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Hello Gilroy! I hope this information entices you to attend the 2023 State of the City address on April 1. There’s a lot going on and much to be proud of. I am continually honored to follow Roberta Hughan (Gilroy Mayor 1984-1992) as the...

In March 1870, the California state legislature approved an act allowing Gilroy to incorporate and become a full-fledged city. The Gilroy Advocate, our first newspaper, began publishing a weekly edition only a year earlier. The Dispatch, which came later, absorbed the Advocate in May...

City council meetings are the heart of local government. They are officially noticed by the City with a published agenda to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be aware of what’s being discussed and to witness live or recorded meetings and/or participate as...

July 28 used to be one of my favorite days of the year. On the Roman Catholic calendar, it is the feast day of a minor saint, Pope Saint Victor I, who was martyred by the Romans around the year 199 AD. Pope Victor...

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...

I am very concerned by the Gilroy Unified School District’s decision to bar parents from the elementary campuses before and after school. This decision greatly diminishes the opportunity to build relationships within the school and is detrimental to building a positive school community. Good...

Dear members of the Gilroy community, I wanted to share with you a copy of the letter that was sent to the Santa Clara County Democratic Party in response to a resolution they presented recommending removal of their endorsement. Dear Mr. Bill James and Santa...

You may hear there was a lot of conflict at the Sept. 20 City Council meeting, but I suggest a different perspective. The focus was on a time capsule, part of the Covid-postponed celebration of Gilroy’s 150th anniversary as an incorporated city. The committee that...

The summer of 2020 will always be remembered as the season of the largest, most destructive wildfires in the history of California. Our Golden State lost over 4 million acres that were ravaged by more than 8,200 fires. Thirty-one lives were lost, along with...

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...