Editorials

Iceland, which had one of the worst epidemics of teen drinking and drug use 20 years ago, has had a huge turnaround, largely by using things we consider common sense.

The California Supreme Court last week put a sock in the argument that it’s OK for elected officials and government employees to keep citizens out of the loop by using private email and texting accounts to conduct the public’s business.

With all the money that’s spent in our county on flood prevention and control, it’s reasonable to expect that there would be some good plans to prevent a Katrina-style urban flood. Judging by what occurred to residents in neighborhoods to the north—in a modern city of a million people—it’s safe to conclude that local communities are not well prepared for large-scale natural disasters.

Water and life down the drain

I finally made it to Coyote Reservoir this past October, completing the circuit of Santa Clara County’s major water storage facilities. It’s a circuit I began many years ago.

Gavilan College is a gem for Gilroy and the surrounding counties and after hearing a report from new President Kathleen Rose we are encouraged with the way the school is growing in new courses, new buildings and a strong spirit of social justice.

Resolution #1

Don Christopher wears a crisp, dark shirt embroidered with a 60-year medallion over the pocket. It commemorates a proud achievement for a business, but dresses a walking portal to history with a encyclopedic recall, a window into an how the global agricultural revolution underwent transformation during the second half of the 20th Century, and in Don’s case, transformed a community.

Pro: Marc Perkel You know you're in a Free Country when you can burn the Flag. President Elect Donald Trump says the people should lose their citizenship if you burn the Flag. Unfortunately Trump doesn't know enough about America to understand what free speech is all about. Trump doesn't have the right to summarily override the Constitution and rule by fiat that America will have reduced rights once he becomes King. America is a country of the people, for the people and by the people. The people are the fourth and most important branch of government. Some say that our Second Amendment right arose out of the need to overthrow the government by force should the government forget that its job is the serve and not rule the people. Our right to burn the flag comes from those same principles but had the advantage of not killing people in the process. When the people can burn the flag it signifies the dominance of the people over the government. When we can't it signifies the dominance of the government over the people. Russians can't burn the flag but we can because we are a free nation. Having said that, I encourage people to not burn the flag in response to Trump. Trump is just being a troll and he wants to create division between people to distract attention away from the fact that his buddies in Russia helped get him elected. So even though you have the right, don't burn the flag because Trump wants you to. If you are a patriot and you love America and you believe Americans are better united than divided then go hug a liberal and give a conservative a big wet kiss on the mouth and show the Donald that we the people understand the American dream, even if he doesn't get it. Gilroyan Marc Perkel has become a national voice for protecting people’s rights, even the right to burn an American flag. See him debate FOX News’s Tucker Carlson here: http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/11/29/flag-burning-advocate-donald-trump-marc-perkel-government Against: Mark Turner My father was a United States Marine. He was proud of his military service and of his service to his countryman.His service helped shape his view, his values and his pride in this great nation. He instilled those values and that pride in his three boys.Growing up I can remember my Dad proudly flew the American flag in front of our house every day. He taught us to have a deep abiding respect for America's veterans and military personnel and his actions showed us to have high regard for the flag.   Throughout our history brave Americans fought to gain or to defend freedom and liberty. In each of those conflicts the American flag was either carried in, raised in victory, worn on the uniforms of the soldiers, or on the minds of those defending the Stars and Stripes, the Banner of America. Yes, I believe America is, as President Reagan used to say, the last best hope of man on earth.This, “great experiment,” which was birthed in a small dusty hall in Philadelphia nearly 240 years ago, launched a nation with immense faith, incredible responsibility and a position of high calling.Our position in the world didn't just happen, but was fought for by brave soldiers throughout our history. The same hallowed flag that men and women willingly go to battle for, drapes the casket of those who laid down their lives defending her.  Just because protestors have the ‘’right’’ to burn the flag, doesn’t mean burning the flag is right. Some see the flag as a symbol to burn, as for me, it’s a symbol that ignites a fire within me for a great nation that John Winthrop referred to as “a shining city upon a hill.”To those who take pride in exercising your free speech right as you light the flag on fire, men and women in our armed forces will continue to fight for that right, protect the homeland and make incredible sacrifices on your behalf. That in itself deserves some respect and appreciation. Although he hails from Morgan Hill, Mark Turner spends most of his life in Gilroy as President of the Chamber of Commerce and formerly, as a pastor. The Gilroy Dispatch seeks your editorials, comments and letters. Send them to Editor@Gilroydispatch.com  

Here’s how bad the sidewalks in Gilroy are: People in wheelchairs are using the streets to get around, threading through dangerous traffic and risking their lives.Some streets have sidewalks that start and stop with no logic and no ability for people to use them consistently. Businesses—including the towing company owned by City Councilman Dion Bracco—have no sidewalk in front of them. A developer shorted the width of a sidewalk it built and the city inspectors missed it. The same developer moved a soundwall, cutting six inches of space from the public which it gave it to its residents.These were some of the complaints the city’s bike and pedestrian commission brought up before the City Council last week in a stinging report that should be a wake up call for city residents. Sidewalks are like the canary in the coal mine. If a city doesn’t take care of something seemingly small, but so important to the quality of life, how can we depend on it to take care of our other needs?Leo Gonzalez, the vice chair of the commission, who has stepped up to head it, took a huge leap last week, outlining the problem and complaining about the city’s lack of response. The previous year the report was a whitewash, he says, talking about how much progress the city has made. Gonzalez is fine with the progress, but he wants residents to realize how much still needs to be done.He wants the city to be more active in requiring businesses and residents to pay for and maintain sidewalks and the city to be more strict in what it allows.For example, the city is allowing new developments without enough visitor or resident parking spaces, so that developers profit more. The result is four-bedroom homes with two spaces for cars, but more drivers. Cars end up double-parking in their driveways and blocking sidewalks or parking in cramped streets, which blocks access to bikers and endangers passengers when car doors are opened.Then there are older parts of the city, such as Ronan Avenue on the northside, which were unincorporated and brought into the city without sidewalks and are an obstacle course for people on foot, bike or wheelchair. The city never stepped in to build sidewalks there.The city is being sued by the developer of low-income housing on Monterey Street, who claims that because it is a nonprofit, it shouldn’t be required to pay for sidewalks. Gonzalez salutes the city for fighting it. How else are senior citizens in the project supposed to get around, he asks, crossing the “freeway of Monterey Street?”There aren’t even sidewalks leading up to the Monterey bus and train transit center, which is supposed to be a hub for those who want to give up their cars!“Sidewalks are very important, but they are one of the things you take for granted,” says Gonzalez, a sheriff’s deputy who lives in Gilroy.“The majority of people who use the sidewalks are younger kids, elderly people and people with disabilities,” he says. “It’s not until you are in a position like that when you can’t step over steps that you realize how important they are.”We agree with Gonzalez that a city which likes to bill itself as a white picket fence, residential area, needs to make sidewalks and bike paths a much bigger priority than it is doing.As Gonzalez says, you pay for it now, or you pay more later, when someone walking along a street with no safe area dies in an accident and the city is sued.To see the full commission report on sidewalks, go here: http://gilroy.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=16&clip_id=1466