Updated: Smith reacts to sheriff’s seat win
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith trounced challenger Kevin Jensen and will serve her fifth term in office.
Police blotter: Rape by force or violence
The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes this past week, including rape by force or violence, grand theft, assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence. All arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Nov. 23 and 30. All suspects remain innocent until proven guilty, and an appearance in the arrest log does not signify guilt for the listed crime/s.
Sierra LaMar murder suspect arraigned on 2009 attempted kidnappings
Antolin Garcia Torres, the Morgan Hill man suspected of killing missing teen Sierra LaMar, appeared in court Wednesday morning to be arraigned on three attempted kidnapping charges related to a series of incidents that happened in 2009.
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."
