The following individuals and organizations deserve either
CHEERS or JEERS this week:
The following individuals and organizations deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: For the Gilroy Police Department’s new focus on traffic enforcement. Officer Joseph Crivello will step into an enforcement-exclusive post by February and he’ll be a busy guy. Meanwhile, there should be a renewed emphasis on traffic problems throughout the department. Speeders and red-light runners are commonplace in Gilroy and violators are not stopped often enough. If motorists witness more people being given tickets – particularly in problem areas – the message will travel quickly through town. Also, the streets surrounding schools at drop-off and pick-up times are traffic nightmares strewn with offenders. (Interestingly, the traffic problem around schools does not seem to have subsided at all with the advent of neighborhood schools.)
CHEERS: For Jeff Garcia. There’s no quit in the Gilroy-bred quarterback who leads the 49ers. Our end-of-season assessment: let Terrell Owens go and stick with the three-time pro bowl leader who played injured most of the season, took a pounding when the offensive line played like men in iron boots and didn’t whine once. He’s a team guy that shouldn’t have to put up with a brat like Owens.
JEERS: For the Gilroy School district which doesn’t seem to realize that the reason the parent club at the high school can’t seem to generate interest is because parents haven’t really been listened to at GHS for more than a decade. That’s the bed GUSD has made, and it’s going to take a real change in culture to flip that mattress.
CHEERS: For Mayor Al Pinheiro’s common sense comments on the fact that Gardner Family Health Network is opening a clinic smack in the heart of downtown. Like the mayor, we opposed the location for the clinic. But, as Pinheiro told reporter Eric Leins, “Downtown may be mixed about it, but the reality is they’re going in and now is the opportunity to work together.” Hopefully, the downtown business owners will take the same tact. Maybe the worries will be unfounded, and the increased foot traffic will feed local businesses.
CHEERS: For Gary Walton who refurbished the downtown building next to Old City Hall and did it with flair and an eye for continuity with its grand historic neighbor, Old City Hall. The two buildings with the stone facades look wonderful as a “couple.” Cheers, too, for the new owners of Old City Hall who have dressed up the building with holiday decorations.
JEERS: For the lack of flu vaccine available to the public. This needs to be rectified immediately. Meanwhile, stay healthy by eating right and getting enough rest this holiday season. And, just in case, keep that recipe for grandma’s chicken soup or posole close at hand.
