Community

When local landscape artist Janet Vanderhoof was walking home from a Christmas family dinner in 2011, she heard an inner voice tell her: “You’re going to paint 100 paintings.”

Santa Clara County residents are being urged to throw out any Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend of frozen berries they have at home after a multi-state outbreak of Hepatitis A. The product was sold at Costco stores until it was taken off store shelves.

Approximately 110 furry creatures found homes last weekend, when animal lovers flocked to Maddie's Pet Adoption Days at the Santa Clara County Animal Shelter in search of canine companions and feline friends.

The Exchange Club of Gilroy hosted its 20th annual Blue and Gold Awards Luncheon last week to honor public safety officers who go above and beyond their call of duty in South County. Here are the officers who won awards:

South County’s very own Andy Mariani – a second generation stone fruit grower whose 1957 orchard thrived long enough to see the surrounding region transform from “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” to Silicon Valley – is featured in a colorful eight-page spread of this month’s Sunset Magazine.

The 24,000-square-foot Shipley Mansion, which is nestled in the San Martin foothills and came on the market mid-May, attracted 15 offers from people all around the world, and is poised to set the record for the highest home price ever in South County. 

Anissa Trujillo's wish list for her ninth birthday was different to most girls her age. She asked her family to buy gifts for less fortunate children: shoes, and lots of them.

It's a breezy, sunny day and Colleen, a 2-year old dog with an endless love for fetch, playfully chases a tennis ball in the grass. The border collie mix is sweet and lovable, but she has yet to find a permanent home. Colleen is just one of the many animals available for adoption at the County of Santa Clara Animal Care and Control. This Saturday and Sunday, Colleen and all of the other dogs and cats at the shelter can be adopted at no cost, thanks to the shelter's participation in Maddie's Pet Adoption Days - America's largest free pet adoption event.

The special library tax that’s been in place for 20 years is expiring in 2015, and the county’s Joint Powers Authority is hoping that Gilroy residents will vote to continue the tax that supports maintaining library hours and inventory.