Yikes, stripes, $4 per gallon plus at the pump … even at
consumer friendly Bozzo’s 76 on First Street.
Yikes, stripes, $4 per gallon plus at the pump … even at consumer friendly Bozzo’s 76 on First Street. Might be time to head over to Tiffany Ford in Hollister and see what’s on the lot – no Ford dealer in Gilroy anymore – and if $5 a gallon is coming our way, then my truck may have to melt into dinosaur heaven. Hey, anyone know what a fire truck gets per gallon?
Independence Day is just a few gallons away and the independent Morgan Hill group that puts on our northern neighbor’s wonderful big bang celebration is on the ball putting out PR materials. Besides the absolutely fabulous parade, there’s the street dance, the 5K run, the patriotic sing, the family bike classic and a golf tournament held at Gilroy’s Eagle Ridge. That caused me to wonder why in the flag-waving world wouldn’t John Fry step up and offer his world-famous hush-hush hideaway golf course to the Independence Day Committee. Plenty of locals would pay a premium to play the course that Mr. Fry reportedly has flown the likes of Ernie Els and Tiger Woods out here to play. Certainly the city could work out a permit for the event and a whole lot of goodwill would be created in allowing locals to play what’s touted as the “longest course in North America.”
San Jose PD served up the longest load of bull manure in North America last weekend as the city, in budget trouble up to its ears, looked at saving money in the Mineta San Jose International Airport security arena. Currently it’s SJPD’s job and it costs a whopping $11 million a year. Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith came up with a bid of $4.4 million and the SJPD’s Jim Unland, the officer’s union vice president, told the Mercury: “I think there’s an intrinsic value in keeping San Jose’s airport with the San Jose PD.” Really? I’d love to see what $6.6 million a year in “intrinsic value” looks like. The only real question in this issue is does the San Jose City Council serve the people or the police union? What say you Councilman Sam Liccardo? Stay tuned …
It’s really no surprise that plenty of people are staying tuned in to all the good things going on with the wineries in South County. Record numbers flooded the tasting rooms during Passport Weekend March 26 and 27 despite the stubborn rainy weather. Passport sales were flying out the doors reports Soliis Winery tasting room manager Richard Arioto, wineries were having to use their own glasses instead of the official glasses and the buses and limos arrived early and stayed late. The word is out. There’s a palpable sense that South County wineries have emerged into a new era. Committed ownership, skilled winemakers and down-to-earth people who really enjoy the craft are solidifying yet another reason why Gilroy is Great – great wine right in our own backyard.
A “great” storm right in our backyard, too. That’s what happened on March 24 in the Uvas watershed. The Dispatch Editorial Board hosted the top brass – now including our own Donald F. Gage – from the Santa Clara Valley Water District for our annual “feel-good fireside chat.” Afterward, Marc Klemencic, who’s in charge of watershed operations, told me that a SCVWD hydrologist labeled a half-hour rain period in the Uvas watershed a once-every-400-years event on March 24. No wonder why Uvas Creek so quickly become the mighty muddy Mississippi … Another half hour of that intense rain and we would have definitely experienced some serious flood damage in South County. But we were saved by Mother Nature … then, as I write Thursday afternoon, Mother Nature is serving up a whale of a hailstorm, the likes of which I haven’t seen since a whopper hit the Jeff Garcia Charity Golf Tournament a few years ago at Eagle Ridge and sent everyone scurrying for cover.
Covering public transportation is hardly a laughing matter to gadfly attorney Joe Thompson, a regular letter writer, caller and emailer who believes (and he’s probably right) that it would be cheaper to hire limousines to drive commuters from Gilroy to Silicon Valley than it is to fund Caltrain. If I had a magic wand, I’d get Joe to make the switch from the public transportation soapbox watchdog to the water district …
There is a grassroots watchdog group that has sprung up, and if you have a well and want to protest the Valley Water District’s groundwater charges, the folks at http://valleywaterwatchdog.org have made it easy by providing a form protest letter on the website for you to print out, fill in and send off. More than half the county’s 4,000 well owners have to file protest letters to send the charges plunging into the depths of Uvas Reservoir, but then wonders never cease …
And it’s no wonder Grandma Petersen fired off a pointed (as in sharp needle) email when I substituted an “o” for an “e” in granddaughter Garlic Queen Tiffani’s (yes, that’s with an “i”) Petersen’s name in the column last week – If she can learn to spell Midtgaard (my wife’s maiden name), then I should be able to spell Petersen. Yep, that’s more than fair … Peterson tractor … Petersen queen … think I’ve got it figured out …
Got to figure out a present for 1-year-old grandson “Buckaroo” Jackson whose birthday is Friday, April 8. Time does fly, can’t believe it’s been a year … plus, it’s like back to the future. Since I’ve had plenty of years to forget what’s cool for a 1-year-old, I get to re-learn it all over again …
Amazing again, no doubt, will be the student violinists taught by Lori Franke. The group is holding its Seventh Annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser and violin concert on Friday, April 15 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Antonio Del Buono School. Post meal, 80 – some tiny, some tall – violinists will perform from 6:30 to 7 p.m. If you need a refresher course about what arts education means in schools, trot on over, grab a great meal and enjoy the magic.
