Opinion

The governor just released his revised spending plan for the California budget, and while he did not admit that we are headed towards a recession, he did acknowledge the state faces economic uncertainty.  His assessment of the state’s growing fiscal challenges brings a greater focus...

Art saves lives. Healthy communities have a healthy art scene. From Chicago to Boston to Washington, D.C., to Laguna Beach to San Luis Obispo and now to Gilroy, I have seen and participated in “the magic of art.” Gilroy is a canvas just waiting for more...

At a recent city function, a guest speaker said Anderson Dam was built in 18 months but the retrofit would take 8-10 years. It was his next comment that resonated with me: “That’s just the way it is.” I sat there thinking, nothing is...

On Jan. 17, 1984, my wife and I moved from our “small” house in South San Jose to Gilroy with our then-3-year-old son, with another on the way. Before getting married, my wife lived with her family in Saratoga and I grew up in San...

May. For the unenlightened, it’s the fifth month, a time between the seasons of “It’s too cold!” and “It’s too hot!”  To the enlightened, however, it’s our month! National Bike Month! Thirty-one days to celebrate our two-wheeled, pedal-powered pals! As in previous Mays, Cycle Guy...

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...

Recently, students at Charter School of Morgan Hill (a public school for students primarily living in the southern Bay Area) completed a three-month plant sale project. They started a business from the ground up, learning many aspects of entrepreneurship: marketing, operations, finance, human resources...

Public safety and providing opportunities for individuals leaving jail or prison can be perceived as opposing objectives. But the County of Santa Clara is building relationships between law enforcement and reentry services to create environments where residents involved with the justice system can heal...

There are times in life when we find ourselves called from seasons of relative peace and tranquility into what we know will be a time of unknown storm. Sometimes the storm chooses us. Sometimes we choose the storm.  As we navigate our way forward, we...

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...