Editorials

Making a switch to hire an in-house city attorney – and putting the days of city reliance on a huge San Jose-based law firm, Berliner-Cohen – has the potential to be a very good thing for Gilroy.

The Editorial Board has serious concerns about the direction the fledgling “Quality of Life” sales tax or bond proposal is headed. What began as Mayor Don Gage’s idea to see whether Gilroyans would support some sort of tax increase to pay for capital improvement projects has morphed into a tax hike that would support city operations, specifically police and fire protection.

Trustees should not back away from the requirement for Gilroy high school students to log 80 hours of community service prior to graduation. That’s 20 hours a year to give back to the community. It’s a reasonable expectation, and one that builds community spirit. To paraphrase the late President John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your community can do for you, ask what you can do for your community.”

In the best case scenario Saint Louise Regional Hospital, which is on the market along with the entire group of hospitals owned and operated by the Catholic Daughters of Charity, will be sold to a compassionate organization intent on providing quality health care to South County residents. In the worst case, scenario, there would be no takers and Saint Louise would be shuttered.

The crumbling red barn on the ranch side of Christmas Hill Park may or may not be traceable to one of the area’s most prominent historical figures, cattle baron Henry Miller. While that matters to a degree, the point remains: the red barn is still a part of Gilroy history. The real question is how much the community values that history.

… Yes, Virginia, there was an editorial about the credibility of Santa Claus, appearing more than 100 years ago in The New York Sun. It was written by Francis Pharcellus Church, an assistant to the paper’s editor. A true Christmas classic, it has outlived its writer, the recipient, and the newspaper that gave it life. Its most famous phrases are often recalled and sometimes parodied.

It’s heartening to hear that the Gilroy Unified School District has solid reserves of 9 percent, that a bond re-finance saved $50 million and that union negotiations with teachers have been both realistic and productive.

The road to fiscal folly is paved with good intentions, as Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese has demonstrated.

It is gratifying indeed that our community recognizes the value of a community library – so much so that a continuation of the library parcel tax passed with a whopping 81 percent of the vote. Getting the necessary two-thirds majority to continue the $33.66 per year charge for a single family home was not a problem.

What’s becoming more and more clear is that there’s something systemically wrong with the Gilroy Fire Department. What’s wrong is exemplified by the ongoing lawsuit brought against our community for overtime pay by well-compensated assistant fire chiefs Phil King and Ed Bozzo (retired). What’s wrong is exemplified by the fact that the firefighters are the only group to ever force the city into binding arbitration. What’s wrong is exemplified by the fact that the firefighters union again hasn’t settled contract negotiations with the city.