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PG&E officials were confronted with a big, angry crowd Tuesday night during a public meeting to discuss plans for a substation that could be built in the bucolic Gilroy countryside.Nearly 200 residents from the winding Redwood Retreat Road area, a county-designated scenic lane and tourist-oriented wine trail at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains west of the city, aimed barbed and blunt questions at approximately six sometimes uneasy company spokespersons, engineers and subject experts.The energy giant plans to build a new substation in South County to ensure reliable service and avoid massive blackouts as the area grows. It has picked eight potential sites, most in and around Morgan Hill.But it’s the lone Gilroy option, a 10-acre parcel on Redwood Retreat Road, home of endangered and protected species of wildlife, fragile riparian grassland and mountain habitats that has residents and others, including Native Americans, fighting mad and fighting back.“This is the most sensitive area in the watershed, what are you thinking?” demanded an incredulous Herman Garcia to thunderous applause from the overflow crowd just after 7 p.m. in a reception room at Fortino Winery on Hecker Pass Highway.Garcia is the founding president of the Gilroy-based conservation group Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, CHEER. It works closely with local, state and federal agencies to protect the Pajaro River watershed and Monterey Bay.“You don’t know what you are stepping into,” he said after listing endangered and threatened species in the area, from bald eagles and tiger salamanders to the federally protected steelhead.And then, citing a past case of a local, wealthy resident killing a dozen steelhead and ending up broke and in federal prison, he had this to say to PG&E:“You can’t beat me. I will destroy you if you ever consider putting a shovel in the ground; you mess with our protected resources you are going to [have to] fight the U.S. Attorney General’s office.”After the applause for Garcia settled down, Nicole Markowitz of PG&E asked to meet with him privately.Markowitz and colleague Don Hall fielded most of the questions about the utility’s South County Power Connect project, but residents took to shouting out questions and speaking over one another, so some went unanswered.Toward the end of the meeting, a man asked why the substation couldn’t be built in the urban boundaries of Gilroy.The answer seemed to be that a city location would be more expensive and that the utility needs to locate the substation in a place that is close to existing power lines and environmentally acceptable.Kevin Corcoran expressed concerns about water contamination from the substation, saying a well near the site supplies residents’ water.“If that well goes [out], 80 homes are screwed,” he said.Hall and others stressed that after PG&E early next year narrows its choice to one preferred site and two alternatives, the California Public Utilities Commission will make the final decision and it might not pick the site PG&E wants. They urged residents to make their views known to the PUC.One resident asked how many times the PUC had turned down a PG&E proposal.To the surprise of many, Markowitz said that it has been a long time since PG&E had tackled anything this big.Echoing Garcia, Phill Laursen of Gilroy urged PG&E to consult with Native Americans, saying, “This is their spiritual land.”Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman helped arrange the meeting, one of several to be held, and repeated PG&E’s sentiments about residents contacting the PUC. He said his office is following the matter closely.More information about South County Power Connect can be found at: http://bit.ly/2bvqisi.    

 Gilroy high schoolers are getting a big dose of help to make their college and career dreams come true—and for some, to start thinking about college at all.

Gilroy City Council candidate Fred Tovar has a history of missing election law deadlines and was fined nearly $2,000 for doing so, according to county records.

Gilroy took advantage of two plays—a 90 yard pass and a 23 yard run—to take an early control and get its fourth league-win beating Monterey 42-9 and make a little history.

Gilroy dominated the last set 15-5 to win the match 3-2 on senior night.

Beer on tap has long been a serving standard in the restaurant business, but did you know cocktails are also available on tap? Soon you will be able to get them right here in Gilroy.

Politicians complain that there aren’t enough jobs in Gilroy, but local employment agencies say there are more jobs than people willing and able to do them.It’s a conundrum, but one that a new company is willing to take a risk on. ResourceMFG, an employment company at 8401 Church St, which staffs skilled technical workers, opened its first West Coast office in Gilroy last week and management there said they had at least 150 jobs available for skilled employees last week.ResourceMFG is part of a larger company, EmployBridge, based in Atlanta with 500 offices across the U.S. and Canada. This division specializes in automotive, electronic machining, sheet metal and food manufacturing. It requires prospective employees to take computer and manufacturing tests.“What we are seeing now is there is a lot of re-education that needs to be done in the local market,” said Chris Machado, the Gilroy branch manager. “Ultimately, we’re trying to raise the bar to provide a better quality of associate. You have employers that might be behind in the pay scale and used to paying a minimal amount. Part of my job is to convince employers to raise their pay and attract better and more skilled employees.”Some of the companies he’s working with now need people who are able to work in welding, electronics assembly, refrigeration, carbon fiber production, satellite development and food production.ResourceMFG can send employees throughout Silicon Valley.“Our goal is to start in Gilroy and expand outward, eventually to the San Jose market,” said Machado.“What makes us unique is we actually certify that our employees know a baseline manufacturing skill set. It’s twofold, electronic assessment and a baseline manufacturing test. If someone comes in with a resume and says they’ve done manufacturing in the past, we don’t just take their word, we test them.”Machado said the competition is fierce for the kinds of jobs he supplies, because not only are they skilled, but they pay better than non-skilled work. He’s working with local companies to get workers paid more than minimum wages, although he said it’s a battle because many are used to paying as little as possible.Patti Chalfant, who runs the Gilroy hiring office for another employment agency, Labor Max, at 343 E 10th St, said there are far more good jobs than workers in the four counties surrounding Gilroy.“Agencies are fighting for the few bodies that want to work,” she said. She found jobs for 90 people last week, some skilled, some not.“There are more jobs than people,” she said. “I have two warehouses requesting people with resumes, clean backgrounds and that can pass a drug screening. That’s almost impossible here.”Companies are looking to hire temporary workers through the agencies, intending to hire them full-time. But many of the employees flake out, she said, wanting $20 an hour, rather than a starting wage.She said she’s found too many workers don’t want to commit to developing careers.“We offer them an opportunity but many are ‘entitled California.’They have too many resources available to want to work. No one wants to work for $11 an hour.”Many would lose government benefits if they take jobs, she said. Others chose to work off the books and avoid taxes.She said a lot of employment agencies had a rude awakening during Super Bowl Sunday, when the NFL needed 200 workers to staff the game and employment agencies hired them. Only 70 showed up.“Guess whose reputation is at stake when that happens?” said Chalfant, who has run the GIlroy Labor Max office since 2012 and worked for others for 16 years.The Missouri-based company does criminal background checks on potential employees and screens them to make sure they have skills and tools when needed.          

