Community

The Fourth of July has passed. The birthday is over. Our nation is officially 250 years old. I’m old enough to remember America’s last big birthday, the Bicentennial of 1976 when we celebrated 200 years. It was great. The mood was euphoric, a feeling...

Whether Morgan Hill should have joined the legal effort opposing the proposed ICE detention facility near Gilroy is a question reasonable people can answer differently. What should not be open to debate is how the City Council discusses an issue of such significant public...

It was a superb season for the Sobrato boys tennis team with a 9-5 league record and a third-place finish in the eight-team Blossom Valley Athletic League, Santa Teresa Division. Westmont finished first, with Silver Creek in second. The Bulldogs were next, with Santa...

Oakwood School has appointed Dr. Cameron Helvey as its new head of school, marking a leadership transition nearly three decades after the independent school in Morgan Hill was founded by his parents. Helvey assumed the role July 1, succeeding founding Head of School Michelle Helvey....

Re: Joe Heller cartoon, Free Lance, July 10. The smile on the beak of the stork transmits the purpose of the fly-over of the Capitol by the stork while depositing the standard “bird droppings” smiling about his delivery. The point of his beak bringing a...

Santa Clara County agricultural officials plan to begin collecting recalled grapevine plants this week that were sold at Costco stores after the plants were found to potentially harbor an invasive insect capable of devastating vineyards and other crops. Beginning the week of July 13, the...

Two Gavilan College students will receive $20,000 scholarships after being selected for the prestigious UC Pister Scholarship, a statewide award recognizing exceptional California community college transfer students. Paula Pacheco and Mia Abonce were each awarded the scholarship and will transfer to the University of California,...

Community Solutions—which provides critical human services for individuals and families who have experienced trauma and are living at risk of financial emotional or physical instability or harm in South Valley—was named a 2026 California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin.  “Community Solutions has...

Police arrested a man who allegedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl during a recent summer camp at the Morgan Hill Aquatics Center.  On June 30, Morgan Hill Police responded to a report that the young victim had been sexually assaulted by a YMCA summer camp...

The California Legislature’s failure to act has effectively ended many targeted goat grazing businesses that provide critical wildfire prevention services throughout California. As a result of the new labor requirements, our company is now required to pay each of our goat herders an annual wage...