in the area of First Street and Wren Avenue. The passenger, who was playing Pokémon Go on her cell phone, spotted one in the cemetery as they were driving by."In an effort to capture the Pokémon, the driver suddenly applied the vehicle brakes to make the right turn into the cemetery. A motorcyclist that was behind the vehicle did not have time to react and collided into the rear of the car."The impact caused the motorcyclist to fall to the roadway and skid on the ground before coming to a stop along the cemetery fence.  The motorcyclist sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local area hospital treatment."The driver and passenger who were attempting to catch the Pokémon were released at the scene. A police report was written for documentation purposes."

While the mosquito-borne Zika virus has made headlines, local residents can take comfort that the two mosquito species that carry Zika, have not been found in the county since mosquito season started in March, according to Santa Clara County Vector Control District.