News

Nine years after it was picked as one of three California school districts for a pilot program funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Gilroy’s summer learning program has become a model of success.

Gilroy voters will decide in November whether the city of 55,000 should limit sprawl, after a unanimous vote by the City Council Tuesday night. There will be an item on the ballot asking whether Gilroy residents should vote on future proposed developments and whether the city should keep some of the areas on its borders as open space.

The city of Gilroy is permitting the sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks from July 1 through midnight July 4, despite numerous fires blazing across California.Gilroy is the only city in Santa Clara County to allow the use of safe and sane fireworks.“Historically, all other cities in Santa Clara County found it easier to ban all fireworks than try to regulate the use of ‘safe and sane’ fireworks,” said Gilroy Fire Marshal Jackie Bretschneider.Legal fireworks, also known as safe and sane fireworks, have a state fire marshal approval stamp and don’t leave the ground or explode. All other fireworks are considered dangerous and illegal.“While each of the fires raging in the state is unique, a major factor is that these fires are occurring in a wildland area that is now intermingled with urban and suburban uses,” Bretschneider said. “This is specifically why safe and sane fireworks are prohibited in some areas of Gilroy.”Prohibited areas include Hecker Pass west of Santa Teresa Boulevard, Third Street west of Santa Teresa Boulevard and all sections of Eagle Ridge. A complete list of prohibited areas can be found on handouts at city fireworks booths. They are also posted at the entryways of prohibited streets.“These are areas of dry, natural vegetation and steep hills,” Bretschneider said. “Once outside of city limits these hillside areas are not protected with fire access or fire-fighting water. Therefore, dividing lines were created to keep all fireworks out of these areas since it’s difficult to police the appropriate use of ‘safe and sane’ and the illegal use of dangerous fireworks.”In addition to these designated High Fire Hazard Areas, fireworks can’t be used in city parks or public schools. Most residents set off fireworks in their driveways or the streets in front of their homes.Safe and sane fireworks are available for purchase at one of 16 booths around town by Gilroy residents only.“The booth operators choose to require an ID to discourage persons taking the fireworks out of the city and to discourage influx of non-residents into the city that do not have a legal place to set off the fireworks,” Bretschneider said.The city’s regulations haven’t changed since 1998, with the exception of a fireworks mitigation fee established in 2004, Bretschneider said.“The mitigation fee creates a fund for additional police, additional dispatchers, and additional fire engines on the Fourth of July,” Bretschneider said. “It also funds the public education flyers to educate the public about illegal versus legal fireworks.”Those using illegal fireworks are subject to a misdemeanor with a $1000 fine or an administrative citation of $250, depending on the circumstances.The annual Fourth of July public fireworks display will be held at the Gilroy High School baseball field on Tenth Street and Uvas Park Drive from approximately 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.The fireworks display can be seen all over the city.Although the display is held at GHS, it’s facilitated by the city of Gilroy, not the Gilroy Unified School District.“The Gilroy Police Department will be out in full force with an extra 20 officers working Fourth of July night,” said GPD Administrative Sergeant Jason Smith. “There will be a presence not only around the fireworks show, but around the city in general.”Smith advises pet owners to keep pets indoors at all times and to make sure they are identifiable with either an ID tag or chip.“Every Fourth of July, pets escape from their homes,” Smith said. “To a pet, the Fourth of July can be a terrifying experience. Pets often try to escape in an attempt to find safety.”Both Bretschneider and Smith encourage residents to safely celebrate the holiday.“Only purchase safe and sane fireworks, and only have an adult light the fireworks,” Bretschneider said.“We want our residents to have a fun and safe holiday,” Smith said. “Even though safe and sane fireworks are legal to use within the specified provisions, it doesn’t mean they are harmless. Responsible adults should be present and monitor all firework displays to ensure the safety of all present.”Residents are encouraged to call in and report any illegal fireworks. To report violations, call (408) 846-0350.“Not only can these fireworks cause great bodily injury, they put our entire community at risk for wildlife and structure fires,” Smith said.Gilroy residents can buy fireworks and support these organizations: Apostolic Assembly Church, 7150 Camino Arroyo; Christian School Parents Club, 8220 Monterey St.; City of Gilroy Adaptive Recreation Program, 780 First St.; El Camino Club, 971 First St.; Gavilan College RAM Football Boosters, 1210 First St.; Gilroy Elks Lodge #1567 280 Tenth St.; Gilroy HS Cheerleaders Boosters, 7940 Monterey St.; Gilroy HS Quarterback Club, 401 E. Tenth St.; Gilroy HS Wrestling, 8850 San Ysidro Ave.; Gilroy Little League Ball Park Fund, 691 First. St.; Gilroy Police Officers Association, 8400 Church St.; Gilroy Pop Warner Football, 190 Welburn Ave.; Gilroy Youth Football Cheerleaders, 80 Tenth St.; South County Baseball Boosters, 6735-3755 Camino Arroyo; Stick and Move Boxing, 1425 First St.; Victory Outreach Gilroy, 435 First St. 

