Opinion

Dear Mayor Blankley and Council Members, We ask you to enact a resolution urging Santa Clara County to deny the application for a quarry on the Sargent Ranch property. We also ask you to direct staff to make official comments on the Draft Environmental Impact...

I agree with Gilroy City Councilmember Zach Hilton that regarding the long term, Gilroy should be included in planned passenger/commuter rail improvements and service by the Amtrak Capitol Corridor and Caltrain (Gilroy Dispatch Guest View, July 28).   In the short term, we currently have an...

July 28 used to be one of my favorite days of the year. On the Roman Catholic calendar, it is the feast day of a minor saint, Pope Saint Victor I, who was martyred by the Romans around the year 199 AD. Pope Victor...

The future of the Sargent Ranch site is officially open for discussion. While I am a big proponent of property rights, I do believe that in some situations, overriding concerns can place limitations on them.  I have attended seminars on “takings” at League of Cities...

In Gilroy, we have many examples of properties where we used to not require vehicle parking many decades ago, before a majority of zoning codes have been adopted that require more land to be developed for parking. With the recent implementation of Vehicles Mile...

In addition to inflation worsening our supply chains, the throttling of 70,000 owner-operator truckers by California's AB5 and AB2257 is one heck of a monkey wrench tossed into our gearbox.  I am a 1966 graduate of the Motor Carrier Fleet Safety Supervisor School at UC...

My great-grandfather was a bishop in a small Christian denomination who got his start preaching on street corners. Crowds gathered to hear his message of God’s love. Eventually he founded a church in Dayton, Ohio’s poorest district, leading standing-room-only services. I admire my great-grandfather,...

A few weeks ago, my family and I joined the Fourth of July celebration organized by the Freedom Fest organization. As we enjoyed the parade and the beautiful weather, we met many community members and friends, all sharing in this beautiful, nearly 150-year-old Morgan...

I was a member of the South County Democratic Club for over 14 years. It was not always a pleasant experience for me, but now I must say that I am angry and confused about who they support in the Party and why.  Years ago,...

World War II changed the face of the world and all the people in it. In California, attitudes on how to view and treat mental illness were changing as well. Growing up in post-WWII California, we didn’t have homeless people per se. Of course there...