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The Santa Clara County Roads and Airports Department will hold open house meetings throughout the county to discuss the County Expressways Improvement Plan and the South County Santa Teresa-Hale Corridor. Residents may drop in any time during the meetings to view information about current conditions on the expressways and to share their ideas for what changes or improvements are needed, according to County staff. All expressways will be on display at every open house. One of the open houses is scheduled for Feb. 13 at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. The County Expressways Improvement Plan includes the Almaden, Capitol, Central, Foothill, Lawrence, Montague, Page Mill-Oregon and San Tomas expressways. The Santa Teresa-Hale Corridor runs through South County, west of Monterey Road. The following open house meetings are scheduled:-Tuesday, Jan. 7, 6 to 8 p.m., Seven Trees Community Center, 3590 Cas Drive, San Jose.-Thursday, Jan. 9, 6 to 8 p.m., West Valley Branch Library, 1243 San Tomas Aquino Road, San Jose. -Tuesday, Jan. 14, 6 to 8 p.m., Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Auditorium, 3331 North First Street, San Jose.-Thursday, Jan. 16, 6 to 8 p.m., Los Altos Youth Center, 1 North San Antonio, Los Altos. -Thursday, Feb. 13, 6 to 8 p.m., Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill. Input gathered at the open houses will be used to compile and evaluate the County’s Expressway Plan 2040, which is a successor to the 2003 Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study and its 2008 update, according to County staff. The 2003 Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study documented consensus on potential expressway improvements of all types including capacity and operational enhancements, pedestrian and bicycle facilities, sound walls and landscaping, according to County staff. In 2008, the Santa Teresa Boulevard-Hale Avenue corridor from Gilroy to north of Morgan Hill was added to the study, County staff said. Expressway Plan 2040 will take a new look at the needs of the expressways and the Santa Teresa-Hale corridor based on city land use plans, projected 2040 traffic growth and streets planning, according to County staff. Members of the public may provide comments or get more information by visiting www.expressways.info, sending an e-mail to [email protected], or by calling the project hotline at (408) 573-2417.

Getting lost in the whimsical inventory of BookSmart Kids

A Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled that the grand jury transcript in the indictment of Antolin Garcia Torres shall be unsealed at a June 27 hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. The decision, if upheld following a possible appeal, will for the first time allow the disclosure of the details of at least some of the evidence that investigators say links Garcia Torres, 22 of Morgan Hill, to the kidnapping and murder of Sierra LaMar. The judge’s ruling was stayed until July 11 in order to give Garcia Torres and his defense team a chance to appeal and keep the records sealed, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney David Boyd. Garcia Torres has been held without bail Santa Clara County Jail for more than two years awaiting trial on charges that he kidnapped and murdered Sierra, who disappeared from her north Morgan Hill home when she was 15 years old March 16, 2012. The criminal grand jury indicted Garcia Torres on the charges in February, and he pleaded not guilty in a superior court hearing a few days later. In May, the D.A.’s office announced prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the suspect. The motion to unseal the nearly 2,000-page transcript was filed by the San Joe Mercury News shortly after the grand jury indicted Garcia Torres. The newspaper enlisted retired political science professor Edward J. Bronson of San Jose State University to conduct an analysis of past publicity of the case since the day Sierra disappeared. The purpose of this analysis was to demonstrate that releasing information from the grand jury files would not negatively impact the defendant’s right to a fair trial, as Garcia Torres’ attorneys have argued. A previous court ruling in the case has upheld the defendant’s desire to keep the grand jury files secret until now. Boyd declined to comment further on the June 27 ruling, and he did not argue against or in support of unsealing the grand jury documents. Garcia Torres’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether or not they plan to appeal the decision. So far, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s investigators have released little information about the evidence they have which allegedly connects Garcia Torres to Sierra and her disappearance. Investigators have said in the initial days of the search, they found Sierra’s cell phone and bag containing some of her belongings in different areas on the side of the roads near her home. Sheriff Laurie Smith also told reporters after Garcia Torres’ arrest that they found the suspect’s DNA on Sierra’s belongings, and Sierra’s DNA in Garcia Torres’ red Volkswagen. Investigators have not specified what kind of DNA they found. Authorities think Sierra, a sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time, disappeared while walking to her school bus stop near the intersection of Palm and Dougherty avenues March 16, 2012. Although neither her remains nor any evidence of her whereabouts have been located, investigators think she is dead. Volunteers continue to search for Sierra every Saturday morning. The volunteer searchers meet at 9 a.m. Saturdays at the former site of Central High School, at 17960 Monterey Road. 

H1N1 virus vaccines will be available for pregnant women,

Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, will host a town hall meeting in Salinas on Thursday to discuss the state budget and its local impact, according to a statement from his office.

The vision of local students’ “dream playground” in San Martin is now a reality.

A downtown arts and crafts shop was burglarized Tuesday night, and downtown business people urge residents and visitors to be alert following the second such incident in less than three months.