Community

More than two inches of rainfall has dropped on Morgan Hill in the last 12 hours, according to the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s gauge on Edmundson Avenue.

PG&E’s plan to build a new electricity substation and two new transmission lines in South County has been put on hold due to a state authority’s decision to “reassess” the proposed project, according to a spokeswoman for the utility company.Opposition to the project, known as South County Power Connect, has mounted in recent town hall meetings throughout South County.But last week, the California Independent System Operator decided to re-evaluate projects throughout the state that have been “previously approved,” including South County Power Connect, said Nicole Liebelt of PG&E.PG&E officials do not know how long the CAISO’s re-evaluation of the projects will take, so the utility company will be “postponing updates on our ongoing studies, originally planned for early this year, until the CAISO has finished its evaluation,” Liebelt added.South County Power Connect has drawn criticism and activism from South County residents, businesses and public officials in recent weeks due to the project’s proposed new electricity substation.During its public outreach process on the vast project, slated to improve the reliability of the region’s electrical grid, PG&E staff presented eight possible sites for the new substation. Five of these sites were identified in rural unincorporated areas, surrounded by wineries and quiet hillsides full of wildlife, according to the project’s opponents.Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman joined a list of residents, business owners and organizations when he stated his opposition to PG&E building a substation on any of the five rural sites. Also formally opposing the rural substation proposal are the Santa Clara Valley Wineries Association, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau and the Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration organization.PG&E was slated to narrow down the proposal to a single preferred substation site and two alternatives this month. But that decision is delayed indefinitely with CAISO’s decision to re-evaluate the project.An existing substation on West Main Avenue just outside downtown Morgan Hill is one of the alternatives on the list of eight possible substation sites. Opponents of a rural location have said this site makes the most sense for a new substation.CAISO is an independent nonprofit that oversees the operation of the state’s electricity system.PG&E still has not gained approval for South County Power Connect from the California Public Utilities Commission, the state agency tasked with approving or denying such proposals.

Opponents of a PG&E substation in rural Gilroy or Morgan Hill have picked up powerful allies in their fight against the big utility, including growers and wineries.Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor Mike Wasserman said for the first time recently that he’s opposed to the five rural sites on PG&E’s list of eight possible locations in his district.And while the county has no jurisdiction over PG&E sites—that’s up to the California Public Utilities Commission—the utility is required to consult with the county, whose view the PUC can consider.PG&E says the substation and new transmission lines are needed to keep up with power demands in the region and that they continue to review all sites. The preferred site and two alternatives will be picked in February and will be announced publicly by the end of March, a spokesperson for the utility said.Residents near sites on Sycamore Avenue and Day Road, and three on Watsonville Road in South County have banded together to oppose the rural locations.They cite serious safety, well water quality and environmental concerns, including the potential impact on sensitive riparian habitat and at least one federally protected species—the steelhead trout.The county’s agricultural community appears unanimous in its opposition, too, along with a conservation group, Coastal Habitat Education and Environmental Restoration, or CHEER.CHEER formed a legal defense fund, hired a lawyer to oppose PG&E and has raised thousands of dollars for the battle, which it says it will take to federal court if necessary.“I am recommending against these five sites for the numerous environmental reasons I stated previously,” Wasserman said in an emailed response to the Times.Opponents of the rural sites have argued that only three locations in the city of Morgan Hill, including existing PG&E facilities should be considered, but Wasserman said that “at this time” he is not recommending any other sites.“County staff conducted an initial screening and numerous analyses are ongoing, and for all we know, more information may come forward and more sites might ultimately be considered by PG&E.” Wasserman said.PG&E has a small substation in the city of Morgan Hill, on West Main Avenue just outside the downtown. This is one of the sites on PG&E’s list of options for a larger substation.Wasserman is half of a two-member committee of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors reviewing the substation matter.Called the Housing, Land Use, Environment and Transportation Committee, or HLUET, it recently received a staff report recommending that only the more urban Morgan Hill sites be considered. Staff recommended that the committee forward its recommendation to the full board for consideration.David Cortese, president of the board of supervisors, is the other HLUET committee member. He said the matter will go directly to the whole board, following cancellation of HLUET’s Jan. 19 meeting. The next full board meeting is Monday, Feb. 6.Reaction among PG&E critics to Wasserman’s position was swift and positive.“That is great news, I welcome his support [and] I am greatly encouraged by this,” said Nigel Peacock of Gilroy.Peacock is part of a residents’ steering committee convened at a Jan. 13 meeting at Kirigin Cellars winery of about 50 opponents of a substation at any of the five rural country sites.Kirigin owner Dhruv Khanna is another steering committee member.“I applaud supervisor Wasserman on his position,” Khanna said, adding, “PG&E should expand use of its existing [Morgan Hill] substation.”Use of the southern locations would be “the most destructive of the environment,” with the destruction more severe the farther south, he said.In the meantime, the board of directors of the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau has unanimously agreed that the substation should not be built anywhere near the region’s wine trail.And the county’s wineries have weighed in, registering their opposition in a Jan. 5 letter to PG&E and cc’d to Wasserman.Wasserman helped create the Santa Clara County Wine Trail, the South County loop that winds through the area and along each of the rural roads cited, including the bucolic and historic Redwood Retreat Road west of Gilroy.“We are very concerned, in particular about some of the sites along Watsonville Road,” said Wineries of Santa Clara Valley president Karen Seeker of Seeker Vineyards in San Martin. The group represents 27 wineries. “A substation would have big impact not only on our wineries but also the overall nature and beauty of that area.”

