Community

The San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce announced that Morgan Hill’s Guglielmo Winery will be inducted into the Business Hall of Fame at their Annual Membership and Distinguished Awards Dinner Feb. 25.Each year the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce recognizes local businesses for their longtime and significant contributions to the economic and civic growth and well-being of the community, according to Cindy Adams, Guglielmo Winery’s Director of Marketing. The Business Hall of Fame recipients are companies that have made the Silicon Valley region their choice for business operations for more than 50 years. Previous recipients have included Hewlett Packard, Santa Clara University and Lockheed Martin.In a joint statement, the Guglielmo brothers George E., Gene and Gary said, "We’re honored and humbled to be recognized. It’s a true testament to the hard work and commitment of our family and employees for the last 90 years not only to produce the best wines possible but to also be a positive contributor to our local communities. Having been born and raised here and being part of the rich history of agriculture and winemaking in the Santa Clara Valley makes this honor truly special.”Guglielmo Winery, located at 1480 E. Main Ave. is the oldest continuously family owned and operated winery in Santa Clara Valley, Adams added. In addition to producing a variety of award-winning wines, the winery hosts weddings and events in their Villa Emile Event Center, and welcomes many guests in their Tasting Room and Gift Shop.Visit guglielmowinery.com for additional information.

A talented and charismatic 13-year-old teen with a passion for singing and entertaining advanced to the semifinal round of the South Bay Teen Idol 2016 competition after her performance Jan. 10 in Los Gatos.

At Brethren CrossFit, the timeless New Year’s resolution of getting in shape can become a reality for those who dare to step inside the Morgan Hill-based fitness gym stashed in the Jarvis Drive business park.

Wet weather will continue to roll through South County for the next couple of days with a brief reprieve on Friday before more rainfall is expected in the area, according to Forecaster Duane Dykema with the National Weather Service.

With a focus on youth, seniors, veterans and the community at large, the Rotary Club of Morgan Hill Dec. 19 announced the list of 2015 “Charitable Grants” recipients, who received a combined $14,500 in funds.

The year in education in Morgan Hill provided its own narrative that kept taxpayers, parents and even students scratching their heads, wondering if local elected trustees would ever be able to agree on what’s best for about 8,600 children who attend district schools.

Starting Jan. 1, 2016, Santa Clara County will become the first county in California to raise the age to purchase tobacco and electronic smoking products from 18 to 21.The ordinance, approved by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in June, applies to 17 retailers, markets and convenience stores in unincorporated areas of the county. Five of the affected tobacco retailers are located in South County. Retailers within the city limits of Morgan Hill or any other city in the county are not affected.The purpose of the ordinance is to curtail youth smoking and prevent children from becoming addicted to tobacco at an early age, according to county staff.“Our county continues to be a national leader in protecting the health of our residents, particularly our children and youth, from the harms of tobacco,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, who initiated the county’s smoking, tobacco and e-cigarette product ordinances.  “The new tobacco purchase age of 21 clearly puts the health of our youth before any special interests.”In July, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department began notifying tobacco retailers of the new requirements that prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco and electronic smoking products to anyone under age 21, and more recently through in-store education with store owners and/or employees in partnership with the Department of Environmental Health, county staff said.Ordinance requirements of the county ordinance beginning Jan. 1:• Retailers are required to post a notice of minimum age for the purchase of tobacco products and electronic smoking devices at each point of purchase. The notice will state that selling tobacco products and electronic smoking devices to anyone younger than 21 is illegal and subject to penalties;• Positive identification will be required for purchases. No retailer shall sell or transfer a tobacco product or electronic smoking device to another person who appears to be younger than 30 without first examining the customer's identification to confirm that the customer is at least the minimum age required to purchase and possess the tobacco product.“Tobacco use is still the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than 480,000 people and costing about $170 billion in health care expenses each year,” said Sara Cody, M.D., County Health Officer and Director of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.“Tobacco and e-cigarette use among teens and young adults remains a critical public health concern.”It is estimated that 90 percent of tobacco users start before the age of 21, according to county staff. Roughly 80 percent of smokers first try tobacco before age 18, and 75 percent of teen smokers continue into their adult years. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine predicts that raising the minimum age for the sale of tobacco products to 21 may, over time, reduce the smoking rate by about 12 percent and smoking-related deaths by 10 percent.Any store that violates the ordinance by selling tobacco or electronic smoking products to customers younger than 21 could be subject to fines and penalties established in 2011, county staff said. A first violation can cost a retailer $100 in fines and result in a suspension of their tobacco permit. The cost of fines and the length of license suspensions increase with each subsequent violation.The following retailers in South County will be subject to the new ordinance:• Coyote Discount Bait & Tackle,  8215 Monterey Rd., Coyote;• Mama's Market, 13305 Sycamore Ave., San Martin;• Old Gilroy Service, 2035 Pacheco Pass Highway, Gilroy;• Rocca's Market, 13335 Monterey Rd., San Martin;• San Martin Gas & Mart, 13235 Monterey Rd., San Martin.In 2010, the board of supervisors adopted three tobacco prevention ordinances to reduce and prevent tobacco use among youth and others, and reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, county staff said. One of the ordinances, the Tobacco Retailer Permit Ordinance, requires all retailers in the unincorporated areas of the County to obtain and maintain an annual permit to sell tobacco products. The ordinance also restricts future retailers from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or 500 feet of an existing retailer.In 2014, the county amended the current tobacco prevention policies to incorporate restrictions related to the use and sale of electronic smoking devices.Most recently in February 2015, the county’s ordinance code provision prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products went into effect.

A quartet of local letter carriers with more than 120 years of collective devotion to civil service and four million accident-free miles logged on the job were honored as the newest members of the National Safety Council’s “Million Mile Club.”

A beloved 19-year-old Morgan Hill athlete, who was inflicted with a mysterious illness that landed him in a coma for nearly five months, died Dec. 21, according to his brother.

One of the world’s leading experts on Mayan textiles recently visited The Granary in downtown Morgan Hill to view local architect Lesley Miles’ exhibit of handwoven Guatemalan pieces she collected during her visit to the country more than 35 years ago.Margot Schevill, author of “Maya Textiles of Guatemala” and other books, was impressed with the exhibit in the ground floor gallery space of The Granary, located at 17500 Depot Street.“This is wonderful,” Schevill said of the exhibit. “I did fieldwork in Guatemala with textiles at the same time as Lesley. The textiles have changed (since then) but these are still wonderful.”The exhibit titled “Woven Voices of Guatemala” displays “the remarkable weaving skills of the people from the Todos Santos region of Guatemala and throughout the highlands,” Miles said.The exhibit is a collection of huipiles (backstrap-loomed tops) and other handwoven pieces. Miles’ exhibit also includes vintage pieces from the 1950s, and it represents the traditional garments worn by the Mam, Ixil and Quiche indigenous people.The fibers in many of the garments were specially prepared before weaving, Miles said. Soaking the threads in cornstarch gave the weaver ease in her work and insured the durability of the garment. The different patterns and colors indicate the various regions. Like stories passed down from one generation to the next, the unique weaving skills and patterns of the different villages unified the people and created a textile lineage.The village in Primer Centro, inhabited by the people of Todos Santos, no longer exists due to the civil war, Miles said. However, as long as the integrity of the fibers and the energetic imprint from the weavers of these garments lives on, so will the stories of the people.“This display is in honor and memory of the people and the very fine weavers that once lived there,” Miles said.Schevill visited Morgan Hill from Berkeley. She did not know Miles when the two were in Guatemala at the same time.The exhibit will remain on display until Dec. 31.