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Gilroy
April 5, 2026

Lulu needs love

Lulu is an 8-year-old long hair who is a little shy, but very sweet and quiet. She is available for adoption at the San Martin Animal Shelter and would love to find her forever home.  For more information, call (408) 686-3900.

MH man sentenced to prison for child pornography

A Morgan Hill man will serve nearly five years in prison after admitting he possessed one of the largest collections of child pornography ever found in Silicon Valley, according to authorities.Paul Lawrence Vella, 60, entered a guilty plea Aug. 4, 2014 in federal court in the Northern District of California, according to U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag.Vella, an engineer, admitted to investigators that he used his computer to download thousands of images of child pornography through a P2P network, and saved those images on hard drives, discs and other digital devices, according to Haag.Authorities from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children identified 915 known child victims from his collections of child pornography, Haag added.Vella admitted to the court that he knowingly possessed more than 600 images of child pornography, according to authorities. Law enforcement also found more than 86,000 images and more than 2,100 videos depicting child pornography in Vella’s possession.Some of the images and videos showed prepubescent minors and images portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct, authorities said. Some depicted the forcible rape of, and other violence against young children.Court documents revealed that Vella possessed one of the largest collections of child pornography ever found in Silicon Valley.Vella’s arrest and conviction are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Haag added.After serving a sentence of 59 months in prison, Vella will be on supervised probation for seven years, according to Haag’s statement. He will also be required to register as a sex offender, participate in a sex offender treatment program and pay $29,500 in restitution.Vella has been in custody since he pleaded guilty Aug. 4.

Mental health workers return to Gilroy, Bay Area

Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians are back at work in Gilroy and statewide after a one-week walk-out over a dispute about staffing levels.

Prep Wrestling: Three Cougars, one Mustangs take 1st at Bert Mar

GILROY—Four years and 64 pounds separate Christopher wrestlers Riley Siason and Alex Garcia, but they still sparred with one another heading into Saturday’s 5th annual Bert Mar Tournament finals.

Police charge two minors with attempted murder

Police arrested two minors and charged them with attempted murder for their involvement in a stabbing this weekend in Gilroy that may have been gang-motivated.

Prep Roundup: Jan. 19

The Christopher girls soccer team blanked Everett Alvarez 3-0 Friday in Salinas.

Union Pacific, explain what happened

I am not a train expert, and I won’t pretend to be, so please excuse me if my terms and expressions are more slang-like than official. I am writing in response to a recent tragedy that struck my community just two days ago. It was just nine days into 2015 when a 54-year-old Gilroy man was struck and killed by a Union Pacific railway maintenance vehicle. This accident occurred at the intersection of Masten Avenue and Monterey Road, one I frequent every day on my way to school and work, and again on my way home. I cross this intersection with my 15-month old daughter in the car. With my 8-year old siblings in the car. My mother, my father, my grandfather, my neighbors—we all cross this intersection and its railroad tracks on a daily basis. And now I can’t help but question mine, my family’s, and all the members of my community’s safety crossing these tracks. This fear is not of the trains or the maintenance vehicles, but rather, of Union Pacific itself.

Prep Roundup: Jan. 16

Christopher picked up its first win since Dec. 9 as it cruised past Monterey 3-1 at home Thursday. 

Athletes of the Week: Jan. 16

Each week we recognize one area male and female athlete for their performance on the field of play. This week's are:

Gavilan Football: Fryhoff inks with D2 National Championship ThunderWolves

GILROY—Gavilan quarterback Drew Fryhoff signed his letter of intent to play for Colorado State University-Pueblo on Saturday, and by Monday, he was already on campus.

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