Guest View

By Carol Marques I was disappointed last week when I read a letter to the editor in the Dispatch which reinforced the negativity that is trending right now. The writer’s perceptions of the City of Gilroy lack the facts. Much of what he is concerned...

Whose town has the true Pedal Power? Meaning, the most people with wind in their hair, and with wheels turning. With young people and adults rolling in the open air.  Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition invited cities across San Mateo and Santa Clara counties to a...

Gov. Gavin Newson’s announcement in the spring to radically reshape California’s mental health care was compelling for several reasons. One is personal: I have an adult son with schizophrenia, a condition that’s impacted our lives for almost 30 years and counting.  My son is 44...

We recently hosted a pop-up Jewish New York Deli experience. There were knishes, half-sour pickles, Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda, matza ball soup, and of course, hundreds of pastrami sandwiches on rye bread.  As I watched customers come and go, picking up their deli to enjoy...

Summer is my favorite season. Everything feels rich and lush. The days are long and the sunshine warms my soul. I see the beauty of so many flowers with vibrant colors. The sky seems a little bluer to me. Everywhere around me I am...

By Hwapyoung Kang I am Hwapyoung Kang, the first native South Korean senior pastor to serve the Gilroy United Methodist Church, which was established in Gilroy in 1853. I believe I can now say that I am a 2.5-year-old Korean-Gilroyan, because I have experienced the...

If Bay Area housing stakeholders are to ever address factors that have led to construction delays and the rise in costs for constructing desperately needed housing, we must delve deeper into how a well-intentioned law has inadvertently led to difficulty in producing sufficient housing....

As communities across the country grapple with racial injustice and a broken criminal justice system that is fed by a school-to-prison pipeline, leaders are taking a closer look at the impact of school police or resource officers. More and more school districts are taking...

Spring is an uplifting time to rejoice and watch how the “garden” grows. A true time of renaissance. During Downtown Gilroy’s Art Walk, I had the pleasure of seeing how the seeds of my teaching years blossomed. Like climbing roses with the right support coupled...

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...