Guest View: Successful reading skills upgrade offers a lesson for politicians
A decade ago, California’s political apparatus finally recognized a yawning achievement gap in its public schools, separating poor and English-learner students from their more privileged classmates.
While overall, California’s nearly 6 million K-12 students were not faring very well in state and federal tests of...
Guest View, Zach Hilton: Transit-oriented projects improve quality of life
I write on behalf of my Gilroy City Council Member Office, in support of Valley Transportation Authority’s Transit Oriented Development in Gilroy and in response to a recent letter from Gilroy Growing Smarter (Gilroy Dispatch, May 21).
1. Downtown Gilroy is the urban core of...
Guest View: Valley Water to discuss upcoming construction at Anderson Dam
In June, Valley Water will start building a 1,700-foot long tunnel next to Anderson Dam that will allow us to release more water safely during major storms or emergencies. This work is a significant milestone in our efforts to strengthen Anderson Dam and protect...
Facts wrong and perspective skewed in Israeli-Palestinian column
The timing of Marty Cheek's column published in The Dispatch on
Guest View: The Gilroy Garlic Festival is not over
On April 21, the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association (GGFA) released a statement that the Garlic Festival was postponed indefinitely due to prohibitive insurance required by the City of Gilroy.
We stand by that statement. Some of the talk online against the city and council is...
Preserving the Past: Don Ygnacio Ortega
It began in the little mining camp of Real de Santa Ana, Baja California. Jose Francisco Ortega had already completed 10 years in the king's army and was in 1768 the Superintendent of Osio's gold and silver mine at Real de Santa Ana.
To secure...
Rabbi Mendel Liberow: How to prevent the next pandemic
Three years ago, the possibility of a global pandemic took up about as much headspace for most people as the possibility of a global conflict: technically possible, but not really a “thing” in this millennium. But as it turns out, history repeats itself. And...
Rabbi Mendel Liberow: What I learned from a pastrami sandwich
We recently hosted a pop-up Jewish New York Deli experience. There were knishes, half-sour pickles, Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda, matza ball soup, and of course, hundreds of pastrami sandwiches on rye bread.
As I watched customers come and go, picking up their deli to enjoy...
Rabbi Mendel Liberow: How to create a violence-free world
In Uvalde, one person changed the world.
A single individual—whose motives remain unknown—chose to commit a heinous act, and young lives full of promise ended abruptly. Twenty-one people whose journeys were cut short. Seventeen more wounded. Families plunged into grief. All because of one evil...
Guest View: Heartbeat of Gilroy
It was a warm Thursday summer evening, and everything was in place. I stepped back and was completely in awe.
In previous years, I had seen the wonder of creating a venue in a matter of days, having a celebration of Garlic and family for...


















