The following individuals and organizations deserve either
CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS to the Silicon Valley Extreme baseball team, which has
spent the last week playing baseball games at the Baseball Hall of
Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The following individuals and organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS to the Silicon Valley Extreme baseball team, which has spent the last week playing baseball games at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The team, which boasts several Gilroyans on the roster, beat long odds to make the tournament. We’re sure the 12-year-olds on the team have enjoyed the real-life demonstration of the motto on their club T-shirts: “Believe in the dream, believe in yourself.
JEERS to the news that so few candidates have filed candidacy papers for seats on the Gilroy Unified School District school board. The candidate pool is also small for the Gavilan Community College Board of Trustees. Perhaps the steep candidate filing fees – $1,710 for the GUSD board, $3,030 for Gavilan – have discouraged candidates. Perhaps it’s the prospect of managing ever-tightening budgets that’s off-putting. Whatever the case, it’s a disheartening trend. For our democracy to operate at its best, voters need a wide variety of committed, qualified candidates from which to choose.
CHEERS to news that the state legislature finally came to a budget agreement with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, even if it was roughly a month late and featured a name-calling standoff. And kudos to the City of Gilroy’s financial wizards, who correctly read their fiscal crystal balls and accurately predicted how the state budget would look when adopted. Now, we’ve just got to hope the $103-billion budget isn’t all fiscal smoke and mirrors.
CHEERS to students who take the opportunity to brush up on academic skills this summer. Cal-SOAP, or the California Student Opportunity and Access Program, sponsored programs in South County to help below-grade-level students improve their math, reading and language arts skills. That kind of dedication will pay dividends, not only when the school year starts later this month, but also for decades to come.
CHEERS to the firefighters of the Gilroy Fire Department who worked hard to contain a fire near a warehouse at 655 Luchessa Avenue on Tuesday night. Officials say the blaze was sparked by a hit-and-run driver who slammed into a power pole. Sparks from the listing pole set nearby juniper bushes and then cardboard-filled pallets ablaze. Especially in the midst of fire season, the fact the flames were prevented from spreading to a nearby warehouse shows the dedication and professionalism of Gilroy’s firefighters. Well done.
