3 CHEERS: For the upcoming Gilroy Rotary Club flower sale. Mark
your calendars for April 15. It’s a great cause
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: For the ridiculous process of binding arbitration. Gilroy taxpayers are wasting thousands and thousands of dollars on an outside arbitrator, who has no interest in the future of this city, to settle a labor dispute lodged by firefighters against the city. The process takes months, steals valuable time from city employees and interferes with the smooth operation of this city. It’s time to stop awarding luxurious benefits to public employees; it’s high time to repeal binding arbitration. It’s time for the city to take back control of its own finances. Where’s the petition to remove binding arbitration from our city charter?
CHEERS: For the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is holding fast on its demands that Olin Corp., the perchlorate polluter of South Valley’s groundwater basin, clean the water to a standard lower than Olin’s latest 11ppb proposal. The state’s health goal is 6ppb. Until that changes, that’s the standard.
JEERS: For the news that teen binge drinking in Gilroy ranks in the top 25th percentile in California. That’s where we want test scores, not our community teen booze barometer. It’s likely more than coincidence that prevention program dollars have dried up in recent years. But enforcement, clearly, is an issue. Our teens are getting their booze somewhere. It would be a reasonable request for Chief of Police Gregg Guisiana to call on the state Alcohol and Bevarge Control Department to assist with a months-long series of stings. A few liquor licenses need to be lost, apparently. Merchants and teens must get the message: Under 21 and drinking is against the law.
CHEERS: For the Gilroy High School wrestling team members, who grappled to a fourth-place finish in the California state meet, Gilroy’s highest placement ever. It’s a remarkable accomplishment. The expectations, individually and for the team, were even higher going into the state finals, so the results were met with a certain amount of disappointment. Even Hunter Collins, the amazing sophomore, felt a sting when he finished second in the state. Time will temper some of that, and the season should be remembered as glorious. And for Mr. Collins, there’s next year and the sweet possibility of pinning Louis Bland.
JEERS: For Gilroy Unified School District Trustees who have waited until the last minute to address the issue created last April when a few teachers at Gilroy High School refused to speak in the classroom in support of gay and lesbian suffering. The Day of Silence brought up serious academic issues, and now it’s a year later and the issues raised have not been addressed. The public discussion, set for March 16 at the GUSD Board meeting, and resolution are long overdue.
CHEERS: For Gilroy Police Detective Mitch Madruga, who runs Internet sting operations posing as a 12-year-old in Internet chat rooms in order to catch sexual predators. In Kristen Munson’s story Wednesday, Madruga relayed the truly scary stories about what’s out there. The bottom line: Know what your child is doing on the Internet. The threats are very real.
