On our little cul-de-sac we have a Fourth of July parade that harkens back to “the good old days.” Young and old participate, and multiple generations of families show up. At eight years in the neighborhood, we’re the newbies on the block. But my grandchildren have participated the last few years, so even the newbies are spanning the Independence Day ages. Decorated vehicles, animals and people – accompanied by decked out wagons, bikes, horses, donkeys, tractors, tricycles, scooters, dogs, chickens, Big Wheels, roller skates and more – show up to socialize, enter a category like “Bikes Under 5” and parade the street led by Master of Ceremonies Nick Zukowski. It’s a blast, a hoot, a slice of Americana pie and it reminds me of how proud we all should be to live in this great country.
Proud I am of my tomatoes so far. The Italian half of my heritage is responsible for the raised garden beds in my backyard filled with a few tomato varieties. In the grocery store, 99.68 percent of the tomatoes are tough-skinned and bland as a rubber band. So, you either find a good local farm stand – like LJB on Fitzgerald Avenue – or a reliable farmer’s market provider or you grow your own. There’s nothing like a juicy tomato fresh off the vine bursting with flavor. Besides, though it sounds a bit odd, the scent, the taste and the whole growing experience brings back fond memories of younger days with my grandfather Angelo in the garden and my mother, Ellen, who also relished her summer garden.
Garden hose … it almost always says, “Guaranteed not to kink” on the package. Never purchased one that doesn’t kink or crimp, but if anyone knows of a garden hose that really doesn’t kink, I’d love an email on the brand and the place to buy it.
Well worth it, too, is a cool dip in a lake on a hot summer day. And we have so many lakes/reservoirs nearby – there’s Anderson, Coyote, Uvas, Calero and Chesbro. Yet, the all-knowing, all-defying-common-sense Santa Clara Valley Water District says, “No Swimming Allowed.” Maybe Dennis Kennedy, former Morgan Hill mayor, and now Santa Clara Valley Water District Board member, can crack that silly policy … let’s review, you can wakeboard, run a gas-powered boat in the water, throw in bait while fishing, watch deer wade into the water and witness all kinds of birds swim around, but humans aren’t allowed to swim. It’s “bizzaro world” stuff. If the SCVWD would go jump in a lake, the South County world would be a better place.
Better place Gilroy will be in 20 years if City Administrator Tom Haglund and the Council take a strong stand on public pension reform. Our city has made some strides on public pension reform in recent years, but it’s an ever-growing problem that needs to be dealt with on a short- and long-term basis. Currently, there are 16 former city employees who are members of what’s been tabbed as the “$100k Pension Club.” They are as follows in order with month/annual payments listed: Greg Giusiana, $12,504.65 month/year – $150,055.80; Debbie Moore, $12,251.64 month/year – $147,019.68; Mike Dorn, $11,997.15 month/year – $143,965.80; Jay Baksa, $11,969.61 month/year – $143,635.32; Lanny Brown, $11,188.37 month/year – $134,260.44; Gil Horta, $10,845.43 month/year – $130,145.16; John Robinson, $10,798.95 month/year – $129,587.40; Clay Bentson, $9,972.16 $119,665.92; Art Amaro, $9,476.81 $113,721.72; John Sheedy, $9,284.88 month/year – $111,418.56; David Bozzo, $9,144.40 month/year – $109,732.80; Joe Ramirez $9,034.23 month/year – $108,410.76; Dan Crumrine, $8,989.73 month/year – $107,876.76; Charles Ellevan, $8,844.50 month/year – $106,134.00 and Rhonda Pellin. $8,890.37 month/year – $106,684.44. The overly generous system has to be scaled back significantly. Otherwise, there’s a nexus point coming where cities will be severely cash-strapped or forced into bankruptcy unable to provide even the most basic services. Oh, and for comparison, there are only five on the city of Morgan Hill’s list.
Pretty cool that there were 289 on the list to be sworn in as United States citizens Tuesday at Gilroy Gardens. Great idea, such a memorable location – a beautiful place for a beautiful ceremony. Said Mayor Don Gage: “It’s an honor to have the ceremony here. We have a lot of immigrants in our community since we are a farming community. I’m very proud of them because it takes a lot of effort to get here. I couldn’t be happier for them and to have it here at Gilroy Gardens.”
No Garden of Eden for Giants fans in 2013. The fantasy of winning three world championships in four years appears to be over … it’s that sick feeling you get listening to them scuffle through loses that tells me it’s so. Good news though: First 49ers pre-season game is less than a month away, Aug. 8 against Denver. Just like that it will be football season.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at
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