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Opponents of a PG&E substation in rural Gilroy or Morgan Hill have picked up powerful allies in their fight against the big utility, including growers and wineries.Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor Mike Wasserman said for the first time Monday that he’s opposed to the five rural sites on PG&E’s list of eight possible locations in his district.And while the county has no jurisdiction over PG&E sites—that’s up to the California Public Utilities Commission—the utility is required to consult with the county, whose view the PUC can consider.PG&E says the substation and new transmission lines are needed to keep up with power demands in the region and that they continue to review all sites. The preferred site and two alternatives will be picked in February and will be announced publicly by the end of March, a spokesperson for the utility said.Residents near sites on Sycamore Avenue and Day Road and three on Watsonville Road in South County have banded together to oppose the rural locations.They cite serious safety, well water quality and environmental concerns, including the potential impact on sensitive riparian habitat and at least one federally protected species, the steelhead trout.The county’s agricultural community appears unanimous in its opposition, too, along with a conservation group, Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, or CHEER.Cheer formed a legal defense fund, hired a lawyer to oppose PG&E and has raised thousands of dollars for the battle, which it says it will take to federal court if necessary.“I am recommending against these five sites for the numerous environmental reasons I stated previously,” Wasserman said in an emailed response Monday to the Dispatch.Opponents of the rural sites have argued that only three locations in the city of Morgan Hill, including existing PG&E facilities should be considered, but Wasserman said that “At this time” he is not recommending any other sites.“County staff conducted an initial screening and numerous analyses are on-going and for all we know, more information may come forward and more sites might ultimately be considered by PG&E.” Wasserman said.Wasserman is half of a two-member committee of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors reviewing the substation matter.Called the Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee, or HLUET, it recently received a staff report recommending that only the more urban Morgan Hill sites be considered. Staff recommended that the committee forward its recommendation to the full board for consideration.David Cortese, president of the board of supervisors, is the other HLUET committee member. He said Tuesday that the matter will now go directly to the whole board, following cancellation of HLUET’s Jan. 19 meeting because its members attended the funeral of a mutual friend.The next full board meeting is Monday, Feb. 6.Asked if he supports the staff recommendation, Cortese said in an emailed response, “Not sure yet. Would like to hear public testimony.”Reaction among PG&E critics to Wasserman’s position was swift and positive.“That is great news, I welcome his support [and] I am greatly encouraged by this,” said Nigel Peacock of Gilroy.Peacock is part of a residents’ steering committee convened at a Jan. 13 meeting at Kirigin Cellars winery of about 50 opponents of a substation at any of the five rural country sites.Kirigin owner Dhruv Khanna is another steering committee member.“I applaud supervisor Wasserman on his position,” Khanna said, adding, “PG&E should expand use of its existing [Morgan Hill] substation.”Use of the southern locations would be “the most destructive of the environment,” with the destruction more severe the further south the site, he said.In the meantime, the board of directors of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau has unanimously agreed that the substation should not be built anywhere near the region’s wine trail.And the county’s wineries have weighed in, registering their opposition in a Jan. 5 letter to PG&E and cc’d to Wasserman.Wasserman helped create the Santa Clara County Wine Trail, the South County lop of which winds through the area and along each of the rural roads cited, including the bucolic and historic Redwood Retreat Road west of Gilroy.“We are very concerned, in particular about some of the sites along Watsonville Road,” said Wineries of Santa Clara Valley president Karen Seeker of Seeker Vineyards in San Martin. The group represents 27 wineries.“A substation would have big impact not only on our wineries but also the overall nature and beauty of that area,” she said Tuesday.

A massive discharge of raw sewage into Llagas Creek in San Martin earlier this month is under state investigation and could mean hefty fines levied against the City of Morgan Hill, according to the state agency that oversees water quality.

Highway 129 was supposed to be closed for several days for construction. Now it's closed for repair.

Caltrans says Highway 129, which has been closed since Jan. 22, should open by the end of the week.

Gilroy earned a C grade in the annual “State of Tobacco Control” report from the American Lung Association in California, which looks at jurisdiction’s efforts to reduce tobacco-caused death and disease.

