So, Cy, let me get this straight, Gilroy’s lumped in with Palo
Alto, Morgan Hill’s in with Los Gatos and South County’s now going
to get representation? What we’re going to get is the proverbial
shaft.
Let’s start out with a few quotes of the week, shall we …
“I can assure you that this council is going to do the best that we can to ensure that there is no (negative) impact,” Mayor Al Pinheiro told the hopping-anxious Gilroyans in attendance as the all-powerful high-speed rail folks came to town. Uh, sorry MayorAl, but unless you can guarantee that this 220 mph behemoth travels underground from the Don Pacheco Y, quietly surfaces in Gilroy, then dives below the ground again and rises in San Martin, there are going to be negative impacts …
And since we’re on negative impacts, that leads us to the latest cowboy to burst onto the South County scene Cy “Black Hat” Mann who said: “South County has waited over 30 years to get represented, and now they will be.” So, Cy, let me get this straight, Gilroy’s lumped in with Palo Alto, Morgan Hill’s in with Los Gatos and South County’s now going to get representation? What we’re going to get is the proverbial shaft. Do the math: Morgan Hill and San Martin will have 15 percent of the population in the new District 1, and Gilroy will have less than 20 percent of the population in the new District 7. Divided, we don’t stand a chance. When voters gave our Gavilan Water District resources – can you say Uvas, Anderson and Coyote reservoirs? – to the Santa Clara Valley Water District in the late 1980s, the deal was to keep our rates lower and pay special attention to agriculture water use and rates. But the seer Cy Mann “said he hasn’t seen huge changes that have helped South County with a single Morgan Hill-Gilroy district and pointed to the rising groundwater fees as one piece of evidence.” Really Cy? Hmmm, about those rates, Cy, the current math is pretty simple: South County residents pay $275 per acre foot for municipal and industrial use, North County residents pay $520. So you think the elected representatives from Palo Alto and Los Gatos are going to look their neighbors in the eyes and say “Hey, it’s too bad you pay twice what they do in Gilroy to water your lawn or run your business …?” By the way, agriculture rates are $16.50 per acre foot which brings us to …
Jan Garrod, president of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, who sent a letter to the water district supporting splitting South County’s representation and had this to say, “Look, it’s not light-years away. They’re still going to listen to the people. The people in the community have pretty good access to the district.” First, it is light years away in terms of the difference in the communities – and that’s the point. Second, the farm voice just got muzzled. The district no longer has to listen to South County’s farmers. They don’t even have to listen to the committee people who spent months proposing three alternatives for the redistricting. Get ready South County farmers for a series of really healthy water rate increases. After all, North County’s been subsidizing your businesses for years and there is that official letter …
Lastly, our water district representative Rosemary Kamei deserves a formal letter of rebuke for abstaining from the vote on redistricting. C’mon Rosemary, even Palo Alto’s city manager Jim Keene and Mountain View’s mayor Ronit Bryant both sent letters rejecting the new districts. Well, maybe Gilroy’s lawsuit will prevail …
With the Sharks prevailing 3-1 at the time of this writing, I haven’t had any rabid text messages from my friend, avid Red Wings fan Teresa Glover. But The Cup is a bit closer, and super Sharks fan Tom Smith – he with teal-painted and logo-stamped garage door on Mantelli Drive, does have a smile on his face. But I just can’t see a sweep in the cards …
What I can see in the cards is Assistant Principal Miguel Rodriguez at Live Oak High School sincerely wishing he had handled things differently. Giving the teen boys who wore shirts featuring the American flag to school on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, the heave-ho hasn’t worked out too well. Gilroy High School’s new Principal Marco Sanchez tons of credit this year for visibility, accessibility and clarity. At GHS, Mexican and American colors were apparent on campus Wednesday. No problem. What did Sanchez have to say? “We’re not going to be sending kids home for wearing American flags or wearing patriotic colors. That’s discriminatory.” Common sense leadership is a beautiful thing.
Beautiful things: Two $1,000 scholarships for GHS graduating seniors Jasmine Butler and Geralyn Moon from Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Bay Area. As children, both received toys with their happy meals which undoubtedly led to their honors as students demonstrating educational excellence and outstanding community involvement … Seriously, congratulations to them both, thanks to Steve and Jan Peat for running successful businesses and giving back to the community and a reminder to the three Santa Clara County Supervisors who voted for the happy meal toy ban – that decision is up to the parents. Do your social engineering in your own home …
Home is where the Crab Cioppino Feed is, of course. GHS Athletic Director Jack Daley might have a few more tickets left for Saturday’s feed at Christopher Ranch. Call him at 848-7178 or email to ja********@*********ca.us. It’s a great meal and a good time.
Gilroy High’s choirs always have a good time at their last concert performance of the year, the Pops concert. This year’s theme is “love songs” and as I watched Glee! on TV the other night, I saw a fabulous duet featuring the ’70s hit “One Less Bell to Answer” and thought I should pass the thought on to Choir Director Phill Robb.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@****ic.com
