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A dozen business owners and representatives from the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce have been formulating a gameplan to introduce a more business-friendly alternative to the controversial sign ordinance passed by city council on April 7.

In my last column, I talked about walking your dog on the many paths and hills in our communities. A reader reminded me that I mentioned using Benadryl for allergies, but didn't talk about the dose. In this column, I thought I would talk about the dosages of over the counter antihistamines you can safely use on dogs, as well as the reasons you might use them.

Originally scheduled to take place in front of Live Oak High School the morning of May 5, the “WeThePeople MH” group’s Unity, Peace and Respect Rally—a celebration of Mexican culture and a promotion of cultural awareness—shifted to the early evening at Community Park behind the Centennial Recreation Center.Organizer Juan Lopez, an attorney and parent of a current LOHS student, said his group decided on the change in venue after taking the pleas of other LOHS students to heart during a pair of community meeting leading up the Cinco de Mayo holiday.“I didn’t want to be part of the problem,” said Lopez, whose objectives of uniting the Morgan Hill community, protecting the students and celebrating his Mexican heritage were all achieved in a different, more suitable manner. “Every ethnic group is represented here.”The holiday celebration at Community Park in west Morgan Hill featured traditional Mexican art, music and dance performances. A number of local residents—including students, parents and local public officials—spoke to the crowd, promoting peace and tolerance.Lopez, who organized the event through a Facebook page titled “WeThePeople MH,” pointed to the 100 or so attendees who gathered in a large circle surrounding a group of native Aztec dancers—known as Kupalli Izkalli—sporting ornate and colorful dresses to open up the last of three scheduled demonstrations in Morgan Hill on the Cinco de Mayo holiday.The two previous public demonstrations—one organized by the Gilroy-Morgan Hill Patriots in front of LOHS starting about 8 a.m. and another involving the 2 Million Bikers to D.C. motorcycle group starting about 1:30 p.m.—went off without incident. City and school district staff noted those participating in the day’s events were generally well behaved and respectful of the students.“I was so proud of this community,” said Morgan Hill Unified Superintendent Steve Betando at Monday night’s event. “Morgan Hill is so rich in culture and you just enriched it today.”Morgan Hill Police Captain Shane Palsgrove told spectators that people from outside Morgan Hill tried to divide the community, but instead “the opposite effect occurred and made us stronger as a community.”Parent Diane Hernandez-Bettancourt, of Morgan Hill, stood front and center in the crowd with an American flag, a Mexican flag and a Mexican balloon in hand as various other speakers made their statements.“I wanted to come out here today because I saw outside influences portraying Morgan Hill in a negative light,” said Hernandez-Bettancourt. “This rally shows exactly what I knew Morgan Hill was about—which is a deep respect for our culture and, most importantly, that those Patriots were the most unpatriotic group.”Her daughter, McKenna Bettancourt, a student at Jackson Academy of Math & Music, held a sign that said “Proud to be Mexican-American.” She said coming to the rally was a way to “support our culture and others in our culture.”Eric Acedo, 23, a 2008 LOHS alumnus, convinced his friend Alan Reyes to join him at the peace rally to show their support for uniting the community.“I think there’s a rise in a culture that’s very divisive in Morgan Hill as seen by the two protests in front of Live Oak today,” Acedo said. “I wanted to come out and support unity of all cultures and ethnicities.”Among those in attendance at the Monday night event were MHUSD trustees Claudia Rossi and Rick Badillo, Santa Clara Valley Water District Director Dennis Kennedy and Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer. 

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.