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Nearly 20 years after plans for Gilroy’s largest housing development were first discussed, houses for the first four neighborhoods at the 309-acre Glen Loma Ranch are now up for sale.“It has been a very long process and we are really glad to see it’s becoming a reality,” said Augie Dent, project director for Glen Loma Ranch. “All the hard work is paying off to create a beautiful community.”Model homes for the first four of 17 distinct neighborhoods, named Ambrosia, Mataro, Zinfandel and Vista Bella, are now available to view. A grand opening was held June 19, featuring a Father’s Day pancake breakfast and guided tours of the glamorous, single-family homes.There are a total of 274 units in the first four neighborhoods.Starting prices range from the high $600,000s to the high $700,000s.Featuring spacious open plans, flexible room options, energy-efficient features, the homes range in size from approximately 2,113 to 3,740 square feet.Residents are expected to move in by July or later this summer, according to representatives from Brookfield Residential North and CalAtlantic Group, the project’s homebuilding partners.At full build-out, expected to be by 2020, Glen Loma Ranch will have 1,643 homes in all.“We are moving as quickly as we can to get more neighborhoods online,” said Dent.The economic downturn stalled the overall development. A Dispatch article from 2005 quoted Tim Felice, whose family has owned the majority of the land that is considered Glen Loma Ranch since the 1930s, as saying the first houses would go on the market by 2007.Nine years later, Dent said the downturn definitely had an impact.“It took time to get things back on track once the market started to recover.”The Glen Loma Ranch development has come with traffic improvements, including a new roundabout at Thomas Road and Luchessa Avenue, which was completed during the initial building phase.Work continues on the extension of Luchessa Avenue to existing Miller Avenue and a new roundabout at Santa Teresa Boulevard and Miller Avenue.Construction of some of the improvements is still ongoing, said Dent, including Cydney Casper Park, named after the former city planner who died in a motorcycle accident in 2007.Work on the park will begin later this year, he said.“It will be a big amenity for the whole city,” said Dent. “We have retained a whole bunch of open space [up to 150 acres] and trail network.”Looking back at the last 17-plus years of planning, which involved working with everyone from biologists and home builders to city staff and members of the local school district, Dent said: “It was really important for the Glen Loma Ranch team to make the plan something we can be proud of. With community outreach, working with various agencies, we are doing our best to benefit Gilroy as a whole and to make Glen Loma Ranch a special place to live.”

Speeding Along The construction on Highway 129 by Crittendon Underpass is moving along on schedule and should be finished in January, barring early rains, according to project manager Katie Beach, with Caltrans.

This is about Silva’s Crossing in the creek by Christmas Hill Park. There are “No Swimming” signs posted, but when I walked there today I saw about 40 people swimming there. I wasn't aware it was a swimming hole. It’s also a protected creek, so I don’t know why Gilroy Police Department doesn’t get those people out of there and enforce the “No Swimming” signs that are posted on the property.

Forty-seven years ago, two young men from Texas met at a canteen in Vietnam.The two Army soldiers, Francisco Barrientes, 20, and Juan Pequeño, 19, had just arrived in the war-torn country in 1969. They were in the middle of being processed when they met, becoming fast friends as they waited to find out where in the country they would be stationed.One day, over the course of a beer, the two young men made a promise to one another: if one them makes it out alive, he would lay flowers at the other’s gravesite.Barrientes, who was left critically disabled by the war when he took an AK-47 gunshot to his face and lost his esophagus and left vocal cords, came to Gilroy over the July Fourth weekend to fulfill that promise and pay tribute to his brother in arms, who died in battle just weeks after the two first met.“I knew I had to do this,” said Barrientes, dressed in full uniform, standing next to the gravesite of Cpl. Juan Pequeño, 6/10/49-2/14/69, on July 1 at Gavilan Memorial Park on First Street. “I can’t let time go by anymore.”He said that every February he remembers the young man, who before volunteering to serve in the military, liked to play baseball.“So many did not make it back,” said Barrientes, who spent seven years in a military hospital and underwent 50 operations after being injured twice in Vietnam, the second leaving him disfigured and unable to eat normally.During his pilgrimage to Gilroy, Barrientes had to stop every three hours to prepare a special drink, his only nourishment over the past 40-plus years.Barrientes would go on to receive two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service, then marry, raising three children as he devoted his civilian life to community service.After 30 years of volunteering at his local school district in Edinburg, Texas, Barrientes would have a middle school named after him.Barrientes, standing at the grave next to Pequeño’s brother, David, laid down a bright, floral bouquet in red, yellow and green, the colors of Vietnam.Born into a military family, Pequeño, was the son of a WWII veteran and sibling to two other brothers who also served.Youngest brother David, who was stationed in Korea for a time while he was in the Army, was only 11 or 12 when his brother died.“It was hard on our mom,” he said stoically at the gravesite. He pointed out his sister’s final resting place at his brother’s side.Not fully knowing how to process the surprising appearance of Barrientes, the story of a promise made over beers while war raged on a foreign battlefield 47 years ago, he said he wished Barrientes had gotten in contact earlier, that maybe they could have had a relationship.For now, the two former soldiers stand together, eyes cast downward, each remembering a young man whose life was cut short while serving his country.

