Rough 49ers loss. This made matters worse: having to listen to Joe Buck on the TV broadcast. He’s unfathomably annoying. Can’t Sony or another leading edge TV manufacturer figure out a way to put the AM radio in the TV tuner and sync up the broadcast so you can watch the game and tune into the local radio broadcasting team? Perhaps some bright techie type in audience land has solved this problem. If so, let me know so I can pass on the good news and help stop the Buck stop here.
Buck stops at MayorAl’s desk on this one. Received the agenda for Gilroy’s City Council retreat scheduled for this weekend, read it over and let out a gargantuan sigh. They might as well add “ending the nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” “solving the state budget crisis” and “reviving a manned space mission to Uranus” to the agenda. It’s broader than a cloudless Kansas sky. It makes one wonder if that’s purposeful – i.e. let’s put so much on the plate to ensure that it’s impossible to focus and therefore can in no way be a tool for accountability in local government. The best line – brilliantly focused – came from one of our Editorial Board members who looked over the agenda and concluded: “I have a hard time imagining that when your agenda is EVERYTHING you can accomplish much of ANYTHING.”
Everything on the plate, in contrast, is good at Gilroy’s new Saigon Bistro Express. For a really delicious, soupy meal try the Pho. That, according to Miss Jenny, is pronounced “Faa” or, put another way, say “The” then replace the “Th” with an “F.” Anyway, the spicy chicken variety is a soul warmer. Good for what ails you or perfecto on a chilly day. Veggies and noodles in a tasty broth in the Ace Hardware center on First Street.
Chilly indeed, like Minnesota chilly, is what the Council sessions are likely to be after mayoral candidate and Councilman Dion Bracco’s dirty, bottom-of-the-pond fishing inquiry into mayoral candidate and Councilman Perry Woodward’s home alarm information. Bracco, who, oh good Lord and mother of irony, sits on the city’s Open Government Commission, filed a request under that ordinance to get information on Woodward’s home alarm system for reasons he staunchly refuses to explain. Ducking phone calls from our reporter isn’t going to cut it. Bracco should be held accountable for: 1. Why he made the request? (One must believed he sought dirt on his mayoral opponent.) 2. Who originally gave him that alleged dirty information he sought? His wife, Christy, has worked for the Gilroy Police Department in records. If the so-called information came from that department, this city has a big problem. At this point, if Bracco continues to refuse to answer questions, perhaps the District Attorney’s office should launch an official formal inquiry.
It’s official, there’s a new Garlic Festival volunteer president in town. Hugh “See” Davis, aka “Sparky”, is in charge of our fantasmic fest 2012 variety. Have to hand out a 21-burner salute to Chef Dave Bozzo who really put on the ritz cooking for a whole passel of folks. Lightly breaded calamari, a vegetable medley, roast pork – all tasty. San Francisco Giants fans will be in for a taste treat, too. As a prelude to the 2012 fest on Friday, June 29, the Giants will be hosting the 1st Annual Garlic Fest at AT&T Park. G-Fest Director Brian Bowe says early planning outlines this: a special ticket package for 3,000 or so will include a ticket to the night game against the Reds and early admission to the park for the Giants Garlic Fest at around 4:15 p.m. It might include a Garlic Fest themed Giants item, which Bowe is hoping can be a Herbie bobblehead in a Giants uniform. A cadre of Gilroy’s own Pyro chefs will serve up signature G-Fest food. Now that’s cool. Count me in. Maybe Bobby Baksa and Garlic Fest PR guru Peter Ciccarelli can work out a deal where festival tickets can be sold on site, too, or pre-sold with a game ticket. Regardless, it’s a good sign for the 2012 festival.
A sharp new sign is up at the Elks Club entrance on Hecker Pass. The widening of Hecker Pass meant the old sign, hoisted when the lodge was built in 1969, had to go. Caltrans forked over the cash – after three years of prodding by Elk Wayne Weller – for the new sign which they required to be solar despite a power pole being within spitting distance. Past Exalted Ruler Darryl Manson credits Jerry Everman with the nifty design work and Richard Young of Young Signs for the construction and installation. Nice work, that design should last 40 years without a hitch.
No hitch in my “No thank you” response to this press release invitation: “Please join PG&E on Monday, January 30th as we unveil new gas leak technology. Please confirm your participation.”
Two cool gardening demos to participate in at Saint Louise Hospital’s Demonstration Garden Saturday: Pruning and Training Fruit Trees (10 to noon) and Pruning and Caring for Roses (1:30 to 3 p.m.). Master Gardener Joan Cloutier leads session one, and Master Gardeners David Giroux and Marianne Sugg, longtime volunteers at the Heritage Rose Garden in San Jose, number two. Prune, learn and have fun. Info at www.mastergardeners.org/events.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com
