Guest View

This weekend marks the return of a reimagined Garlic Festival—a beloved tradition that, for more than 40 years, has played a vital role in supporting our local community. Through the tireless work of volunteers and the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association (GGFA), the event has...

I am writing as a parent of two middle schoolers in the Gilroy Unified School District. Like many families in our town, we embraced distance learning (DL) wholeheartedly in the beginning of the pandemic when there was very little information about the Covid-19 virus...

California is struggling (again) to balance its state budget. Forecasting a $31.5 billion deficit for the next fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cutting $6 billion from the historic $54 billion climate budget approved last summer—and the state Legislature agrees on some $5 billion...

La Ofrenda Festival, Gilroy’s Inaugural Dia de Muertos Festival & Wellness Fair on Oct. 28 from 1-7pm, will be an extraordinary event.  It is more than just a day of festivities; it’s an immersive experience that embraces Día de Muertos—a time when families come together...

Established in 1973 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Preservation Month brings attention to historical places to instill pride, promote heritage conservation and encourage tourism. We know our historic buildings are important, but May is a great time to give them a...

In California’s fight against homelessness, the Governor just announced a $12 billion plan to end homelessness in five years. Combine that with Santa Clara County’s 5-Year Plan to End Homelessness and one might think we are making progress. But it seems the more money...

If you’re a homeowner, you’re about to pay your second installment of property taxes on your home. These taxes need to be paid by April 10. This assessment continues to grow longer, costlier and more confusing every year. This year my assessment has 18...

I’m sitting at my laptop, basking in the memories of last week’s camping trip to the Sierras. My camping trips actually began when I was still in diapers; after that, yearly camp adventures were part of my life. But, that magic age came for...

Happy New Year, Gilroy! 2024 is sure to be a big year, beginning with a milestone birthday for me in February: 60 years old. Yikes! 2023 was a year of many accomplishments for Gilroy, and 2024 shows no less promise. In 2023, we saw the...

What would make Gilroy an even better place to live? It’s not billboards, especially not huge electronic ones. But the City is considering changes in our ordinance which would allow them. The Mitigated Negative Declaration should be denied because it claims that our environment won’t...