Imagine taking an exam that will permanently alter the status of your life. Imagine that you’ve taken the classes, completed the homework, and invested hours of time studying for this test. Imagine that the exam is in a language that isn’t your own, and that a translator is forbidden.

The candidates in this year’s presidential campaign have spent hours debating the subject of immigration. But how many of us actually understand the naturalization process?

Final touches to Cordevalle are being made ahead of next week’s U.S. Women’s Open set to begin July 7 marking the first time the prestigious  golf tournament in the Bay Area.

Ride the garlic trainSome big changes on the rails for the 2016 Gilroy Garlic Festival, coming July 29-31. You want the good news first or the bad news?Here’s the good, since you have been such good readers. For the first time there is a train that can take as many as 1,000 people to the festival from San Jose, or from as far north as San Francisco.The festival has chartered a special passenger train that will leave San Jose’s Diridon Station at 10 a.m. and arrive in Gilroy at 11 a.m. There will be buses to bring passengers from Gilroy’s station to the fest. The train leaves Gilroy at 5 p.m. It costs $25 above the $20 admission for the festival, which is a steal if you consider how it beats the traffic and parking.But here’s the catch: you have to buy tickets in advance at the Gilroy Garlic Festival website. There are 800 seats on the train and room for 200 people to stand. Grab a seat quickly!Here’s the bad news. For the first time the festival is charging $10 for parking and there’s no parking near the festival. You will have to park at a site on Day Road or at Gavilan Community College and take free buses to the Christmas Hill Park site.Festival organizers say the cost of running the buses for free has left them bone dry, financially. The $250,000 they expect to raise from parking should offset the bus charges and allow a good chunk of the $3 million they expect to gross to go to local charities. The festival has raised $11 million since 1979.Each of the 4,000 volunteers who works at the festival earns money for the for one of 150 charities of their choice.More good news: on Friday, July 29, South Valley locals can take $5 off the admission price and locals can also buy a three-day pass for $30. That includes residents from Morgan Hill to Aromas and Hollister. You can only buy those tickets at the gate with proof of residence.You can ride a bicycle to the fest and save all transit fees. There is a free bike valet that will keep your wheels secure.Festival organizers have drawn 85,000 to 135,000 people over the years, depending mostly on the weather.Among this year’s new highlights are a Kansas City-based barbecue contest, with a $7,500 purse for the best cooking, some big-name country bands and a revamped children’s area.

Read through these typical days on the police blotter and it really makes you appreciate those who do the dirty work for the rest of us and deal with every kind of problem, big, small, dangerous, ugly. Thanks, GPD.

You never know what you are going to get at a show by the Morgan Hill-based dance cover band the Emphatics.

The Morgan Hill Freedom Fest—one of the oldest parades in the county—has exploded like fireworks over the years, growing from one day to two days.The beloved hometown event, which started in 1876 with sack races, a picnic and parade now includes a parade, street dance, car show, family fun night at the aquatic center, live music and patriotic singing.The celebration starts at 6 p.m. July 3 with a patriotic sing and music festival, capped with a downtown street dance. Sunday night’s singers include local school children led by Karen Crane for the Patriotic Sing and Musical with the National Anthem sung by incoming Sobrato High School freshman, Angelina Madriaga. Also performing are Brooklyn Anderson and cover band the Hack Jammers.Monday’s events include an early morning 5K for adults and a kids’ 1-mile race, a car cruise, a parade and a fireworks display with a concert on the green.“It used to be a parade, fireworks and picnic, and then we started the 5K race and then we started the car cruise and parade together,” says parade chair Bob Hunt.Hunt, along with his wife and co-chair Maureen Hunt, have overseen Fourth of July festivities in Morgan Hill for the past 27 years.“It’s a darn good parade with lots of great events—all of them, all seven,” says Bob Hunt.Car enthusiasts can catch vintage vehicles warming up the parade route before the parade floats through downtown. The cruise will end with a car show at the Centennial Community Center.The parade this year will include some of last year’s best contenders, including Grand Sweepstakes Winner St. Catherine’s Church and most Patriotic Winner, the Freedom Fest Patriotic Singers.“They are all wonderful,” says Maureen Hunt.Each year there is a patriotic theme people can decorate to, says Bob Hunt about the parade floats. This year’s theme is “America, My Home Sweet Home.”“We’ve had some really excellent float builders,” he continues. “A lot of do-it-yourself floats—like last year we had the St. Catherine’s for the second year in a row take Grand Sweepstakes with their float because they did such an outstanding job and they did it themselves.”“They had the Statue of Liberty in New York, and people had their suitcases and they were coming to America from all of their homelands,” says Maureen Hunt, recalling St. Catherine’s 2014 winning float for ‘Destination America.’The Independence Day celebration has grown over the last several decades and continues to be one of the few celebrations in the Bay Area that includes events all day. It’s the only event run entirely by volunteers.After the parade, folks can head over to the Aquatics Center and splash down at the water park before the fireworks light up the sky.The July Fourth concert on the green includes musical performances by Country Cougar, The Patriotic Singers and The Usual Suspects.