Mayor’s Update: On the Housing Element
As a lifelong resident of Gilroy (since 1964!) whose family comes from farming throughout Santa Clara County, I’ve lived through the change of our once prevalent orchards to today’s Silicon Valley. As Silicon Valley developed and job opportunities soared, so did the cry for...
Religion: Summer and creation
Summer is my favorite season. Everything feels rich and lush. The days are long and the sunshine warms my soul. I see the beauty of so many flowers with vibrant colors. The sky seems a little bluer to me. Everywhere around me I am...
Guest view: Proud of our foundation for Gilroy’s future
Hello Gilroy! What a rewarding experience these last seven years have been. Since elected in 2018, then again in 2020, I have been dedicated to improving Gilroy’s financial stability and building a foundation from which our city services and necessary infrastructure can excel.
Whether deteriorating...
Guest View: Assembly must pass critical small business protections
When small businesses are protected in the State of California from unjust attacks, so too is the California economy. For decades, small business owners have been embroiled in litanies of legal battles that forces them to stare down the prospect of financial ruin. Why?...
Guest View: Largest corporations should pay their fair share
President Joe Biden is right. The massive tax cuts under the Trump administration turned out to be nothing more than a giant giveaway to the world’s largest corporations.
Mega corporations like FedEx, Nike, General Motors, Ford, Chevron and dozens of others have paid nothing or...
Guest View: California has a budget deficit, but there’s disagreement about how big
There’s an old adage that one must first acknowledge a problem exists before it can be addressed. It bears repeating because of a huge disagreement over the size of California’s state budget deficit.
In December, the Legislature’s independent budget analyst said the state faces a...
Guest View: California will continue to struggle with existential issues in 2024
California enters the new year with its existential issues still unresolved, and a new one—an immense budget deficit—threatens to make dealing with them even more difficult.
California has made very little progress, if any, on narrowing its shortage of housing, its levels of homelessness and...
Guest View: The path forward in 2024
2023 is in the rear-view mirror and with the 2023-2024 legislative work plan already established, the Gilroy City Council will dive right into many items that need to be completed in 2024.
Once the new City Council is seated after the Nov. 5, 2024 election,...
Spoking My Mind: Opportunities lost and found
Recently, I was gazing out the window of our VRBO, two tall flights above the narrow, cobblestone path below. Florence’s early-morning street view was certainly a lot quieter than our previous one in Rome! Off to the right, I spied two colorful bicycle wheels...
Spoking My Mind: Bicycle, come what May
May. For the unenlightened, it’s the fifth month, a time between the seasons of “It’s too cold!” and “It’s too hot!”
To the enlightened, however, it’s our month! National Bike Month! Thirty-one days to celebrate our two-wheeled, pedal-powered pals! As in previous Mays, Cycle Guy...