Guest View: Eligible voters need protections
With our nation’s democracy facing existential threats, California’s duty to protect and empower every eligible voter in the state has never been more urgent. Although we often lead the nation with innovative laws designed to defend voting rights, thousands of eligible voters continue to...
Guest View: State keeps expanding school curricula while key subjects need improvement
Recently, the attorney general’s office completed paperwork for an initiative that, if qualified for the 2024 ballot and approved by voters, would require California’s nearly 6 million public school students to take a course in personal finance.
The proposal, by an organization called Californians for...
Mayor’s Update: Sharks ice rinks making progress
The long-awaited draft Term Sheet to bring Sharks Ice to the Gilroy Sports Park is ready to be presented to the Gilroy City Council at our meeting on Monday, June 20. To participate, you may either attend the meeting which will include public comment...
Guest View: Moving Gilroy forward in 2022
To my council colleagues, city staff and the public, I am very excited to be a part of the many changes coming to Gilroy this year. I will continue to bring the views of my constituents to these meetings, as well as my own.
We...
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: Are we invisible?
We are people of all genders, of Ohlone, Black, Filipino, Portuguese, Mexican/Chicano, Chinese and Japanese heritage. We have grown prunes, sugar beets, tobacco, apricots, tomatoes, chili peppers, onion, corn, cucumbers, raspberries, grapes, cherries, and run dairy farms. In 2020, 43 different languages were spoken...
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...
Guest View: Gilroy advances mobility options
In Gilroy, we have many examples of properties where we used to not require vehicle parking many decades ago, before a majority of zoning codes have been adopted that require more land to be developed for parking. With the recent implementation of Vehicles Mile...
Spoking My Mind: Resolutions, rural rides and a reception
A Happy New Gear to you! May 2023 add mile after mile of wonderful new bicycle adventures! Three items for you as we kick it off:
1. Is “A New Me in ’23” one of your resolutions? Weight loss, more cycling, new distance goals: whatever...
Guest View, Carol Marques: Housing shortage or affordability problem?
At a recent city function, a guest speaker said Anderson Dam was built in 18 months but the retrofit would take 8-10 years. It was his next comment that resonated with me: “That’s just the way it is.” I sat there thinking, nothing is...




