SAN MARTIN—The U.S. Women’s Open was decided by a club grazing the sand.

Lydia Ko was tied for 52nd place before the start of Friday’s second round of the U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle in San Martin. But two rounds later the world’s top-ranked player finds herself in a familiar position: on top of the leaderboard entering the final round of a tournament.

SAN MARTIN—So first of all, I cannot oversell just how amazing it is to walk around Cordevalle and hear the languages being spoken and the accents of those speaking.

While the world’s top ranked female golfer Lydia Ko made her move back into contention at the 2016 U.S. Women’s Open, a trio of Korean competitors landed in the top three spots of Friday’s second-round leaderboard at Cordevalle Golf Club in San Martin.

The Gilroy Historical Society hosted its annual architectural award ceremony at Chitactac-Adams County Park on June 26. The event marked the society’s sixth year of honoring its recipients at a ceremony dedicated to promoting the preservation and welfare of architectural gems all across the city.At the event, five homes and one commercial building were recognized by the Gilroy Historical Society in a variety of award categories, including Historic Home and Certificate of Commendation.“You drive by these beautiful, old places that have had a facelift or a paint job and they just stand out at you,” says Kathy Hodgdon, co-chair of the architectural awards committee.Hodgson explains that the process for selecting the awards is fairly simple with the help of the community and committee members.“We have nominations [of historical properties] and each committee member goes out and takes a look,” she says. “Each member makes their observations and they cast their vote. I tally it up and there we go!”Connie Rogers, president of the Gilroy Historical Society, says the most enjoyable part of the event is getting to congratulate and compliment the building owners for all their hard work.“We are trying to raise the level of awareness of Gilroy’s history. and where our roots are because we as a community have grown fairly rapidly in the last 20 or 30 years,” she says. “People who have moved here in that time don’t know that much about us. It’s really an attempt to educate everyone, especially people who have moved here more recently, of our roots and why we are the way we are.”Rogers believes that the award winner’s accomplishments lead to an infectious sense of pride in the community.“When one owner upgrades and improves his property, the neighbors say, ‘Oh, well you know, maybe I should get mine looking better too,’” she says.While not a California native, Rogers is keen to infuse the Gilroy community with her East Coast values of architectural preservation.“My hometown is actually New England and they hardly tear down old buildings back there,” Rogers says. “They renovate, modify and improve them, but they never tear them down and start over. This is an attitude that I would like to foster in Gilroy that no matter what the age is of your property, it’s still important to maintain it and keep it nice looking.”Rogers ultimately views the upkeep and maintenance of historic buildings in Gilroy as passion projects that require both time and financial investments. The Furlong House, which won the Historic Home award this year, stands out to Rogers as a memorable recipient.“Last week at the museum, I discovered a picture of the house when it was out on the ranch,” Rogers said. “I was so surprised. It was the same house!”The Furlong House was not always located where it is currently standing today. Around 1900, the property was located east of Holsclaw Road and the creek before finding its permanent location in the city at 7311 Alexander St.Built in 1878, the Pioneer-style home is a property with distinct character that Rogers finds both funky and eye-catching. Although the original photograph she stumbled upon excludes the recent additions of two little windows situated under the eaves of the second story, it retains much of its classical charm.  It is now divided into three apartments, but the Moreno family has owned the historic building since 1961.“The son of the woman who owns the Furlong House had gotten an award two years ago for his house, so it runs in the family!”Rogers hopes that in time, more historic houses within the community will continue to find loving homeowners who not only preserve Gilroy’s historical buildings but who, in turn, preserve Gilroy’s history.Interested in learning more about Gilroy’s historical buildings and neighborhoods? Connie Rogers leads walking tours on the first Saturday of every month, excluding holiday weekends.