It’s just so darn convenient when it rains overnight – as it did Tuesday – and you wake up to a freshly washed world and take a walk in the beautiful hills with your dog pals while the mist swirls overhead and vanishes into the heavens.
Would that the ill-fated “we deserve overtime pay” lawsuit filed by fire department supervisors Phil King and Ed Bozzo (retired) would have vanished, but no … despite the summary judgment that threw out the suit, they have appealed, rubbing further salt into the wound and heaping bad blood onto the relationship with the City Council and the community. The right thing, the “be-a-man” thing to do, would be to withdraw the suit and enjoy your more-than-generous salary/pension.
Looks like super chef Dave Bozzo will be enjoying some early “retirement” time, too, if the Elks don’t get off the dime and move soon to give him a new and well-deserved multi-year contract – which they should after six years of meritorious service improving the fare at the Lodge on the Hill. Also, note to the one who thinks she knows all, there are numerous people who spoke to me about Dave being treated unfairly and disrespectfully, and I waited a good while before writing about the situation until it became clear that a personal agenda might, in fact, trump what’s best for the Elks and the community. There are plenty of good people with common sense in the Elks – B.P.O.E. stood for Best People on Earth my grandfather used to say – but they have to act now and get this resolved before Dave heads off into the sunset.
Hey, he could do just that for a month or so after his Elks contract ends Dec. 30 on a new Indian Motorcycle. That’s right, the iconic American bike brand, made in Gilroy from 1998-2004, is back in full production. The bikes produced by Polaris Industries in Wisconsin are styled beautifully, the tech reviews are great and Indians are flying out of the limited number of dealerships. It’s a darn shame that Gilroyan Rey Sotelo and company couldn’t make a go of resurrecting the brand here, but that’s arrows shot from the bow and it’s nice to see the Indian brand back. BTW Dave and motorcycle lovers, the top of the line Chieftain is $23,000 and Hollister Powersports on San Felipe Road is a dealer.
The 49ers and QB Colin Kaepernick are doing anything but dealin’. What in the name of Montana-to-Rice is going on? Weird parallel between the Sharks and the 49ers this year. Both out of the gates like gangbusters, then “the troubles” begin. My buddy Ernie has a great idea for the Seattle game. Give Pete Carroll and the Seahawks noise fits and a taste of their own stadium medicine by bringing vuvuzelas, the small but mightily noisy instruments used by Brazilian fans at soccer matches, to the game at Candlestick Dec. 8. Good idea that Murph and Mac on KNBR 680 sports radio should propogate even if the game is meaningless in a few weeks. Not to worry, though, the Sharks will make the playoffs and the 49ers will win the Super Bowl next year when they began a new era playing in the Santa Clara stadium.
It’s a filthy stadium for pigeons and feral cats, but the Red Barn on the ranch side of Christmas Hill Park is still a cool old structure. Clearly, the city for years just wanted the thing to fall down – it was sealed shut in the mid-1990s – so hands could be washed of the death sentence. But it didn’t fall. So the City Council has opted at long last to demolish it. I get it, but I wonder if there isn’t a reasonably inexpensive alternative that could save it and put it to some productive use. Garlic Festival storage and exhibit hall, barn dances … seems like we as a community just didn’t try hard enough or care enough.
Care enough, please, to help out the needy by donating turkey, food, cash or canned goods to St. Joseph’s Family Center. Vicky Martin says the pantry at St. Joe’s needs 400 turkeys. The birds are on sale now, so if you can pick up a couple of 10- to 13-pound turkeys and some items to go with the traditional Thanksgiving meal, then all you have to do is make a short detour to 7950 Church St., Gilroy, CA 95020 on the way home for a drop off. It’s a little thing, but it makes a difference.
Donna and Ron Pray have been making a difference in this community for a long time and the family is welcoming a new baby born to their daughter Whitney and her husband John in New York just in time for Thanksgiving. Bennet Beatty – sounds like a baseball player or author’s name to me – entered the world on Saturday. Congrats to all!
Speaking of making a difference … Adam Sanchez and Ann Zyburra, proprietors of the Milias Restaurant downtown, have joined with the Downtown Business Association to start “Windows on Monterey.” Goal is to place Christmas trees in empty downtown buildings to liven up the street. Local groups or nonprofits will decorate a tree by a Dec. 6 deadline – 12 to 15 spots available – and the organization that receives the most votes will get a check. Cool. Ship an email to Adam or Ann at th*****************@ya***.com to participate.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com
