It’s Garlic Festival weekend
… the weather is perfect, the calamari will be soaked in Gilroy
goodness and the first idol will be crowned
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
CHEERS: Well, where else would we start this week – cheers for the Gilroy Garlic Festival. As past president John Zekanowski so eloquently (can “J.Z.” be eloquent?) stated in Friday’s edition, “I hope people haven’t taken (the festival) for granted. I hope they know what they have. This is (year) 28. Not too many things last that long.” That’s especially true for a community event that runs on volunteers and one that feeds so many different organizations. Let’s keep up the volunteer spirit, let’s make sure the Garlic Festival continues to define our Gilroy grit. A special cheer to this year’s volunteer president, Micki Pirozzoli, who has a long track record of community involvement and an obvious love for the festival.
JEERS: For PG&E’s terrible lack of communication with its customers during last week’s heat storm. Be honest, and get information to your hard-working public relations team so that they can communicate with the public. Events like last week’s protracted
110-degree temperatures fall under the umbrella of critical response, and PG&E’s effort unnecessarily died on the operating table.
CHEERS: For the Gilroy Little League Softball Majors All-Star team, which is headed to Washington state for the Western Regionals for the second straight year. Remember, this is the group that won the Little League World Series title, a first-ever for a Gilroy team last year. Could a back-to-back run be in their future? It’s possible, but it’s such a tough road. We’re rooting hard for the Gilroy girls and will bring you all the news next week in our sports section.
JEERS: For the likelihood that a city ordinance requiring sprinkler systems in all new homes will be passed by the City Council. Our guess is that the projected $4,500 price tag per home will be higher. Add that to the $40,000 per home in city-dictated impact fees and, well, this might as well be South Los Altos Hills the way housing prices are going.
CHEERS: For the teachers in Gilroy Unified School District who are getting involved in shaping a math plan to improve students’ knowledge and test scores. That’s exactly the response we need to truly make a breakthrough in a tough area. Teacher-driven collaboration and commitment, if it’s sustained and peer reviewed, will make a huge difference.
CHEERS: For the weather. It’s just a perfect weekend for the festival, enjoy!