When it comes to people advocating for safety measures in their neighborhood, Gilroy City Council candidate Cat Tucker is very familiar with the concept, as it is what drove her toward local politics in the first place.“I started getting involved in city politics because of traffic issues in my neighborhood back in 1990s when the city refused to put a [traffic] signal at Santa Teresa and Longmeadow,” Tucker said via email.Just like recent efforts from residents in Eagle Ridge and upper Welburn Avenue—highlighting the ongoing traffic stressors in the dense residential area surrounding Luigi Aprea Elementary School in the city’s west side—Tucker led her neighborhood in lobbying for Sunrise Drive to be constructed, then parlayed that experience into a stint on the city’s General Plan Update Committee, then eight years on the Planning Commission before first being elected to the City Council in 2007.“I applaud all the citizens for getting involved and letting us know their concerns,” said Tucker, who believes the city’s proposed citywide traffic study will help.As the only woman running for one of three open council seats and with current councilwoman Terri Aulman choosing not to run for re-election, if Tucker should lose in November it would leave an all-male City Council. Tucker said every month she gets asked a question from working mothers.“I bring a woman’s perspective and add diversity to the council,” she said. “One of the most common questions I [receive is]: ‘When will the city provide bathrooms at all the parks, not just the large parks?’ Every time, I tell them, ‘I ask about it every year during budget review time and I am outvoted, but don’t give up, we need to ask the men the same questions!”Tucker is an independent, moderate thinker, according to her website (http://www.cattucker.com), and active in the St. Mary Community as part of the church council. She goes on their Mexico Mission every year as the camp director, taking teens to build homes for the poor in Tijuana. Tucker is also the head of the Garlic Festival Association’s refreshments committee. A registered Democrat, Tucker and council candidate Fred Tovar are endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.While she has served on the council for nine years already, Tucker feels there is still more work to do. If Gilroy voters re-elect her on Nov. 8, she says she will focus her next term on incentivizing business downtown by reviewing the development impact fees and creating a temporary pilot program for the reduction of impact fees specific to downtown; continuing to keep a balanced budget while still meeting the needs of Gilroy citizens; and finding a way to make a permanent arts center become a reality.Tucker voted against the 721-acre housing development proposed for north Gilroy when it was appealed to the council in December 2015 after being unanimously rejected by the Planning Commission, but that does not make her a fan of Measure H, the urban growth boundary initiative that would place city growth decisions in the hands of voters.“I have openly opposed Measure H, [and] there are many reasons,” she said. “It ties the city’s hands in regards to land use decisions for over 20 years and we don’t know the unintended consequences to our low-income community as far as rents going up in the future, due to low growth.”Passage of the measure also does not necessarily mean the downtown will benefit, she said.“There are no guarantees that it forces developers to build downtown,” she said. “They will do their market research and build whatever people are buying—it could be townhouses or condos or houses.”She added that there is already a process in place to stop sprawl—the state LAFCO agency.“I served on [the Santa Clara County] LAFCO [board] for three years and during that time attended two of the yearly LAFCO conferences so as to get a full understanding of the intention. I have a high regard for LAFCO’s mission and the staff,” Tucker said.She said she was not privy, however, to the lawsuit the agency filed against the city in order to keep the 721-acre housing proposal from going forward, citing issues with the project’s environmental review.“I was not included in any of the meetings when they decided to do the lawsuit, so I was very surprised. It was not needed since LAFCO’s authority allows them to reject any incomplete application.”But there were lessons to be learned, she said.“My main takeaway is based on data, and over the last 20 years LAFCO has only approved one project for Gilroy. I feel they take their position seriously and I don’t see any reason to think they will change. I doubt the next 20 years will be any different. Even the land included in Measure H will have to go through LAFCO, and I doubt it will get passed to be annexed.”    

Voted the top burger joint in Gilroy in 2016, palate pleaser Cafe 152 Burger at 8401 Church St. draws in out-of-towners and locals alike.

The Nimble Thimble's new Pumpkin People window display is pretty nimble, combining Election Day and Halloween.