Opinion

It’s been three years since the board of directors of California’s 113 community colleges enacted its “if we don’t build it they won’t come” policy, and the results are plain depressing.In an effort to save money, the directors decided to prohibit students from repeating classes they’ve already taken, which to a bean counter might sound like a great way to cut expenses, but to someone who believes that the community should have access to community colleges, it’s plain stupid.Known as the “yoga mom’s regulation,” board members thought that too many community members were taking physical education, yoga and arts courses for $100 a semester, when they should be paying that each week to take courses in the private sector.So, cut they did and some 200,000 students who went to the schools for lifelong education dropped out. In the words of California Community Colleges Board of Governors President Scott Himelstein:“Budget cuts have forced us to ration education, and we are currently turning away hundreds of thousands of students from our campuses that want to pursue a degree, transfer to a four-year university or get job training so they can get back into the workforce or advance in their current career. It doesn’t make sense for us to allow students to take the same physical education course four times on the taxpayer’s dime while we are closing our doors on those looking for a degree or seeking job skills.”The problem is having to “ration education” at colleges that are supposed to serve the whole community.Himelstein says the taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for people repeating courses, but the taxpayers are the same people who want to repeat the courses and continue learning for life and refining their skills, whether they are in music, arts, writing or yoga. They are already paying for them, often generously, by passing big ticket bonds to keep the education flowing.Attendance at Gavilan College has dropped since the cutbacks from a high of 9,064 in 2009 to 6,152 in the current semester. Some of the cuts include all of the non-credit courses for seniors, which were once the definition of a diverse college serving the entire community.And students at all of the schools aren’t happy with the limits. The public college system was one of the greatest things about California and now officials are letting it go to seed.Be warned: voters in some communities are starting to rebel. Santa Cruz taxpayers, who usually approve every bond measure the community district asks for, turned down a $310 million measure to improve old buildings at Cabrillo College. Who can blame them? Why add more to your tax bill when the school has closed its doors to you? You can use the money on private classes, as the state community college board suggests.We see this as the beginning of the end of one of the greatest educational systems in the world, unless voters get involved and urge their local districts to restore the lifelong learning opportunities that they had.The academic senate at Victor Valley College passed a resolution asking the state to return to the way it was, claiming that lack of repeatability “severely limits” the ability of students of visual and performing arts build the portfolios they need to transfer.The limits were put in place when schools were turning away students, but that isn’t the case now, they said. They are asking the state to restore programs that contribute to a skilled progressive workforce, “fostering a creative, innovative citizenry, capable of critical thought; promoting community, vision, health and lifelong learning; nourishing a diverse, multi-generational context in which all Californians can learn and grow.”The economy has improved since the dire times of the Great Recession. It’s time to stop the severe austerity and make our community colleges great again.

What a difference a mile makes.

“This has been the best year yet,” said Christine Vatuone, CEO/executive director of pregnancy resource center Informed Choices, one of 25 community-based organizations distributing information at Party in the Park at San Ysidro Park on Aug. 12.Featuring a climbing wall, jump house, live DJ music, dance performances and an assortment of games and prizes for the kids, the final installment of the fourth annual event series aimed to beat its previous attendance record set last month, when 650 people strolled, cycled or drove to the eastside 9-acre park.“Two hundred and fifty was our largest attendance before,” said Brian Hames, coordinator of the event, which aims to create safe, community spaces in neighborhoods with a history of gang activity.“We want to raise awareness and provide information on the many resources that are available to people,” said Hames, adding the event was modeled after Los Angeles’ Parks After Dark and is similar to Viva Parks! in San Jose, a series of free public events that focus on health and wellness resources, physical activities, and community engagement.In a half-circle of tables around the handball courts were representatives from agencies including CalWorks, Planned Parenthood, Santa Clara County Re-Entry Resource Center and clinics providing free health screenings.Getting a jump on Attendance Awareness Month in September, employees of Gilroy Unified School District were also on hand, reminding parents to get their children back to school on the first day of classes and promoting “Challenge Five”—encouraging students to have less than five days of absence per year.Jennifer DelBono, GUSD program administrator for school climate and student attendance said the district is looking at ways of partnering with local businesses to incentivize student attendance and hopes to launch a program soon.“We have such incredible partnerships in Gilroy,” she said.Gilroy resident Michael Martinez said he’d been going to Fifth Street Live downtown on Friday nights this summer but decided to come to the park with his seven-year-old son, Brayden, now smiling widely with his new balloon hat and pirate sword, after seeing a flyer at soccer signups.Over at the face-painting booth, Hollister residents Emma Torres and husband, Gabriel, with their three kids, Emily, Andrew and Bianca, looked through their goodie bags.“There is a lot of good information about the local nonprofits,” said Emma, who saw the event notice in Out and About magazine and decided to check it out. “We all run into people that could use this type of help and if we have these resources, we can pass it on to them.”

We can’t help thinking of Gertrude Stein’s sentiment about trying to find her old Oakland home, “There’s no there there,” as we drive into Gilroy.

What an incredible quarter century I have spent working for these community newspapers. Twenty five years spent learning, teaching and contributing to producing your local newspaper. I had several mentors over the years, who each had many more years here than I have racked up. They taught me so much about each department, how it works and how they all fit together. Thank you to each and every one of you (you know who you are) for investing in me and making me better. Much of my work was behind the scenes, planning and organizing, making sure everything came together on deadline.  I loved every minute of it!

Have you ever wondered if a doctor was prescribing you an expensive drug rather than a cheaper alternative because of payoffs he or she has gotten from the drug companies?

