Cheers to organizers, volunteers and the more than 80,000 who attended the 33rd version of the annual Mushroom Mardi Gras.
Event organizers gave away scholarships totaling $40,000 to 40 students this year. The festival also raised money for a “mini-grant program,” in which about $7,500 in grants were awarded to area elementary and middle schools. And the event raised an additional $16,000 in donations presented to nonprofit clubs and organizations that participated in the festival. More than $800,000 in scholarships have been awarded since 1980.
In addition to being lucrative for students, schools and civic organizations, those who attended seemed to have fun eating, dancing and drinking, and the many for-profit vendors present reported strong sales.
Looking forward to next year already.
Jeers to the Gavilan College Board of Trustees for not only making a poor decision to give President Steve Kinsella a $42,000 pay hike, but for making the decision in closed session and apparently violating the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. After Hollister’s chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens filed a complaint, Assemblyman Luis Alejo asked that the Gavilan College board re-agendize its October approval of the president’s raise in light of allegations trustees violated the state open meetings law in their decision.
Cheers to Vietnam Veteran Eddie Bowers and his team for putting on the Memorial Day celebration at the downtown war memorial. Attended by an estimated 200 people, the annual event highlights the reason the country celebrates Memorial Day – and, no it’s not just to barbecue and ceremoniously kick off summer. It’s to honor those who fought for freedom and those who continue to do so.
The raising of the American Flag, the reading of the names of those who perished and the playing of Taps brought tears to the eyes of many. And rightly so. Thanks to all who serve.
Cheers to the fact that the message of the dangers of drinking and driving is getting across, as arrests for those suspected of driving under the influence went down during the Memorial Day weekend.
From midnight Friday May 25 to midnight Sunday May 27, law enforcement agencies reported arrested 38 people on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jose Cardoza. During the same three-day enhanced DUI enforcement period in 2011, 104 DUI suspects were arrested, Cardoza added.
The enhanced enforcement efforts are part of the “Avoid the 13” campaign, a grant-funded campaign to put extra officers on the roads during holiday periods when impaired driving spikes. The next Avoid campaign will occur during the Fourth of July.
