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Bringing her two worlds together, chemistry and visual art, Morgan Hill artist Nineveh Parker experiments with various media, solvents and detergents to create diverse patterns with color. After eight years working in the biotechnology industry creating polymers and surfaces, she brings the lab onto the canvas. For more information, visit ninevehannyparker.com.

A pair of retiring Gavilan College employees—Rachel Perez and Natalie Miranda-Juarez—were recognized at the July Board of Trustees’ meeting for their more than four decades of service in education.The duo received framed certificates of recognition handed out by Daniel Dodge, aide to California Assemblymember Luis Alejo, who represents the assembly’s 30th district.Perez, who most recently served as Interim Dean of Student Learning and Engagement, has held various positions at Gavilan since 1993, including Director of Extended Opportunities Programs and Services, Director of Special Projects, and Acting Vice President of Student Services.The long-time leader developed Gavilan’s Noncredit Education Program, establishing the Computer Technology Center in partnership with Gilroy Unified School District, where adults learn English for the workplace and citizenship, and prepare for GED exams, according to a press release from Gavilan College staff.Prior to joining the Gavilan College staff, Perez—who holds a Master of Arts degree in Educational Counseling and Student Personnel from San Jose State University as well as a California Standard Teaching Credential in Secondary Teaching—worked as a teacher, counselor and administrator for GUSD.Juarez—who holds an Associate of Art degree in Liberal Arts from Gavilan—was hired in 1972 as an Administrative Secretary while still a Gavilan student. She has also held Gavilan positions as Financial Aid Assistant, Instructional Secretary, and Senior Departmental Assistant. For the past seven years, she’s worked as a Program Services Specialist at Gavilan’s Hollister campus.

BIRTHDAY: Bethel Tipton: Bethel Tipton, a Hollister resident of nearly 70 years, celebrated her 100th birthday June 30, 2014 at a luncheon at Ridgemark. More than 30 members of her family—spanning four generations—gathered in her honor. She has resided at Mabe Northside for a number of years.

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Betto’s Bistro had a ribbon cutting April 15 to open up its doors at 17385 Monterey Road in Morgan Hill. The restaurant features classic Italian cuisine with homemade pastas. Catering and a 40 person banquet room are also available. Joining Randi Bara and Norberto Hernandez were various members of their staff, and the ambassadors, board and staff members of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce. 

When Terry and Brit Ratto purchased Santa Clara County franchise rights for Texas-based custom burger joint MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, the local couple was determined to open their first location in Morgan Hill.However, convincing the lone star state big wigs at corporate headquarters that South County’s quaint, up-and-coming hamlet was the right spot was no easy task.“I thought it was absolutely perfect for the community because there’s a real need for it,” said Terry, sitting at a table alongside his wife inside the nearly completed MOOYAH restaurant located at 255 Vineyard Town Center. “Morgan Hill has some really nice restaurants and then fast food chains, but there’s not a lot of options in between.”The Rattos—who fell in love with Morgan Hill after moving south from Los Altos more than three years ago—will open the doors to their very first MOOYAH locale with a July 14 grand opening. The restaurant hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.“We love this community,” said Brit, a self-proclaimed gym rat who was turned on by MOOYAH’s healthier options of turkey and black-bean veggie burgers along with a variety of salads. “This is a great community. We love it, so we were adamant about opening our first one here.”The Rattos were so “bound and determined” that they put together a presentation—which included a Google image aerial view of Morgan Hill and the surrounding area—and then flew to Dallas, Texas to convince their corporate partners.They were given the go-ahead in August 2013 and signed their lease four months later at the 2,100-square-foot site located next door to Starbucks Coffee Company. Terry—who worked the previous 25 years as a commercial general contractor—acquired the proper building and health permits, and they started “Mooooooving in,” as the sign on their storefront reads.“We’re starting to get more excited each day,” said Terry, an horse-lover who owns nine competition cutting horses at his home that includes a small acreage off Watsonville Road. “Two weeks ago, we were more nervous than excited. But people keep stopping by asking when we’re going to open.”After opening the Morgan Hill store—where they have employed a local crew of 35 workers—the Rattos plan to open a second MOOYAH restaurant in Los Gatos by December and then a third location in South San Jose.“We really wanted to hire locally. We’ve got a great crew of young adults,” said Brit, who first had to eat at MOOYAH before allowing her family, which includes four children and six grandchildren, to be part of the franchise. “It had to be a restaurant that I would eat at.”Brit’s favorite is the veggie burger on a wheat bun (freshly baked daily) with lettuce, tomato and MOOYAH sauce, while Terry’s preference lies in a MOOYAH burger with Pepperjack Applewood Bacon, MOOYAH sauce, lettuce, tomato, jalapenos and fried onion strings as well as a side of sweet potato fries.“Nothing is pre-made. Everything is made to order,” said Terry, describing MOOYAH as a custom-burger place that provides a fast-casual, family-friendly experience. “Even the french fries, nothing stays more than two minutes.”MOOYAH, which has its own satellite radio station and short-circuit television channel inside all its locations, welcomes its younger patrons to draw with colored chalk on a “Moodle Doodle Board” while parents wait for their meals. There is a MOOYAH smart phone app and customers can place orders online for pick-up.The franchise, which opened in Plano, Texas in 2007 and now has close to 60 restaurants, is also known for its 100 percent real ice cream shakes that come in a variety of flavors, including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M&Ms, Cookie Dough and Strawberry Banana.“We strive that this is going to be a great experience for you as a guest and for the people who work here,” said Terry, who also invested in a five-star San Francisco restaurant called Spruce. “We researched different businesses and about a dozen franchises before we visited a MOOYAH in Texas and decided that it was the business for us.”

