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A group of about 30 motorcycles—many driven by military veterans and affixed with waving American flags—made their way in an organized afternoon procession from Tennant Avenue to Live Oak High School this Cinco de Mayo.The procession—the second demonstration at the high school on Cinco de Mayo—was organized by the group 2 Million Bikers to DC in response to a recent court decision that ruled against four former LOHS students who claimed school administrators abridged their freedom of speech on the campus exactly four years ago. “This is a peaceful demonstration,” 2 Million Bikers to DC Assistant State Coordinator Bill Roller, an Alameda resident, told the bikers in a dirt parking area on the side of Condit Road just before beginning the afternoon procession through Morgan Hill. The motorcycle group, which included members of other area groups such as the Patriot Guard, made its way slowly from Condit Road and Tennant Avenue, west to Monterey Road through downtown Morgan Hill and to LOHS via East Main Avenue. According to police and bystanders, the afternoon did not create traffic disruption or impact public welfare.“We are here for patriotic reasons. We believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and as veterans we have supported the freedoms of all Americans,” said Roller, adding that the group is “not taking sides” in the original May 5, 2010 controversy and ensuing legal battle. “What we do have a problem with is when you suppress one side to support the other.”Motorcycles arrived just before 2 p.m. to a throng of protesters remaining from the morning Gilroy Morgan Hill Patriots’ demonstration, a horde of media members, police and school officials situated outside the school and across the street to manage crowds and traffic. After they parked on the side of East Main Avenue, the motorcycle riders gathered where they could see the American flag atop the school’s flag pole—sticking out above the top of a temporary chain-link fence with a green curtain erected around the campus—and recited the “Pledge of Allegiance.” “It was so impressive, patriotic, humbling and appreciated,” said Patriots supporter Donna Rosemont of watching the motorcycle group arrive at Live Oak. “These are retired veterans who served our country to protect our right to present the flags here today.”She said the flags used in the morning protest were the same kind as those used to adorn military coffins and other military and veteran events.“It was a very precious presentation,” she said.The motorcycle group’s State Coordinator, Allan LaRue, also told the assembled crowd that if they planned on not being peaceful Monday, they were not welcome to participate in the rally. And as of 3 p.m. as the school day came to a close at LOHS, the bikers, early morning protesters, passersby and bystanders remained peaceful, according to police. No incidents or arrests related to the day’s events—which included a silent protest by the Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots outside the school on East Main Avenue as students were arriving—were reported, police said.The demonstrations, as well as extra security measures in and around LOHS Monday, occurred four years to the day after four former LOHS students were sent home because they declined to turn their American flag themed T-shirts inside out on May 5, 2010. The school’s staff asked the students to turn the garments inside-out due to heightening tensions on campus throughout the day, and the incident sparked a national debate about free speech that continues. Parents of the students subsequently sued Morgan Hill Unified School District, and Monday’s peaceful protest was motivated by a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in March that sided with MHUSD.LaRue said the biker group vowed to prove the organizer of yet another rally scheduled for Monday evening wrong. An organizer of the evening “Unity, Respect and Peace” protest—attorney Juan Lopez—said leading up to Cinco de Mayo that he was concerned the demonstrations by the Patriots and bikers might result in an unsafe environment outside the school. “We’re not an outlaw biker group,” LaRue said.Outside LOHS, students leaving class for the day declined to speak to the media, as did those arriving on foot in the morning. But some took to social media throughout the day to comment on Cinco de Mayo festivities occurring on campus, or to air their support for the student body that went out of its way to display school unity in the days leading up to the planned demonstrations. “So happy that we can come together and enjoy a simple day like today. (I'm) proud to be an Acorn,” Jocelyn Mendoza, a senior at Live Oak, said via Twitter.The final rally scheduled for Cinco de Mayo, organized by Lopez on the Facebook page titled “wethepeople MH,” will take place at 5 p.m. at the Morgan Hill Community Park. To read more on the Gilroy Morgan Hill Patriots’ morning demonstration outside LOHS and extra public safety measures for Cinco de Mayo, read this story. 

GILROY—Questionable calls plus hot bats equaled frustration for Gavilan and run after run for Ohlone.

Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith recently appointed two current county staff members with intimate knowledge of local government and public services to serve as deputies in his office. James Williams, 30, who started his career with the County Counsel’s office in 2010, was appointed Deputy County Executive in charge of procurement, contracting, 911 communications, office of emergency services and the supervisors’ finance and government operations committee, according to a press release from county staff. John Mills, 39, who has been chief of staff for Supervisor Ken Yeager since 2006, will serve as Deputy County Executive in charge of legislative affairs and intergovernmental relations, public safety and justice committee, probation, sheriff’s office, medical examiner-coroner, pretrial services, office of human relations and the registrar of voters starting May 5. Williams, who has already served as Deputy County Executive in charge of special projects, has played a “substantial role” representing the county’s interests in the dissolution of redevelopment agencies since the state closed the agencies in 2011, according to county staff. He has successfully argued before the California Supreme Court that dissolution of the state’s 400-plus RDAs should be dissolved and their assets distributed back to more basic services, according to the press release. Williams’ work as a fellow in the county counsel’s office in 2010 landed him a position as deputy county counsel advising the county’s finance agency and related offices, county staff said. “We are preparing to meet new challenges, while the organization is undergoing transition with baby-boomer retirements,” said Smith.  “We are fortunate to have highly capable staff members who are up to the task. James will continue to work on redevelopment issues and now his responsibilities are expanding.” Before joining the county, Mills honed his policy making skills with the city of San Jose as District 6 chief of staff, according to the press release. From 2001 to 2004, he was District Director for 24th District Assemblymember Rebecca Cohn, where he managed district office operations and designed a constituent service and outreach plan. For the last several years, during his free time Mills has served various public advisory groups including the parks and community services commission, the housing advisory committee and the economic development advisory committee for the City of San Ramon. “I’m thrilled to embark on this next chapter in my professional career with the County of Santa Clara, and to join the exemplary team in the Office of the County Executive,” said Mills. “I have a deep respect for the County’s mission from my nearly eight years as chief of staff to Supervisor Yeager, and I’m looking forward to renewing my commitment to the County in this new role.”Williams’ new salary is $182,000, county staff said. Mills’ salary will be $180,000.

Dear Red Phone,

Burglary

BIRTHDAY: Vic Lase: Vic Lase, a longtime Gilroy resident, celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by more than 100 friends and family members at Gilroy’s City Hall Restaurant on April 6. Everyone danced to the music of the 10th Avenue String Band, and Vic reminisced with the crowd about days gone by. After a money dance, which included dancing with his youngest grandson, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to the oldest member of he Lase family.

No need to rack up the PG&E bill by running the air conditioner all day long, as South County temperatures—which reached highs of 95 in Morgan Hill and 94 in Gilroy on Wednesday—will cool off Friday and into the weekend, according to meteorologist Larry Smith from the National Weather Service.

While Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, in California it is also a time when friends and family celebrate by attending parties and barbecues where alcoholic beverages are served abundantly, which means some of those party-goers end up driving home in an impaired state, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.For that reason, the sheriff’s office will join with police agencies throughout the county comprising the Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force to remind Cinco de Mayo celebrants that drunk driving should never be a part of the party plans, according to a press release from the task force. As part of a weekend Avoid the 13 crackdown on impaired driving, DUI saturation patrols will be deployed in Morgan Hill, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale, police said. Officers will be looking to identify and stop suspected drunk drivers. “Cinco de Mayo has unfortunately become one of the most dangerous days of the year, all because of drunk driving,” said Sheriff Laurie Smith. “Some people have this misconception that they can drink a little, and drive safely, but that’s just not true. Everyone needs to remember that buzzed driving Is drunk driving, and there’s never an excuse for it.” From 2011 to 2012, the number of people killed in drunk driving crashes on Cinco de Mayo more than doubled, according to the press release. In all fatal crashes in 2012, 71 percent of the drunk drivers involved had blood alcohol concentrations of almost twicethe legal limit. Authorities remind Cinco de Mayo revelers to plan your ride ahead of time by designating a sober driver before the party begins, calling a friend or taxi for a ride or using public transportation. Sober motorists can report drunk or reckless drivers by calling 911, police said. And friends are encouraged to prevent each other from driving drunk by taking their keys and helping them make other transportation arrangements. “It’s a real tragedy that 10,322 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in our nation in 2012,” Smith added. “We’ve got to put a stop to it.”The Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to authorities. The next countywide DUI task force deployment will be for the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, May 23 to May 26.

California's total population increased by nearly one percent in 2013 to 38.3 million residents, and most of the growth is happening in the Bay area.