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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.

“One of the things we hear from the public all the time is that their voices are not being heard by their elected officials, but when you look at election results, a lot of the public are not participating and if you don’t let your elected officials know your concerns, they are left to make decisions based on their own instinct,” said City Council candidate Tom Fischer.A retired plumber and member of the city’s Planning Commission, Fischer was on the commission when the 721-acre, 4,000-home development north of Gilroy was brought forward for consideration. He heard a lot of voices then.“A lot of people see the growth and they don’t like it—so that’s one consideration. The other is you need growth to sustain a viable community.”While he was against the project that ultimately gave rise to Measure H, on the urban growth boundary initiative Fischer prefers to keep mum.“I have not taken a position on Measure H. I’m going to remain neutral throughout this campaign season.”Fischer, along with the rest of the Planning Commission, rejected the 721-acre mostly housing proposal last December before it was successfully appealed by the City Council along a split vote. The project was ultimately withdrawn.While he thought the ability to develop a large swath of land in one stroke was good for planning purposes, he had concerns. Mainly, he felt the environmental impact report was not complete and that the applicant could not offer a satisfactory development schedule.“And I think they circumvented the system,” Fischer said. “They were operating outside the normal bounds which is mainly why I voted against it.”He added: “I think that growth is a very personal issue for most people and this is a way for their voices to be heard. For me, I think it’s time for public officials to stay quiet. I want to know what the public wants; that is how I handled myself on the Planning Commission and that’s how I’ll serve on the City Council. I want public input, I want to know what they think. They are the ones that have to live with this stuff.”A member of the high speed rail committee, Fischer said the city needs to start planning in earnest for the state-mandated train. As for the new rail system going through downtown, Fischer said:“I like to look at the bigger picture and it really needs to be downtown. It’s where it has to be. In the overall scheme of things it will ultimately benefit downtown but it will be very disruptive while it’s being built and it’s our responsibility as civic leaders to determine the least disruptive way to get that train in here so it can benefit everybody.”Fischer believes Gilroy should take a more active role in addressing environmental issues. He thinks its great that the city has joined Silicon Valley Community Choice Energy, the regional cooperative that will purchase cleaner electricity on behalf of its commercial and residential customers to help decrease greenhouse gas emissions.He said the city should also join the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority.“We are the only city not in the Open Space Authority,” he said, “I don’t believe anyone has brought that up and if I’m on the council I will see why it is we are not participating. Environmental issues are very important and we need to look at them very seriously.”Concerning downtown revitalization, Fischer said a few other things need to get done first. “We need to get the high speed rail plan done, the general plan done, and then look at the Downtown Specific Plan and really evaluate it. Then you get feedback from not just the businesses downtown, but also the residents that live in the area.“He added: “We need to re-envision what the downtown looks like, and the tricky part is how to pay for it.”Fischer said that with street maintenance costs, a new fire station at Glen Loma that needs to be equipped and staffed, and unfunded liabilities for pensions, the city will probably not have the money needed to fund big improvements in the downtown district.“We really need a grassroots effort to put a bond—like the library bond—on the ballot to make specific improvements that are needed downtown. If there are specific things you want to accomplish, the public will get behind it.”

