Cheers to Michael “Poppy” Castelan and Rocca’s for joining forces. Beginning March 1, Castelan – a third generation fisherman and former owner of Poppy’s Fish, Poultry & More in Morgan Hill, is bringing fresh seafood such as Ahi tuna, Chilean sea bass, wild salmon, halibut and oysters and a line of all-natural, grass-fed beef to the San Martin market.
The store’s cornucopia of top-notch meats from an old-fashioned, cut-and-wrap meat counter is a mainstay in the community, drawing area shoppers with flavored Italian sausage, stuffed pork chops, chicken cordon bleu, prime rib roast, four types of marinated tri-tip steak and in-house ground burger for the better part of a century. Now, it’ll offer a wider selection of meats and fresh seafood. “We want to expand our offerings. (Mike) will be working for us and with us and bringing his personality, special touch, seafood knowledge, connections and expertise on cooking and preparation in the seafood area,” said Tom Rocca, who has been running the store alongside his brother, Dan Rocca, since 1994. “Both Mike and I are excited about this. It’s a really neat blend of our establishment and Mike’s clientele and expertise.”
Cheers to resident Ray Morris for his idea to rename Watsonville Road, which is no where near Watsonville. Running between Monterey Highway and Highway 152 (Hecker Pass), the road should have a different name, and now is the time to rename it. With the construction of the south Butterfield Boulevard extension, it would make sense to continue the name Butterfield past Monterey Road all the way to Highway 152. Sure, part of the road is in unincorporated Santa Clara County, but the city council could change the name in Morgan Hill and petition the county to do the same. It just makes sense.
Jeers to the burglar or burglars who robbed two downtown stores in less than three months. Stolen last week was a cash register from The Raggedy Heart containing $140 and a flat screen television from the Candy Parlour in December. When several fights and stabbings occurred in 2010, the police began extra patrols downtown. Perhaps it’s time to reinstitute those patrols.
Cheers to the 35 Morgan Hill students who competed in the MATHCOUNTS State Championship earlier this month in Salinas.
Marina Bireley, an eighth-grader at Martin Murphy Middle School, received the top overall individual score and will advance to the state championship March 17 at Stanford University. Andrew Liu, an eighth-grader at Britton also qualified for the state championship. Jason Rhoads, a seventh-grader at the Charter School of Morgan Hill, narrowly missed the opportunity to move on in individual competition. In the team component, Britton placed third, and just missed qualifying for the state competition. The Britton team was comprised of Liu, Alex Holmstrom, Kaden Foster and Colin Kyle.