Have you ever wondered if a doctor was prescribing you an expensive drug rather than a cheaper alternative because of payoffs he or she has gotten from the drug companies?

 

We were horrified to learn recently that the Republican Convention in Cleveland next month will be a gun-free zone, violating the Second Amendment and endangering thousands of delegates to the threat of Radical Islamic Terrorists or Democrats.The party of Guns and God is mysteriously turning its back on one of its biggest planks: speak loudly and carry a big assault rifle.We are particularly surprised that the presumptive nominee would lay down while the Obama-run FBI forbid firearms during the nominating process. Donald J. Trump made his strongest pro-gun statement after the murder of 49 Orlando night clubgoers.“If some of those wonderful people had guns strapped right here—right to their waist or right to their ankle—and one of the people in that room happened to have it and goes ‘boom, boom,’ you know that would have been a beautiful, beautiful sight, folks,” Trump told supporters a rally in Texas.We say, yes, Donald, yes. Americans need to be armed everywhere they go at all times, preferably each with her or his own AR-15 or comparable military assault weapon. There are already more guns in this country than people, but we so rarely see them out and when we do, it’s usually in the hands of crazy people or law enforcement, who could at any time turn against the country and enforce communism on the great unarmed masses.The only way to stop gun violence is with more guns—this we have realized after an onslaught of pro-gun messages following the most recent of 1,000 mass murders over the past four years since 20 children and six adults were shot to death in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.Think of how different the world would be had those children been trained and armed. More guns. We need more guns. After all, guns don’t kill people. Terrorists kill them with box cutters, bombs or guns. But if we were all armed, they would cower. They would be defeated. We would be safe.We are even more surprised that the Cleveland convention will be a gun-free zone, and as such, a fun free zone. Back in January, Mr. Trump made a strong statement about such zones in a Burlington, Vermont, campaign stop.“I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and—you have to—and on military bases,” he said. “My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. There’s no more gun-free zones.”Uhh. Mr. Trump, sir, why are you going to be nominated in a gun-free zone? Are you breaking an election promise even before the election?Stop the madness, please.The Senate took aim and hit the target this week, murdering Democrat proposals to put restrictions on weapons. They shot down all four proposals, to limit assault weapons sales, to require stronger background checks and to prevent terrorism suspects who aren’t allowed to fly on planes from buying guns.It’s a slippery slope. The minute you stop suspected terrorists from buying guns, you might encourage them to use bombs instead. Give them their guns, and give us guns, too. There are more of us, right?Back to the Republican Convention, which should be the best political entertainment since Chicago in 1968: We say let the people bring their weapons and bear them proudly. Can you imagine if a terrorist infiltrated the hall and pulled out a gun and 30,000 people pulled out their own weapons and fired away? That would send a message all over the world. Don’t mess with us. We are armed and willing to shoot first.

Downtown Gilroy’s getting a bookstore and the town is abuzz.Crazy, right?Maybe not.When we heard how excited people were about a used bookstore relocating here, we shook our heads. A used bookstore? Is that going to save our struggling downtown? We already have a Barnes and Noble in the big box store ghetto on the other side of the freeway. And let’s face it, while we love books, they are not the big force driving business they once were. They are like the hit rock band that now plays county fairs. Lovable, but not in their economic prime.But then we had a vision.A day doesn’t go by when we don’t hear someone say that Gilroy’s downtown doesn’t have the class of Morgan Hill’s and they wish we had the outdoor chain restaurants that have taken over our northern neighbor and made it a destination. We’ve watched it happen in Campbell and Willow Glen, which have grown from sleepy, antiquated downtowns to hot night spots.And, yes, Gilroy could do the same. Why it hasn’t is a mystery.But maybe it shouldn’t. Maybe there’s another tack. Maybe we should play on our strengths.Gilroy has the genuine feeling of an old, quaint town with locally owned businesses you can’t find anywhere else.Maybe we need to celebrate that and market it more. We’re not just the Garlic Capital of the World, which is a big drawing card, but we are also one of the last real California towns. We keep it real. Yeah, we have chain stores, but we keep them on the other side of the tracks.Take a stroll on Monterey Road downtown and you will find an archery store; a funky, lovable bowling alley with a restaurant that serves food from around the world; a great Mexican bakery and several Mexican restaurants that are like a trip south of the border; a sewing shop; a pottery studio and store; two exquisite American food restaurants in historic buildings; an auction shop; a high-end kids resale shop; garlic specialty shops and restaurants; a classic car shop; amazing antique stores; and soon, a high-end used bookstore.It’s all a great start and it should be marketed better.The owner of Garbo’s Collectibles once told us that he took out ads in Los Angeles for his business and was shocked by how many people came here, loving the city’s old California feel. What many locals see as underdeveloped and embarrassing, outsiders praise for its authenticity.So what else can we do to improve it?We need more public spaces downtown. Mayor Perry Woodward is pushing for an amphitheater where the billiards hall is now and that’s a good step. But what we really need are places to bring kids to after they see a concert or play there.We need a museum downtown, or an attraction that will bring in families. We need more benches and more shade, so people can stroll and stop. We need more outdoor dining. We need more ice cream and pizza shops for families.We also need someone with the vision to bring it to life. We’ve got the history, the local shops and plenty of empty storefronts to fill. We need more activities to attract people downtown, like farmers markets and concerts. We can be proud of the good things we already have. We have a vibrant mix of local shops and cultures, Mexican and American, that is pure and real and not tacky.This isn’t Napa or Disneyland. It’s an agricultural and historical city with things you won’t find anywhere else.