SVCT’s ‘Percy Jackson Musical’ features youth cast and crew
South Valley Civic Theatre’s upcoming production, “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical,” is making its way to the stage Feb. 23 at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse.
The show is based on the popular book “The Lightning Thief” by author Rick Riordan, which was...
From My Perspective: Consuming fire
Fire...mentioned throughout the Bible with varied significance. My interest about fire peaked, recently, after a Daniel bible study. I learned about the courageous faith of Daniel’s three Jewish friends who were thrown into the blazing fire when they would not bow down to King...
Guest View: Regulators want to spend billions to reduce a fraction of water usage
Hydrologists measure large amounts of water in acre-feet—an acre of water one-foot deep, or 326,000 gallons.
In an average year, 200 million acre-feet of water fall on California as rain or snow. The vast majority of it sinks into the ground or evaporates, but about...
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: 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,...
Zach Hilton: Cleaner air for all
For the past 10 years Gilroy has been a part of the South County United For Health Leadership Team with the focus on addressing health challenges such as poor nutrition, smoking, diabetes and lack of exercise that are the highest in the county. We...
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: Unique communities stand above the rest
Part 1 of this article, “Steps needed to create a thriving community,” which was published in the May 20 edition of the Gilroy Dispatch, covered the first five common characteristics of thriving communities.
This final installment will discuss the remaining four steps and stress why...
Guest View: Don’t expand city limits for single-family homes
On Aug. 2, joined by my daughter, I spoke at the Santa Clara County LAFCO public hearing in support of LAFCO's staff recommendation to deny an application to expand the city limits in order to build more single-family homes.
What has Gilroy been doing over...
Guest View: The heartwarming return of O.D.’s in Gilroy
In the heart of Gilroy, a culinary gem has stood the test of time, serving as a beloved gathering place for locals and visitors alike. For 35 years, Mike and Rocio's family-owned restaurant, O.D.’s Kitchen, has been an integral part of the community, and...



















