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Dear Red Phone,

Coming like a football season freight train is the annual Gilroy Foundation Day in the Country auction on Saturday, Sept. 14. Co-chairs Sal and Annie Tomasello are working on the plan around the theme, “For the Love of the Game” which will highlight the athletes from Gilroy’s past which made it to the big time, like quarterback Jeff Garcia and boxer Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and PGA professional George Archer, winner of the Masters golf tournament in 1969. Local wine tasting, appetizers, a sit-down dinner prepared by Top Chef Dave “The Dish” Bozzo. There’s a silent auction and a live auction hosted by Don DeLorenzo and Jim Habing with plenty of sports tickets and memorabilia on the block. It’s $100. Tickets online at www.gilroyfoundation.org  and there’s also a super raffle for a Baseball Getaway for Two to Cooperstown which includes a visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame, a game day parade and an old-timers game on gorgeous Doubleday Field. Now that’s a classic prize.

My favorite time of the year (besides spring, Christmas and White Sale) is right now. The air is crisping up - or maybe that’s just my hair in all this heat. Why is it when you’re ready for woolen jumpers, frosty pumpkins and high school football games (OK, I’m never really ready for that last one), the weather suddenly goes berserk and hits us with triple digit temps?

After my last column detailing the finger-lickin’ goodness found at Gilroy’s famous Garlic Festival, I was contacted by the program director at Live Oak Adult Day Services, who asked if I’d be interested in swinging by to visit the seniors and share the details.

Q: Bratford, our Morgan Hill fieldhound (aka: mutt), broke a toenail two months ago. It really didn’t hurt him, but the new nail grew out crooked and it points up in the air. It looks goofy, and I’m more worried that it might get bumped or caught on the carpet when he runs around. Can this nail be trimmed and straightened to grow normally again?

Although there are many mental health care providers in the South Valley, one of them may be unique. Besides the individual and couples therapy provided, Discovery Counseling Center (16275 Monterey Road, suite C) reaches out to the community through many free programs.

Last time we talked about the bidding slam. It is more exciting because the stakes are very high, requiring a total of 33 points between your two hands … or a really fantastic distributional fit (37-plus points for a grand slam). The real key to slam bidding is communication between the two partners. One of the better tools to get to game (or slam) is the 2-over-1 convention, which is recommended by Larry Cohen and Audrey Grant.

Drives me crazy to hear something like I did this morning – that the stands for the fans are uninhabitable at Gilroy High’s Garcia-Elder Stadium – this, just before the start of football season for GHS, Christopher High and Gavilan College. This, after the school district had to move graduation ceremonies – those are in June by the way – because of these same “unsafe” bleachers. What got done in between? This is yet another example of why I strongly believe that school district’s need to hire an on-staff project management director that has a background in construction – someone who can tell b.s. from reality and can come up with solutions. The person would be independent from, but wori with the facilities manager who is in charge of maintaining and operating facilities. What school districts need to do is: 1. Form an advisory facility committee composed of members from the business and construction world; 2. Hire a staff administrative-level project construction management person to oversee all facilities projects. That person would negotiate contracts and have, as clients, the taxpayers and the school district. If districts would make those changes, a lot of money would be saved and a lot of battles avoided. And, really, when you’re talking about spending millions of dollars in bond money and getting the best bang for the buck, doesn’t it make perfect sense?

Before I get to the main part of my column this week, I want to mention another of one of my favorite festivals. The sounds, sights and especially the tastes of Italy return to San Jose this weekend at Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. Marking its 33rd year, the Italian Family Festa, organized by the Italian American Heritage Foundation, is a fantastic opportunity to taste many “homestyle” Italian foods in one setting. Almost all the vendors sell items derived from family recipes.