The process to create a blueprint for how Gilroy will grow in the next 20 years was halted last year when the citizen-led initiative to place an Urban Growth Boundary around the city started gathering momentum. Now that Measure H is the law of the land, city leaders aim to get General Plan 2040 back on track, while calling for greater community participation.“A lot of things in the pipeline will follow the adoption of the General Plan,” said Mayor Roland Velasco. “The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get back to other items.” At a joint study session with the planning commission last week, the city council chose the most comprehensive--and expensive--of three options submitted by city staff on how to resume the lengthy process, which determines not just land use policy but everything from transportation to public safety. City administrator, Gabe Gonzalez told the council, it was not so much impacts over the next five to 10 years that need to be reexamined, but what will happen to the city 10-plus years from now when land for new development becomes harder to find and fees collected from developers the city relies on to create new transportation infrastructure dries up. The Urban Growth Boundary reduced the area of land for future residential development by 450 acres/4,344 dwelling units and for non-residential development, by 327 acres, which equates to approximately 5,900 jobs, according to an independent report the city commissioned last year, at a cost of $150,000.When GP 2040 was paused in April 2016, pending the results of Measure H, the city had already spent nearly three years and $854,398 (of a $1,063,112 total budget). Staff estimates the additional analysis and community input will take 24 to 36 months to complete and cost $677,000. In 2015, the city council approved the establishment of a fee surcharge to help pay for future updates to the general plan and combined with what is remaining of the original budget, city staff estimates the city council may need to approve $268,000 in General Fund monies to pay for the shortfall. Follow the process at www.gilroy2040.com.

Feeling like getting involved in your local government? The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury is taking applications from community members to help investigate and monitor public institutions.The Grand Jury examines all aspects of county and city government and can inspect all books, records and finances to make sure public funds are legally spent and properly accounted for. It monitors misconduct by public officials and employees and inspects the jails.It’s a great way to start getting involved and make sure Gilroy is heard from countywide.To apply and learn more, search scs court and grand jury.

To the dismay of the women involved, the California Highway Patrol’s regional chief has exonerated its Gilroy commander of two allegations of improper behavior but could reach no conclusion on a third involving a pro-life prayer vigil that strayed onto state property last fall.

 A Gilroy landmark restaurant shuttered more than six months ago by fire began rebuilding this week and hopes to be serving its legion of fans again real soon.“We have our permits and we’re in a position to start work in the next couple of days,” said Longhouse Restaurant co-owner Danny Maroudas.“Hopefully we’ll be up and running by late March,” he said.That would be a welcome reunion of ham and eggs for the many regulars who have phoned Maroudas and building owner Lynn Wagner wondering when they will again be able to gobble down their favorite pancakes, cheese omelets, robust dinners and oh, that coffee.The July 2016 kitchen fire was not a big one, the restaurant more than a decade ago suffered one that was much worse.But this time around the combination of damage from fire, smoke and sprinkler water—and later a leaky roof—was extensive, Maroudas said.If he is up and running by March, he will have been closed—and his 25 employees out of work—for eight months, which matches how long he was shuttered after the prior fire.This time, while huge new kitchen hoods and other cooking equipment was damaged and must be replaced, extensive collateral damage to the booth and table areas of the Monterey Road eatery has presented the owners, Maroudas and his uncle, Pete, with the opportunity to completely upgrade the dining rooms and the popular adjacent Beehive, Lounge, according to Maroudas.He is keenly aware of the plight of employees who have been out of work; some have been with him for more than half the 40 years he has served up breakfast, lunch and dinner to Gilroy and its visitors.“I really look forward to having them back,” he said of his cooks, servers, cashiers, busboys, bartenders and others.Great food has a lot to do with a successful restaurant, but “the relationship between customers and employees mean a lot to a business,” too, Maroudas said.Daytime bartender Monica Roorda echoed her boss’s sentiments.“Oh God I miss my customers, they are a great bunch,” she said as she walked through the disheveled, muddled mess left by the fire.Because of the extent of repair work needed and the emergency nature of the closure, and given the complexity of getting all the vendors lined up, Maroudas said he is very happy to be on schedule with the rebuilding.And he gave great deal of credit to the city inspectors and building officials who have worked hard to make sure all that is being done is done well and up to code.His longtime landlord, Lynn Wagner, formerly of Gilroy and now a Willow Glen resident, bemoaned the loss of livelihood for Maroudas, his family and his employees.“I feel sorry for Danny and Pete, this is their livelihood sitting on hold and they had to lay off all those people, I just don’t understand why it takes so long for (the city) to pull it all together,” she said. “It has been dragging on way too long.”Her husband, Tom Wagner, is the property manager. He said a leaky, post-fire roof caused even more inside damage and it was not until last week that a permit was issued for a new roof.He recalled when the uniquely situated restaurant, it straddles a narrow waterway, was designed by former Mayor Roberta Hughan’s firm and built about 40 years ago as the Busy Bee Restaurant. It was sold to and renamed soon after by the Maroudases.“They’ve been there ever since,” Tom Wagner said. “It’s a landmark, a meeting place for everybody; it’s always busy.”

Gavilan Community College hopes by the end of 2017 to plug into a powerful new energy source to light and heat the Gilroy campus -- the sun.