Politics

Four stately 100-year-old trees lining Fifth Street in Gilroy will soon be absent from the neighborhood skyline, and some aggrieved homeowners are questioning Gilroy’s commitment to live up to its “Tree City USA” moniker.

City Council is coming after check cashing and payday loan businesses with torches and pitchforks, following a disparaging critique of the industry that could potentially shut such operations down in Gilroy.

The Gilroy City Council will have its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers, 7351 Rosanna St. Here are some of the upcoming items on the agenda.

The City of Gilroy is still looking to fill an open seat on the Arts and Culture Commission for the remainder of an unexpired term, which is set to end Dec. 31, 2015. The successful applicant will play a part in stimulating the growth of broad-based arts within the community. Along with the other six members of the Arts and Culture Commission, they will help guide the Recreation Department Staff and City Council on matters pertaining to cultural and artistic activities.

The traffic bottleneck that drivers encounter south of Gilroy on U.S. 101 could be a thing of the past if a proposed Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) development gets off the ground.

Mayor Don Gage has set two more dates for his up-close and informal “Coffee with the Mayor” events. These meetings, where residents of Gilroy can engage the mayor on a broad range of issues, are scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 13, and Saturday, May 11 in the City Council Chambers, located at 7351 Rosanna St. in Gilroy.

The Gilroy Downtown Business Association is shaking things up in a quest to get vacant downtown buildings occupied by baiting budding entrepreneurs to dive headfirst into the “Gilroy Shark Tank” competition in June.

The City of Gilroy will have its regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in Council Chambers, located at 7351 Rosanna St. Here are some of the upcoming items on the agenda.

City Public Information Officer Joe Kline announced today that the City of Gilroy has received an Award of Excellence from the California Park & Recreation Society (CPRS) for the Christopher High School Aquatic Center, which is located on the campus at Day Road.

The Honorable Brian C. Walsh, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara has extended the application deadline for the 2013-14 Civil Grand Jury to Friday, March 22, 2013.