Five local wineries collected 20 awards in the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, which is hailed as the largest competition of American wines in the world.

Overnight rains turning into light showers with warm temperatures throughout the daytime hours will continue to be the weather pattern this evening and over the weekend, according to Steve Anderson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Applications are now available for the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras Scholarship program, and there will be even more money for college-bound high school seniors to go around this year.

The city of Morgan Hill was issued an Overall Tobacco Control Grade of a “C” by the American Lung Association in California in its recently released 2017 State of Tobacco Control-California Local Grades report.

“Yan can cook, so can you!”

Among those taking the stage in welcoming the country’s new president Jan. 20 was Morgan Hill native Stephen Pocus, who performed with The Fryed Brothers band at inauguration festivities in Washington, D.C.Pocus, 25, grew up in Morgan Hill with his three brothers and sister. He attended El Toro Elementary, Britton Middle and Live Oak High schools before becoming a full-time professional musician, according to his mother Janet Pocus.“Since my husband is a musician and I sing, our kids grew up playing different instruments,” Janet said in an email.The afternoon of Jan. 20, after President Donald Trump took the oath of office on the steps of the nation’s capitol, The Fryed Brothers performed at John Marshall Park as part of the Bikers for Trump rally. Stephen Pocus has played keyboards and piano for the band since 2014, and has toured with the popular rock-and-roll biker band nationwide.Pocus began playing piano since he was about 5, his mother said. He played trumpet and French horn in the Britton band, as well as the Live Oak Marching Band. He also participated in the Valley Christian High School Latin jazz band, and was accepted to the prestigious California State Honors Band two years in a row, playing French horn.After high school, Stephen studied at the Jazz Institute in Berkeley for two years on a full scholarship, Janet added. After that, he went to New York to “try to make a name for himself.”He later returned to the Sacramento area, where he has played with two state bands. He has started “a few different bands,” and teaches at the Natomas Music School, Janet Pocus said.“Stephen has a natural ability to compose and transcribe music, as well as move between different genres of music with ease,” his mother said. “Latin, jazz, country, gospel, he can do it all.”The Fryed Brothers band was founded by Harry Fryed 25 years ago, “carving out a reputation as the best biker band in the world,” reads the band’s website, fryedbrothersband.com. Over the years, The Fryeds have shared the stage with music legends Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels, John Mayall, Billy Idol, David Allen Coe, Eddie Money, Marshall Tucker Band and many more.Bikers for Trump is an organization of motorcyclists that has conducted rallies and voter outreach “with the sole purpose of electing Donald Trump President of the United States,” reads their website, bikersfortrump2016.com.

More extensive design plans for Anderson Dam’s earthquake retrofitting project have doubled the overall cost and pushed the start date to 2020, according to Santa Clara Valley Water District staff’s Dec. 9 presentation to its board.