News

For perhaps the first time in its history, a veteran Gilroy police captain has been demoted from the department’s second highest rank to its lowest, according to city officials.

A grassroots group of more than 50 Gilroyans was told that the city police department hasn’t and will not enforce federal immigration law Tuesday night at a meeting at South Valley Middle School.

After a yearlong delay, work has started on sprawling campus solar energy installations that will save at least $1.5 million and replace the pothole-plagued parking lot at Gilroy High School.

Rafiki, Mumfasa, Simba and other denizens of the African savanna will arrive on the stage at Gilroy High School this weekend for the Gilroy Parks and Recreation Department’s annual summer show.Disney’s The Lion King Jr., a condensed version designed specifically for cast members between the ages of 6 and 14, has the same rhythmic drumbeat, eye-popping costumes and catchy songs from the Tony Award-winning Broadway show: “Hakuna Matata,” “Circle of Life,” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” The musical is based on the 1994 Disney movie.Hilary Little, who got her own start on the same Gilroy High School stage in a production of Aladdin when she was 7, is directing the show. It tells the story of the lion cub Simba, whose father Mufasa is king of the Pride Lands of Africa. Simba must contend with his uncle, Scar, who believes he is rightful heir to the throne. Comic relief comes from Rafiki, a mandrill sidekick to Simba.The show’s cast of 44 children and teens from the South Valley includes stars P.J. Crocker as Simba; Jenna Hernandez as Rafiki, Lauren DeRosa as Scar, Gannon Janisch as Mufasa and Emily Pember as Simba’s lioness friend Nala.The show’s special effects might seem daunting, but after Little directed Beauty and the Beast for Parks and Rec last year, with its huge sets and teapot, wardrobe and candle that had to be made human, Lion King is easy.“After tackling ‘Beauty’ last year, this one doesn’t seem that bad,” said Little. “With ‘Lion King’ we have a little more freedom and can be a little more abstract. I’ve been pulling inspiration from the original Broadway show and other local companies that have done the show on a smaller scale.”She’s rented “really cool-looking” masks for the lions, but the rest of the costumes and masks have been scavenged from yard sales and the internet or built by a team of stage moms.‘Disney’s The Lion King Jr.’ July 14-23, Gilroy High School, Theater, 750 W. 10th St, Gilroy. Tickets $10 at the door or at [email protected]. 

New courses offered by Gavilan College in drone technology and hospitality and tourism management are coming to the Morgan Hill area for the Fall 2017 semester.

Early in the morning as the rest of the city sleeps, out in the rural edges of town past the Sonic Drive-In and the last Subway before Pacheco Pass, Gilroy teen, Julianna Figone, is already awake and doing her morning chores at her step-dad’s ranch where she is raising a market hog for the upcoming Santa Clara County Fair.

In a move that could impact communities statewide and save billions of gallons of water, a top Sacramento official will investigate the reported waste of massive amounts of water by the Santa Clara Valley Water District and others.

In the ring, amateur boxer Rosino LeGan of Gilroy does not back down. Neither will he as he stares down the Santa Clara University administration as he and students like him, struggle to combat the rising cost of higher education. LeGan has started a grassroots campaign at his school to fight back against the costs of a college education, which buries millions of students under a mountain of debt.  

Closing in on the climax of garlic-mania at the Gilroy Garlic Fest, Christopher Ranch hosted a tour of its fields and processing plants in a tour organized by Bay Area McDonald’s Restaurants. Connecting where the source of their Gilroy Garlic Fries comes from, the four-hour tour lifted the veil from any questions one may have of growing and processing garlic. As it turns out, there's a lot to it.