Editorials

Amidst current discussions and controversy about the merits and challenges of the new “Core Curriculum,” a less dramatic yet equally important issue is the trend away from teaching “cursive” in our schools. As a retired teacher and current voter, genealogist and sports fan, I think the loss of the ability to write (and therefore read) cursive is another step in the increasing “depersonalization” of our culture with potentially disastrous consequences. I was further reminded of this as I went to vote by mail, where, on the envelope, you are told emphatically to sign your name (not print it) for your vote to count.

School is back in session, and our local athletes are back in action. Tuesday’s Central Coast Section Sportsmanship game between Christopher and San Benito High Schools (see B1 for the story) serves as a reminder of what prep and collegiate sports are all about. Our local athletes are learning about more than just offensive and defensive strategies; they’re learning how to work with others, remain humble in victory and gracious in defeat.

The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce's Board of Directors recently voted to oppose the half-cent general-purpose sales tax measure in a 9-1 vote—a gutsy and important move.

In May of 2013, Mayor Don Gage first introduced the idea of a “Quality of Life” bond measure for the November ballot. “It's not for education, it's not for police officers. It's for capital improvements,” he told a Dispatch reporter.

Awaking to a garlic monsoon was a welcome start to Monday morning. And the clove’s fragrance isn’t just in the air; it’s on the horizon for the 36th Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, and along with it, some digital enhancements.

Summer is the time of year that most of us flock to lakes, rivers, and ocean beaches to enjoy the numerous recreational opportunities California's waterways have to offer. When the weather heats up, most of us want to cool down and one of the most popular recreational activities is boating.

The votes are tallied, and the anticipation builds: Who will Gilroy Dispatch readers select as this year’s best of?

There were quite a few firsts bringing a finale to this school year. With graduation commencement ceremonies drawing to a close last week, it’s always assuring to know that the graduating classes of 2014 will leave behind a legacy that no Gilroy students ever have. Combined, graduates from Gilroy High School, Christopher High School and Mt. Madonna Continuation School contributed more than 50,000 volunteer community service hours. Setting the groundwork for youth community involvement is a great way to fill a need with volunteer organizations as well as provide a foundation of stewardship, giving everything from nonprofits, service groups and churches an extra helping hand. Kudos to a class of young volunteers.

More than 2,400 years ago, the Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to fallen soldiers that still applies to the more than 1 million Americans who have died in combat: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”

Attorneys with the Gilroy’s legal firm of choice, Berliner-Cohen, and the city administrator are penning their way around state law and holding up multiple efforts by the Gilroy Dispatch to obtain the names of six public safety retirees who claimed an industrial disability within the past five years.