Opinion

To the editor, On the surface, most cities are governed by a council and a single mayor who are sensitive to and directed by the wishes of voters. Beneath the surface, most would admit, there are other forces pressing upon elected officials. Primary among...

Santa Clara County hosted a special meeting on July 12 for public comment on the Cordoba Center Draft Environmental Impact Report. Many in the crowded room ignored the purpose of the meeting and voiced “feelings” about the applicant or project. South Valley Islamic Center project...

To the Editor, I write in support of the Cordoba Center project initiated by the South Valley Islamic Community (SVIC) to provide a mosque for worship and related spiritual services, a cemetery, a separate community building for social and educational activities, and a caretaker’s dwelling...

It’s a Saturday afternoon in Gilroy, and the family is looking for something to do.  You decide to stay local and get the bikes ready for a ride. You call up the neighbors and meet on the Levee Class l Bike/Ped Trail, which is...

Dear editor, The many concerned citizens at the July 3 City Council meeting endured a very long and tedious sales pitch for Skippy Spiering’s Apartment Complex Masquerading as Agri-Tourism proposal for blighting Hecker Pass. Trouble is, the promotional talk that touched on and attempted to...

Don’t be misled by so-called “safe and sane” fireworks on this holiday, or any other. These sparklers can still blind and burn skin. They can ignite housefires and wildfires. They can kill or maim pets. The “safe and sane” designation assumes another very important ingredient:...

Nearly 29,000 San Benito County adults were registered to vote in the June 5 primary. In neighboring Santa Clara County, the number of registered voters was a record, approaching 850,000. The “turnout”—the percentage of registered voters that actually cast ballots—was considered above average for...

It is not easy getting through the permits and fee process to start a business in Gilroy compared with other cities. Local architects say it can take from one to three years to start a business with additional fees that may not be known...

South County residents get 100 percent of their drinking water from local groundwater sources. The Santa Clara Valley Water District knows how critical it is to keep this key source reliable. A new project under way in Morgan Hill will help do just that. Earlier...

This letter is in response to a May 25 letter to the editor about the Recall Judge Persky campaign. In January 2015, two grad students biking through campus found Stanford swimmer Brock Turner in the act of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a...