Community

Seventeen members of the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill, along with nine volunteers from Rebuilding Together, participated in the spring Rebuilding Together workday April 22 in Morgan Hill.

Morgan Hill Police reported about 10 a.m. May 12 that Akins-Qualls has been located in San Jose. Police are looking for a Morgan Hill woman who has been missing since she left home May 4.Desirae Akins-Qualls, 18, is described as an “at-risk” missing woman in a press release from the Morgan Hill Police Department.She left her residence in Morgan Hill May 4 and walked to the VTA bus stop on Monterey Road at Vineyard Boulevard, police said. Akins-Qualls was supposed to board the bus headed for San Jose.However, she never reached her school in San Jose, and has not been seen or heard from since, according to police.Akins-Qualls was last seen wearing an unknown color top with black and white lettings. She is 5-feet 5-inches tall and about 225 pounds, with long brown hair and hazel eyes, according to police.Akins-Qualls has a history of depression, but she has not made any known suicidal threats, and did not appear upset when she left home, police said. She does not have any friends in the area, but police said she “may be in San Jose.”MHPD reminds people when they’re traveling to leave specific information with someone about their destination, routes and individuals they may be traveling with.Anyone with information about this case can contact MHPD Det. Greg Dini at (669) 253-4965, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

Area residents, as well as a slew of local officials, attended the May 6

The 2017 Morgan Hill FreedomFest organizers are in need of sponsors and donations to make the weeklong Independence Day festivities possible again this July.

A group of about 40 sixth-graders from the Charter School of Morgan Hill are churning out the fundraising dollars as they learn about the importance of giving back and helping others through the local Relay For Life.

The Morgan Hill Post Office will host a Sunday Passport Fair for customers who are otherwise unable to schedule an appointment for service.The post office, located at 16600 Monterey Road, will accept walk-ins for passport service from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 7, according to a press release from the U.S. Postal Service.Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. To help speed up the process, customers can fill out forms ahead of time. Application forms and information on the costs and how to apply for a passport book and/or passport card can be found at usps.com/passport or travel.state.gov/passport.Customers can also obtain passport information by phone, in English and Spanish, by calling the National Passport Information Center toll-free at (877) 487-2778. Customers can also email [email protected] for any questions regarding passports.To apply for a passport, applicants need a valid form of photo identification, such as a current valid driver’s license, government ID or military photo ID. If you are renewing, simply bring in your old passport.

With weather of abundant sunshine and blue skies, the April 29 Morgan Hill Wine Stroll was sold out at 1,000 tickets. Organized by the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and its Wine Stroll committee, it was another great success for the downtown merchants and restaurants, the local wineries and the hundreds of wine lovers who came out to sip and shop.The Wine Stroll, an annual event held the last week of April, has been steadily gaining in popularity as over two dozen wineries in as many shops, poured a one-ounce taste of their wines.Maria De Leon, who attended the Saturday event with her husband, Eddie, and a group of friends, said, “I am so glad to take part in this event because it exposed me to great tasting local wines and restaurants in Morgan Hill.”The new downtown parking garage on Fourth Street accommodated plenty of cars and the  Wine Stroll check-in station was conveniently located on Third Street. People checking in received a logo’d wine glass, a wine carrier and a ticket book which mapped out the downtown shops and wines.A kid- and dog-friendly event, the streets were full of the young and the old alike, with families pushing babies in strollers and well-behaved dogs cruising behind. Street musicians sang and played guitars for tips. First-time sidewalk decals of the Wine Stroll logo caused a buzz, helping to advertise the event.Kicking off the Wine Stroll was Wine Week: a week-long lead-up of wine events. On Monday, Reina Carrillo of Grinds, Vines and Automobiles (GVA) Café hosted a “Meet the Winemaker’s Mixer.”“The event was intended to be a ‘thank you’ to the winemakers for their efforts throughout the year,” explained Reina. This included several wineries pouring their wines along with a buffet of finger foods.Tuesday through Thursday, price fix winemaker dinners were held at seven different restaurants in downtown Morgan Hill. Many restaurants waived their corkage fee on local wines during Wine Week.Another first-time addition to the event was the art poster contest for next year’s Wine Stroll. Posters were displayed at GVA and voted on by attendees of the Wine Stroll. Patty Curtis, a Morgan Hill artist, and her picture of two wine bottles and grapes was the winner.

Area residents were treated to a beautiful Sunday filled with culture as the 57th Annual Morgan Hill Haru Matsuri Spring Festival and Taiko Expo went off without a hitch at the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, which is located at 16450 Murphy Ave.

A local community that has become increasingly active since a U.S. immigration agency moved to Morgan Hill took to the streets May 1, this time organized by a group of Gavilan College students working tandemly with Community Agency for Resources and Advocacy Services.

Musical theater students at Gavilan College will perform the play, “Cabaret,” with a lineup of performances from May 5 through May 13.