First it was the state, now it’s federal—the Miller Red Barn at Gilroy’s Christmas Hill Park has made it onto the National Register of Historic Places.The cavernous barn, located next to playing fields and recently used as storage for the Garlic Festival was built by Henry Miller, the cattle king of California and at one time one of the largest landowners in the West.According to research conducted by the Miller Red Barn Committee, a volunteer organization formed when the barn was at risk of being demolished, the structure was built by Miller in 1891 when he was 64 years old to store and process fruit.Part of the Glen Ranch property Miller bought in the 1880s, there were 26 acres of fruit trees, peaches, apples, pears, prunes and later wine grapes. Miller’s orchard was planted all the way to Hanna Street.Before Miller’s death in 1916, a portion of Glen Ranch was leased to Las Animas Winery. Wine production boomed in that period and the Southern Pacific ran a train line directly to the winery. A connection to the California Wine Association was forged during this time, which gives added historical importance to the land. In 1941, the ranch was sold to the Filice family to raise wine grapes for the San Martin Winery.For the MIller Red Barn Committee, the national designation is a crowning achievement, but there is still work to be done.“The stunning thing about preservation is you begin with something that already exists and therefore is already by definition ‘local,’” said committee member, Gary Walton. “Repairing what has been neglected over time is actually the easy part of any preservation project. We’ve come to understand that only a small part of preservation is about looking backward; it is more about looking forward, paying homage to earlier cultures and mentalities to which you can add a new dimension, a new function, a new beauty or appeal.”He added: “Ultimately, the success of the Miller Red Barn preservation effort will be judged by how well we develop the ideas, partnerships and funding to accomplish that goal.”On Sept. 24, the barn committee hosted a fundraiser dinner at the Gilroy VFW Hall with more than 80 people attending. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors, benefactors and members of the community, the event raised enough to cover Phase I of the rehabilitation project, said committee member, Kathy Chavez.“Phase I will include securing the barn against animals and birds and repairing the roof,” she said. “The biggest challenge to the clean-up of the barn was the biohazard waste from birds and bats, which encouraged the feral cats to take up residence outside the barn. The roof of the barn is in serious disrepair and needs securing against the elements, especially the wind forces which can literally raise the roof.”Chavez added: “The barn is now cleared of debris which blocked the view of the foundation and siding. The architects and building experts can better assess next steps for future phases of rehabilitation. The funds will go toward architectural drawings and future phasing of the work.”All the funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous grant from the L’Aiglon Foundation, she said.  

Write-in mayoral candidate Robert Martinez has been watching a lot of politics lately. The supply chain professional wakes up every morning at 4:30 to do his doctor-prescribed exercises and while he gets his body moving, ready to start the day, the latest media showdown between the two presidential contenders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump provides the soundtrack to his morning, and this has got him thinking.

Uesugi Farms’ pumpkin patch in San Martin has grown like one of its prize-winning pumpkins.

The Gilroy Dispatch is celebrating its move downtown with a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration with food and drink Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

There’s nothing quite like a stage full of kids dressed as starfish, sea anemones and seagulls singing and dancing their little hearts out to lift one’s spirits these days. And the cast and crew of South Valley Civic Theatre do a charming job of it in their current children’s musical production of The Little Mermaid Jr. in Morgan Hill through Oct. 22.The story, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairy tale and adapted into a Disney movie and then a musical, involves a young mermaid, Ariel (Emily Pember) who falls in love with a human prince (Gannon Janisch) and is tricked into giving up her lovely singing voice to an evil sea witch (Jenna Hernandez) in exchange for legs so she can walk on land. She is surrounded by a cast of hilarious characters including the woebegone crab Sebastian (Tegan Leong) charged by Ariel’s father (Paul Maack) with keeping her safe.As the little mermaid of the title, Pember does fine work singing while managing the tricky aspects of swimming gracefully through the air (with flight direction by Jason Chamberlain). Unfortunately, her voice is sometimes overwhelmed by the recorded soundtrack on “Part of Your World.”As Ursula, the sea witch—in a wonderful costume of purple velvet and satin with sequined octopus’s tentacles—Hernandez has no such problems. She’s got a big voice and knows how to use it to best effect on “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”Stealing the show every which way is the spark plug Tegan Leong as the crab Sebastian, who knocks everyone out with a fish ensemble in “Under the Sea” and really tears things up in the sassy calypso “Kiss the Girl,” well supported by an undersea cast of seemingly thousands.Among the numerous other characters, well directed by Colleen Blanchard, Catherine Drayton stands out as the lead seagull, Scuttle (in a terrific costume, designed by Alice Gracey). Set designers Blanchard, Larry Tom and Jason Leong have created a wondrous undersea world, all wavering watercolors studded with bubbles and seaweed.The Little Mermaid Jr. Music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, book by Doug Wright. Directed by Colleen Blanchard at South Valley Civic Theatre, Morgan Hill. Final performance is Oct. 22. For tickets call (408) 842-SHOW or visit www.svct.org.