Community

Morgan Hill-based Specialized Bicycle Components has launched a new campaign through its foundation called “Outride ADHD,” to create awareness about an alternative method to combat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Tomorrow, July 21, Morgan Hill residents can swim for free at the Aquatics Center, located at 16200 Condit Road.Residents only have to show their ID or other proof that they live in Morgan Hill to enjoy free swimming from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.This summer’s next and final day of free entry to the Aquatics Center for locals will be Aug. 18.Swimming at the center—which features a number of pools, slides and water park features—is normally only allowed for those who have purchased memberships or day passes.For more information, call (408) 782-2134 or visit mhaquaticscenter.com.

In the wake of half a decade of drought and torrential rains last winter, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is proposing an $800 million dam that will make the Pacheco Reservoir 25 times bigger and ease droughts and floods, the district says.

A town hall meeting covering the California High Speed Rail’s proposed routes through San Martin will take place at 7 p.m. July 20 at the San Martin Lion’s Club (12415 Murphy Ave.), according to an announcement from the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance.

Locating a house on the market for under $800,000 in Morgan Hill is like finding a needle in a haystack these days, and home sale prices are only on the rise, according to local real estate people.

Ron McGee, known as “Python Ron,” brought his traveling reptile kingdom to the Morgan Hill Library July 14 to give local children a chance to get up close and personal with giant snakes and other critters they’re unlikely to encounter anywhere else near their homes.The kids and their parents learned all about the albino python, black and white tegu, bearded dragon, Borneo roughneck lizard, African spur tortoise and other reptiles while getting a chance to pet and hold the animals.Python Ron’s Reptile Kingdom is based in Modesto. McGee and his animals travel the state to give educational and entertaining hands-on presentations about “the world of reptiles, spiders and insects,” according to his website, pythonron.com.The July 14 presentation at the Morgan Hill Library, 660 W. Main Ave., is one event in a summer filled with educational programs for children at the site. For more information about summer learning and events at the library, visit sccl.org/Locations/Morgan-Hill.

Local law enforcement will once again host the community for the annual National Night Out from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 1 on Third Street in downtown Morgan Hill.

Music As Language will host its “Rock For a Reason 2017: A Night at the Movies” fundraiser Aug. 19 at Miramar Vineyards in San Martin.

Morgan Hill has seen a steep increase in the number of homeless individuals within its city boundaries, according to newly released statistics from a 2017 county homeless report.

BookSmart, a family-owned Morgan Hill bookstore that has been a beloved community gathering place for more than 20 years, is in danger of being forced to shutter its doors if the owners can’t gain a sudden large infusion of financing.Brad Jones, who owns the store located at 1295 East Dunne Ave. with his wife Cinda Meister, informed his customers July 11 that he received a 10-day eviction notice from the store’s landlord. The store owes about $60,000 in back rent, but Jones said the owners actually need to bury a mound of other debts—which eat into BookSmart’s ongoing cash flow—in order to stay open. And they don’t have much time.“We need to have an angel that’s willing to finance us,” Jones said. “We’ve spent every penny we’ve made in the last 25 years in the bookstore business.”In total, the company needs about $250,000 in long-term financing to cover the back rent (about $7,500 per month) and to pay off high-interest short-term debts. Jones explained that if he could pay off the short-term debts—about $150,000 worth—the store would be on solid financial ground, and would in fact make enough money to continue to grow.“Business is profitable enough to make payments on our long-term financing, but not enough to make payments on the short-term financing,” Jones said. “Unless we can refinance the (short-term) debt, we’re gone.”Jones and Meister have owned BookSmart for 23 years. They initially opened the store in a small shop at Monterey Road and Second Street in downtown Morgan Hill, then moved to the former Depot Center shopping center at Second and Depot streets as they outgrew their former space.Last year, the owners of the Depot Center property sold the site—under a deal set in motion years earlier by the City of Morgan Hill and the former Redevelopment Agency—to make way for a mixed-use residential/commercial project that is now under construction.The new location is located on the eastern outskirts of town, in a more modern shopping center near the intersection of Dunne and Murphy avenues. Jones said while business started off slow in the current location, it has picked up steadily since they moved in.BookSmart has always been more than just a book retailer and toy store. It also has a café with ample comfortable table seating, and serves as a de facto community center for many Morgan Hill residents.It is a center for “music, arts and literacy,” according to Karen Fitch, coordinator for the nonprofit BookSmart Community Advantage, which the store created last year in order to promote arts and culture. Part of BCA’s agenda is a summer-long calendar of fun and educational workshops, art lessons, music classes and more, primarily geared toward children.One of these ongoing events is the weekly “Baby Blanket Babble-On” infant storytime, led by Fitch. The storytime takes place every Tuesday at BookSmart.A frequent attendee of Baby Blanket Babble-On is Morgan Hill resident Brenda Glimpse, who brings her 9-month-old son Hunter to each weekly story. She carefully arranges her busy work schedule just to make time for the Tuesday stories. Glimpse was also a frequent customer of BookSmart’s previous downtown location.“This store is a good environment for him,” Glimpse said.Count Fitch’s 10-year-old son Matthew among the young faithful customers of BookSmart’s too. The store is a safe, welcoming place with plenty of activities for him and other children—not to mention his preferred spot to pick up the latest novels in the “Ranger’s Apprentice” and other series he follows.“We’re trying to create a place where Matthew has caring adults in his life. This is home to him,” Fitch said.BookSmart has been in a similar, if not quite as dire, situation before. In 2014, Jones and Meister found themselves similarly overextended in debt after a store they opened in San Jose failed. They turned to their customers, who helped raise enough money to keep their doors in Morgan Hill open.Jones acknowledged the support of BookSmart’s customers Tuesday as he worried about the long odds of staving off an eviction.“The community has already done an awful lot for us,” Jones said.BookSmart will begin liquidating its inventory Friday, July 14 unless Jones and Meister can come up with the financing to stay open.