Red Phone needs to eat a little humble pie. After a week of
talking to longtime Gilroyans and a first-generation Italian, Red
Phone reported Friday that the correct way to pronounce Luchessa is
Loo-CHESS-a. Alas, it turns out Red Phone was wrong. Walter
Luchessa, with whom Red Phone tried to contact last week, called
Friday morning. Since the street is named after his father who
owned a dairy farm on land east of Monterey, Red Phone considers
him the ultimate authority. He said the correct way to pronounce
the street’s name is Loo-KESS-a. So, Red Phone initially got it
wrong, but in the end is pleased at arriving at the correct
answer.
Red Phone eats a little crow
Dear Readers,
Red Phone needs to eat a little humble pie. After a week of talking to longtime Gilroyans and a first-generation Italian, Red Phone reported Friday that the correct way to pronounce Luchessa is Loo-CHESS-a. Alas, it turns out Red Phone was wrong. Walter Luchessa, with whom Red Phone tried to contact last week, called Friday morning. Since the street is named after his father who owned a dairy farm on land east of Monterey, Red Phone considers him the ultimate authority. He said the correct way to pronounce the street’s name is Loo-KESS-a. So, Red Phone initially got it wrong, but in the end is pleased at arriving at the correct answer.
Early morning noise disruptive
“I thought there was some kind of city rule about loud equipment use. I thought these machines had to wait until 8 a.m.? The workers at Brownell start their engines at 6:30 a.m., and by 7 a.m. they are in full swing. Just (Thursday) morning they were cutting the road with a very loud and squeaky saw at 7:20 a.m. The neighborhood was not even notified the work was going to take place, and now I am told it will last 10 months. Do we really need to put up with this major disruption that early for 10 months?
Dear Disrupted,
Red Phone contacted Scott Barron, code enforcement officer. He said Gilroy municipal code currently regulates noise generated by construction activities in Section 16.38. The ordinance limits construction activities to the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday. It also states construction activities shall not occur on Sundays or city holidays. No violation of municipal code would be present as long as the construction activities are being undertaken during those hours.
“However based on your request, I spoke to the Gilroy Unified Facilities Director and he will speak to the construction superintendent on the site regarding these requirements,” Barron said. So good caller, other than starting engines at 6:30 a.m., it appears they are following the rules. If things don’t quiet down in the 30 minutes prior to start time, give Red Phone a call.
Some switched street signs
“Hey, Red Phone, someone switched our street sign. It should read ‘Honeycomb Lane,’ but now it says ‘Stonebridge Drive.’ We live off Watsonville Road and we noticed it (April 14). We’re trying to sell our house and if we give people directions, they’ll miss our street. What’s going on?”
Dear Switched,
Red Phone contacted Santa Clara County Road and Airports Division and spoke with Senior Traffic Engineer Sadegh Sadeghi, who said he’s heard of directional signs going missing – often stolen by thieves who sell it for scrap – but this is the first time he’s heard of a sign being switched.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard of that,” he said Thursday when advised of the problem. Friday, he called back and said crews checked the signs and determined that the sign had been manipulated. One side read ‘Honeycomb Lane,’ the other ‘Stonebridge Drive.’
Crews were fabricating a new sign Friday, and Sadeghi said it should be up and installed Monday. He said thefts have been occurring more often in the past few years, probably because of the price of scrap metal. He has a $60,000 annual budget to make new signs for those gone missing.
