Guest View, Ella Cozmi: Turn to the parents
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...
Zach Hilton: Project makes it easier to leave the car at home
I’d like to start off with a message to those that use active transportation and transit to commute: Thank you. We see you and support you. We are providing year-round education and encouragement through Measure B funds. We have programs and policies that promote...
Guest View, Connie Rogers: VTA housing proposal would overwhelm downtown
We are writing as a citizens’ group of Gilroy residents who are actively involved in Gilroy planning issues. Several of our members participated in both of the recent Zoom meetings with VTA staff and PlaceWorks regarding the transit-oriented development you are planning to build...
Guest View: These bells don’t jingle
When we think of monuments unfit for our current era, we draw our minds to the Confederate statues. While controversial conversations surrounding these statues are not exclusive to the East Coast, California has been largely kept out of the picture. Yet, we have a...
Guest view: Updated district master plan meets water needs
Valley Water is committed to ensuring enough safe, clean water for families, homes, farms and businesses in Santa Clara County today and for future generations.
Our agency is updating the Water Supply Master Plan, which helps identify how to maintain a reliable, clean water supply...
Guest View: High-impact measures headed for 2024 California ballot
Recently, the secretary of state’s office announced that a referendum aimed at overturning California’s landmark law to regulate wages and working conditions for fast food restaurants had qualified for the November 2024 ballot.
While it’s the first measure to qualify for an election more than...
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...
Guest View: Things about mental health everyone should know
There’s a lot going on. In the last two years, we’ve endured political upheaval, the fallout of systemic racism, the growing impact of climate change, and genuine loss and collective trauma brought on by the pandemic, which drastically altered our social lives and school...
Guest View: Push for labor laws can have negative consequences for workers
When federal government and state governments passed laws governing wages, working hours and other workplace conditions prior to World War II, agricultural labor was exempted.
Many years later, after the 40-hour work week became standard, California’s Industrial Welfare Commission decreed that farmworkers could work up...
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...





















