Community

Just over 239 years ago—on March 24, 1776 to be exact—members of the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition stopped in Morgan Hill on their way up the coast in search of an inland supply route from Mexico to northern California.On March 28, 2015, the California State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, along with scores of local and regional dignitaries and descendants of the de Anza family, gathered at the campsite on the banks of Llagas Creek to celebrate the expedition’s 240th anniversary.The CSSDAR and Morgan Hill Historical Society placed a permanent marker at the de Anza expedition campsite, which is located on an unoccupied property owned by the city of Morgan Hill. The site is now bound by the Woodland Estates Mobile Home Park, Llagas Creek and Santa Teresa Boulevard.The de Anza expedition started with a party of 240 men, women and children in Tubac, Mexico Oct. 23, 1775, according to CSSDAR Regent Sally Holcombe, who participated in the March 28 ceremony and monument unveiling. Under the leadership of Colonel Juan Bautista de Anza, the purpose of the expedition was not only to establish a supply route up the continent; it was also to establish new grounds for future settlements and enable the colonization of California.While the families concluded the expedition at Monterey, California March 22, 1776, Anza continued north with a company of 12 soldiers, Holcombe continued. Two days later they camped near what is now Santa Teresa Boulevard in Morgan Hill. From there, the band traveled up the San Francisco Peninsula and back south.During the trip, the Anza expedition selected settlement sites for what later became the city of San Jose, Mission Santa Clara and Mission Dolores (both in what is now San Francisco) as well as the San Francisco Presidio. The families that traveled with Anza settled throughout California, and the descendants of these early colonial families remain in the state, Holcombe said.Some of these descendants attended the March 28 monument ceremony in Morgan Hill.Helping CSSDAR secure the Anza expedition campsite as a historical site and placing the granite marker were the city of Morgan Hill, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Morgan Hill Historical Society and Woodland Estates, Holcombe noted.

The new owners of Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy gave staff a 3 percent raise when they took over in December, but workers and their union are unhappy with the pace of promised improvements and afraid of painful layoffs.“We have been notified of Verity’s intentions to cut positions at Saint Louise Regional Hospital and other facilities and we are very disappointed,” said Sean Wherley, media relations representative for the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.“We intend to hold them accountable to our contract language that says they must make every effort to avoid layoffs, and follow the conditions laid out by the attorney general requiring that they maintain services,” Wherley wrote in an April 5 email.Verity Health Systems was formed to run SLRH and five other health facilities when Attorney General Kamala Harris last December approved the takeover of the financially strapped Daughters of Charity Health System by BlueMountain Capital Management.The SEIU-UHW represents 1,900 non-nursing employees in the Verity system.On Tuesday, a Saint Louise employee said staffing levels at South County’s only hospital are so depleted that employees cannot take vacations, broken equipment as basic as elevators and doors go unfixed and even operating room supplies are not reliable.“We were going downhill with Daughters. Verity said they would put money in the system and we looked to them as our saviors and they have done absolutely nothing,” said the employee, who asked not to be named.She acknowledged that it might all be due to how long it takes to effect improvements in a hospital system that had been going downhill for years before the takeover.But even that does not change the fact that Robert Minkin, the hospital’s new interim chief executive officer, told the staff at a forum that 27 layoffs could be expected, she said.In a statement released last week, Minkin acknowledged the layoff process had begun. “While we continue to employ substantially all of our employees . . . we are implementing a reduction-in-force across the system to reduce labor costs immediately. Notices began last month, and implementation will likely occur over a period of weeks or months, depending on the collective bargaining process.“At Saint Louise, negotiations with SEIU regarding the planned reduction in force have been very productive even though the topic is difficult,” Minkin’s statement continued. “The relationship between management and union representatives is growing closer through the process as we work together to minimize the impact on employees.”A source close to Verity management who asked not to be named said that fewer than 27 SLRH employees will be laid off.In a just-published report about its first 100 days as the hospital group’s operational management, Verity chief executive officer Mitchell R. Creem warned that change will not come quickly, but said it is happening.“Since Verity Health System came into being just three months ago, we have begun a process of transformational change—change that is needed to ensure the Verity Health System hospitals and physicians are able to treat patients for generations to come with high quality, compassionate care,” he wrote.In addition to SLRH, which includes De Paul Medical Center in Morgan Hill, the five other DCHS facilities now under the Verity banner are Saint Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Saint Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles, O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Seton Medical Center in Daly City and Seton Coastside in Moss Beach.Creem’s comments continued: “The task of turning around our hospitals to a state of sustainable financial success is going to take time and hard work. We aren’t there yet, but we are on our way.”The report cites achievements so far, including:• A 3 percent pay raise for staff, the first in several years.• Forums to introduce staff and physicians to leadership and invite feedback.• A three-year contract for all SEIU employees, including a 3 percent per year wage increase, maintained defined contribution plan for retirement, job security protections and a groundbreaking guarantee of full-time work for most employees.• Negotiating a new contract with the California Nurses Association.  For SLRH, the report also states the Emergency Department is fully staffed, plans for upgrades to it will be finished by the fall with funding from the Saint Louise Regional Hospital Foundation and the facility’s Medicare purchasing score improved from 8 percent to 61 percent.The report notes that under the agreement approved by the attorney general, more than $250 million will be invested in the six California hospitals and the medical foundation, “thus assuring the communities served by the hospitals an opportunity to continue to pursue their missions.”

Crew members and security staff are being tight-lipped about a major Hollywood production—featuring stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn—that is being filmed on location in downtown San Juan Bautista.  Shooting for the movie, currently known only as “BC Project,” began Feb. 25 and...

Miguel Gonzalez spent 20 years building cabinets for other companies before striking out on his own and establishing his own woodworking business four years ago. He quickly found himself overwhelmed, struggling to manage schedules, finances and customer proposals without formal business training. “I was doing...

An armed suspect traveling in a stolen vehicle committed a series of vandalism and burglary incidents in downtown Morgan Hill early Thursday morning, police said.  Authorities are still looking for the suspect after officers attempted to make a traffic stop on the suspicious vehicle shortly...

A bustling local gymnastics arena filled with aspiring tumblers of all ages and skill levels has become a mainstay for California Sports Center manager/instructor Torey Cetani.

Santa Clara County Supervisors on Sept. 12 will discuss how to spend the nearly $50 million in opioid settlement cash the county will be getting to combat the fentanyl and opioid crisis.   Taking the lead on the issue is Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who said she...

My grandson, Max, is 12 years old. He has a great interest in the history of World War II. He is especially interested in the wartime in Europe and the rise of Nazi Germany—mostly in the machines of warfare.  Maybe he gets it from me....