News

Entering its 41st year of existence, the Bill Flodberg Mt. Madonna Challenge added a unique challenge this year to continue to add something new for runners of the race set to run Aug. 20.

Former world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Mexican brawler Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo and undefeated 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha participated in a press conference in Santa Monica Tuesday hosted by Spike in advance of the Premier Boxing Champions and Bellator doubleheader Aug. 26 and 27 from Honda Center in Anaheim.

Gilroy’s Nic Aguilar was plenty upset with his runner-up finish at the state tournament last March in Fargo, ND.

There’s somewhat of an urban legend that firefighters are the best cooks, even if it’s just meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy. But now a pair of local fire stations are being put to the test on Friday when it participates in the first-ever Champions for Charity cook-off at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on Friday at 2 p.m.

Jim Blean called and said there was an event called A Day on the Lake at Coyote Lake on Thursday in which the San Jose Firefighters Union Local 230 hosts kids in wheelchairs for a full day of fun and excitement—climbing rock walls, boating and inner tubing.

Sherry Harig, this year’s Gilroy Garlic Festival Art Poster contest winner, has her plane ticket in hand and is eagerly anticipating her upcoming trip to Gilroy.

Amid the din of electric tools, chatter and loud music, the Terra Amico woodshop brims with creativity and bustles with energy. A thick layer of dust coats every item in sight, and sunlight beams through large open doors—catching sawdust particles in their wake.

Water is one of our region’s most precious resources. Our hot, dry summers have always made water conservation a top priority. With a little planning, gardeners and landscapers can reduce the amount of water that goes to weeds, while still maintaining healthy plants.

Even after 13 years of rehabilitating countless songbirds, raptors, reptiles and assorted mammals, there are still some “mystery critters.” Sometimes it’s because they’re too young to identify, other times because it’s such an unusual animal (to me or to our locality).

Fire crews aided by a Cal Fire helicopter put out a stubborn 7.5-acre brushfire in the hills of Christmas Hill Park on Tuesday afternoon while volunteers worked below setting up for this weekend’s garlic festival, which is expected to bring about 100,000 visitors to town.“We were on it very quickly, our stations are very close. I would say our first unit was there within five minutes,” said Colin Martin, division chief of field operations for the Gilroy Fire Department, which was aided by Cal Fire crews.Martin said he was worried about the effect on the festival when the fire broke out at 2:35 p.m. The cause is under investigation.Crews were concerned about flammable substances such as propane at the garlic festival.“We would have shut all the valves that we have installed, all the safety devices would have been put into play and we would have evacuated everyone out of the area,” said Chris Wagner, operation supervisor for AmeriGas.Mother Nature played a role in containing the fire.“We were fortunate we didn’t have any significant wind events at the same time,” Martin said.A Cal Fire helicopter dropped water on the flames, which were in a hilly section over the park and didn’t spread to the festival site. A bulldozer also set up a protective line shielding the park.“My key objective was to keep it from the hill and not let it jump to the other side of Miller,” Martin said. The very hot fire, fueled by burning trees and thick brush, jumped over one dirt road.Seven engines, 21 firefighters and two battalion chiefs battled the blaze for two hours. It was under control by 4:22 p.m. and crews cleared the area at 7:51 p.m. after mopping up hotspots.Black smoke indicates heavy fuel, such as oak trees and thick wood and white smoke shows lighter brush, said Martin. From the time they left the firehouse on Chestnut Street and drove up Tenth, they saw thick black smoke and large flames.The helicopter crew was lucky that there was a holding pond for construction of the Eagle Ridge development nearby. It was a short flight between the pond and the flames.