Attendance was light for the first screenings of “Rocky IV” at the newly reopened Granada Theater July 3, but the nonprofit that recently reopened the downtown Morgan Hill venue has no shortage of plans to draw film, art and culture enthusiasts to the theater over the coming months. The Morgan Hill Granada Preservation Society is determined to show that the once thriving movie house can become “Morgan Hill’s cultural center” before the city and other regulatory agencies make a final decision on the former Redevelopment Agency property’s fate, according to the nonprofit’s film advisor Ed Milkow. The volunteer-run organization kicked off this effort just before the Fourth of July with screenings of 1985’s “Rocky IV,” which continued throughout the holiday weekend. The group chose the Sylvester Stallone boxing flick not only because its patriotic themes coincide with the celebration of America’s birthday, but also because it’s a “comeback movie.”“The Granada is kind of like that,” Milkow said. This week, the theater will present screenings of the 2013 international independent art film “Ida.” Future plans include renovating one of the Granada’s two theaters to accommodate a stage for live acts, a dance floor and improved seating, according to MHGPS General Manager Don Wapenski. The live side of the theater will include upgraded sound and lighting as well, and could feature musical acts, comedy shows or even live theater productions. The only currently active theater was recently upgraded with a 9.2-surround sound system and a digital projector, Wapenski said. The theater’s operators plan to keep the venue “fun and festive” with theme and costume events, such as a “zombie night,” where those dressed in costume get special treatment for a showing of a classic zombie movie. “And all the humans come in after the zombies,” Wapenski said. They plan to open the theater for seniors’ events, community and corporate events, screenings of other culturally iconic films and even a “bad movie night,” Wapenski said. Milkow added, “The main thing is we want people to come in and have a blast.” With an integrated audiovisual system that can give audience members or live presenters control of the picture and sound, the venue could even be used for school or other educational presentations, Wapenski explained. Churches could use the Granada on Sundays. “We’d like to support the community like that,” Wapenski said. The MHGPS has a temporary lease on the Granada Theater, which was closed as a full-time movie theater in 2006. The theater and the property on which it sits, including the Downtown Mall and Morgan Hill Cigar Company, is owned by a trust controlled by Santa Clara County and other taxing entities. The Morgan Hill RDA purchased the property in 2008, but it transferred to the trust when the state shut down the RDA in 2012 and forced local agencies to dispose of its property and other assets in a structured manner. The city plans to begin requesting proposals from developers for the Granada and Downtown Mall property later this year. City officials are in the process of marketing the property to a developer who will build a project in accordance with the Downtown Specific Plan—a multi-story development with retail or dining on the ground floor, with residences and offices upstairs. For more information on the MHGPS and to see a schedule of upcoming events, go to morganhillgranada.com.

Noel Temores Jr. has always been a passionate athlete, it just took him awhile to find his niche. He tried football and baseball, but didn’t feel he was being challenged enough individually.