Memo from Pastor Kang: What do you see at night?
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...
Spoking My Mind: April lows and highs
Seasoned riders know all about lows and highs, from gears to mountain climbing to the PSI in their tires! Life is also full of lows and highs. (Let’s not to say “highs and lows,” as that arrangement leaves everyone sad.) This particular April has...
Guest View, Miguel Villa: Trade one box for another
After time with the criminal justice system in 2010, I experienced the job rejection that many like myself deal with upon re-entering the workforce. While I was more than qualified for job after job, as soon as they saw the box checked for a...
Guest View: Join the inaugural La Ofrenda Festival
La Ofrenda Festival, Gilroy’s Inaugural Dia de Muertos Festival & Wellness Fair on Oct. 28 from 1-7pm, will be an extraordinary event.
It is more than just a day of festivities; it’s an immersive experience that embraces Día de Muertos—a time when families come together...
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...
Spoking My Mind: Three cheers and the Red, White and Blue
I recently pedaled past what used to be Gilroy’s Sunshine Bicycles. Instead of all those shiny new bikes in the windows, all I saw was a lonely, little “For Rent” sign. Truly the end of an era.
Shifting gears from sad to happy…
A super Cycle...
Guest View: Delta surge, research shows it’s time to support public virtual charter schools
Like many parents across America, I watched the struggles of students, parents and teachers as the Covid-19 lockdown forced schools to adapt and find new ways of keeping their students engaged and on track. I saw the results of that evolution as well: social...
Guest View: This MLK Day, let’s honor his message
Whenever I think of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, two things come to mind: sales and whitewashing.
As a capitalist nation, we will frequently throw any social and moral awareness behind a paywall regardless of the original person’s message. The irony of an MLK sale...
Guest View: Counter hostility, bigotry with knowledge, compassion
In a powerful demonstration of unity and a commitment to education, more than 100 South County residents and local leaders, including City Councilmember Yvonne Martinez-Beltran, gathered at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center Sept. 28 for a special program centered on the experiences...
Guest view: Honoring South County’s ‘unconventional hero’
I rise today to adjourn in the memory of Marty Cheek—a beautiful soul, the publisher of Morgan Hill and Gilroy Life, an arts and science advocate, a man who loved his community, and his community loved him.
Marty was born in Hollister and was a...






















