Community

More than 200 bicyclists, including injured veterans, gathered outside of the Gilroy Best Western Monday morning before heading out on day three of their seven-day, 450-mile ride along the scenic coast of California.

Pablo Mazon Balancio Jr., a longtime Hollister resident who became a staple on the Gavilan Community College campus in recent years while showcasing his lively personality, died at age 56.

Three days after performing on stage at the 2013 Kihncert, classic rock musician Greg Kihn will return to Morgan Hill for a “Meet The Author” book signing event Tuesday at BookSmart, located at 80 E. 2nd St. in downtown.

The Morgan Hill Library is one of several throughout Santa Clara County that will offer free legal assistance from Oct. 15 to Oct. 25 through its Virtual Lawyers in the Library Program.

Tickets are still available for Saturday’s Kihncert, which will take place at Morgan Hill’s Outdoor Sports Complex and features a full day of live entertainment including The Greg Kihn Band and former Poison frontman Bret Michaels as the headliner. With gates opening at 12 p.m. (or 11 a.m. for “soundcheck party pass” holders”) the Kihncert grounds will also host a variety of food, arts and merchandise vendors, a classic car show, and a “Kihntoberfest” beer and wine garden. The main stage will feature Bret Michaels, The Greg Kihn Band, The Tubes, Dada, The Brodie Steward Band and Tommy Tutone. The Kihntoberfest Garden Stage will also feature a full day of local emerging artists. The music goes until 11 p.m.The Kihncert is an annual South Bay tradition that started about 12 years ago. Previous Kihncert events have featured legendary acts such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Boston, Eddie Money, The Who, Steve Miller Band, George Thorogood, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, .38 Special, Yes, Foghat, Kansas and more. Kihncert tickets cost $15 each, or $95 each for the “soundcheck party package” which includes a preferred parking pass, early entry, a soundcheck party lunch and access to Kihn’s soundcheck. General parking passes can be purchased separately for $10 per vehicle, and preferred parking passes for $25. Tickets and more information about the Kihncert are available on the Web at kihncert.com. Parking will be available at the OSC lot, the Aquatics Center next door to the venue, along San Pedro Avenue and in a nearby lot on Tennant Avenue. The Kihncert is produced by Arts Related Technical Training for Entertainment Careers, ISE Entertainment and the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance. The Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Complex is located at 16500 Condit Road in east Morgan Hill. 

Friends of the San Martin Animal Shelter are hosting a fundraiser rummage sale Oct. 18 through Oct. 20 at the 12370 Murphy Avenue facility in San Martin.

With the 2013 Frys.com Open PGA tournament in full swing at CordeValle Golf Club this week – bringing visitors to South County from parts near and far – area business people are disappointed they will be absent from the event’s revenue stream when it leaves the area, especially since nobody knows when it will return.

An east Morgan Hill resident reported seeing a mountain lion in her neighborhood early Tuesday morning. The wild animal was spotted in the area of Morgan Avenue, according to the resident, who said she reported the sighting to police. “We were alerted by our dogs about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, as I looked down into our neighbor’s backyard (the) motion lights were triggered and I was surprised when I saw a mountain lion strolling near the back of (the neighbor’s) buildings,” said an e-mail sent by the resident to the Times. Mountain lion sightings are not unheard of in Morgan Hill, which is surrounded by dry, rugged hills that provide an ideal habitat for the predators, according to authorities.As recently as Sept. 20, a resident near Uvas Reservoir submitted a  photo of a mountain lion at night to the Times website. The closeup image appears to have been snapped by a stationary automatic camera.In September 2010, police used pepper spray guns to scare off a mountain lion who was resting near a backyard of a home in Holiday Lake Estates, just up the hill from Tuesday’s sighting. That mountain lion had been lying still before police frightened it away with the pepper-gun pellets. The resident reported the animal to police, who estimated the mountain lion weighed about 100 pounds. In May 2011, at least one mountain lion was confirmed to have been an ongoing nuisance for a resident and her sheep on the 100 block of West Dunne Avenue, less than one mile from downtown Morgan Hill. The animal returned to the property multiple times to feast on sheep the resident owned, which were grazing in a pasture in the resident’s front yard, according to police. Authorities even set up a trap to try to catch the mountain lion, but the effort to ensnare the feline failed, police said at the time. The mountain lion or lions killed four of the resident’s Galapagos sheep over the course of about six weeks. After she removed the surviving livestock to another location the predator was not seen again on the property. The California department of fish and game confirmed by examining the carcasses of the sheep that the deaths were the work of a mountain lion. Police said at the time that even though mountain lion attacks against humans are rare, the animals are dangerous and should be avoided. Mountain lion sightings can be reported to Morgan Hill police by calling (408) 779-2101.