Guest View: Open up schools to parents
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...
Guest View, Zach Hilton: Housing crisis deepens under current process
For the past four years I have participated at some level with California State legislative bills, first as an advocate and now as an elected official. I have spent hours listening, reading legislative files, all while writing letters of support and testifying myself. That...
Guest View, Fred Tovar: Stronger together
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...
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...
Religion: Summer and creation
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...
Guest view: Film fest brings online cinema, family fun to South Valley
By Mattie Scariot
The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival will take place virtually from Wednesday, April 7 to Tuesday, April 20 this year. This longtime, internationally acclaimed, local festival in Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista will feature fantastic films, panels,...
Religion: Ending hate and religious bias
This week, Jews around the world observed Tisha B’Av, a commemoration known only by its date, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. This year Tisha B’Av falls on the Gregorian calendar on Thursday, July 27.
Tisha B’Av is the saddest day on...
Guest view: Proud of our foundation for Gilroy’s future
Hello Gilroy! What a rewarding experience these last seven years have been. Since elected in 2018, then again in 2020, I have been dedicated to improving Gilroy’s financial stability and building a foundation from which our city services and necessary infrastructure can excel.
Whether deteriorating...
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: Food security is critical to economic and national security on Central Coast
The agricultural stretch of California’s Central Coast along the Salinas Valley is often called the “Salad Bowl of the World,” and for good reason. It supplies more than 60% of the nation’s lettuce and substantial portions of strawberries, spinach and broccoli.
But beyond the fertile...























