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AROMAS—Over the last few years, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero has lived up to his nickname, but not in the sense that he’d like. While he’s maintained his boxing spirit, Guerrero has been more like an apparition with his appearances in the ring being few and far between.

It’s all about the economy and health and wellness of Gilroy. I appreciate how the council has “lived within its means” and pleased that the city council members’ decisions have not built the city to resemble what is happening in our neighbor to the north, Morgan Hill. I understand the need to keep at-risk youths entertained and off the streets to make for a safe community and I am thankful the seven elected officials sitting on the council dais are making it a priority.

If I were to rate Sierra Vista Open Space Preserve based on my first visit, I would award it just two stars out of a possible five. But that was four years ago and things have changed.

Eevery weekday morning before the official start of school, 26 students at South Valley Middle School in Gilroy take extra time to make sure their shirts are tucked in, their belts are adjusted, and their sweaters are straightened. Why? Because they know their teacher, Carmen Kotto, expects the best from them.

On a warm spring afternoon 22 years ago, my dad and I sat chatting on the lawn outside a clinic where my mother, who suffered from early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, was having an MRI. My dad had been her caregiver for nearly 10 years. During a lull in our conversation, he took his worn leather wallet from his pocket and, from between two old photographs, he pulled out a lock of hair. “I think it’s time I told you about Helen…” he began.

ST. LOUIS—Jeff Garcia is back in the National Football League.

It was so nice to hear all those little stories, all were gems to my ears about life with Natalia.

At each of the three major off-ramps into Gilroy (1st Street, 10th Street, and Monterey) there is so much weed build-up, uncontrolled shrubs, trees are not trimmed or cared for, and rubbish that blows around and finds its way into our waterways. Also, the road surfaces, signage, and striping are in dire need of attention. Why doesn’t the city or county agencies take care of these “Gateway” areas into Gilroy? These off-ramps give the first impression of our town, could be more attractive, but are degraded by this lack of care and attention. Are there ANY plans in the numerous grand plans that Gilroy has put out there to address this?

Fifteen years ago, Cecilia Anaya fought cancer but lost the battle when she was just 11 years old. Throughout her journey, the girl and her family benefited greatly from Jacob’s Heart, a local organization that provides support services to cancer patients and their families.

Our neighbor to the north, the Cilty of San Jose,  has a population of 1,016,479 (Jan. 1, 2015) while the City of Gilroy’s was 48,820 (April 1, 2010)  and is currently above 53,000.  This is a huge population difference. In size (area), the City of San Jose is 179.97 square miles, while the City of Gilroy is 16.156 square miles. Again, a huge difference.But, in reality, San Jose and Gilroy are similar in many ways.A recent, eye opening San Jose Mercury News editorial  (May 1,  “San Jose needs to stop bleeding industrial land”), warned its readers and its elected leaders about a coming attack on San Jose’s General Plan for “land use”  by developers whose only desire is to develop more profitable residential housing at the expense of industrial and commercial development that brings in much more sorely needed tax revenue to the city’s general fund (property tax revenue is a net negative for the city’s general fund).San Jose, like Gilroy, needs a significant increase in tax revenue to repair its streets and sidewalks, hire more police officers, and address many other serious needs.San Jose’s problem is that it does not have enough land to develop the significantly larger industrial base it needs to generate the needed tax revenue, and what is left, the residential developers want, which would only make San Jose’s problem worse.The incentives for the residential developers are huge as any planning changes they can convince the city council to approve will allow them to rake in millions.  Industrial land is dirt-cheap and if the developers can convince the council to change the general plan, the developers can flip the land for a 300 to 400 percent profit...a pretty good deal for a day’s work, you think?Fortunately, while Gilroy is much smaller in size and population, it does have a significant amount of agricultural and undeveloped industrial land.The residential developers know this and they want it for their own needs. Just like in San Jose.  Does this make them bad people?  No!  This is what they do for a living.  They are builders and they hire people who are in need of  good paying jobs.But, the real question  is, “is this good for the citizens of Gilroy and the future of the city?” and the answer is a resounding...No!Gilroy needs more tax revenue to repair its streets and sidewalks, maintain its parks and create new ones, hire more police and firefighters, purchase firetrucks and build more stations in the future and improve the downtown business district and turn it into a viable destination for those who live in Gilroy and hopefully draw tourists.To be able to do all of this and more, Gilroy needs to focus more on commercial and industrial development and less on resi-dential development.  We cannot allow the residential developers to suck our land use dry for their purposes.The future of Gilroy’s financial viability could very well depend on the actions the city council takes on the General Plan on May 18.Ronald L. Kirkish is a retired semiconductor engineer and 31-year Gilroy resident. He can be reached at (408) 309-9390 or [email protected]. He wrote this piece for the Gilroy Dispatch.