Community

A record-warm spring, second-warmest summer, fourth-warmest winter and above-normal fall made 2012 the warmest year on record for the contiguous states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A new weekly community newspaper in Morgan Hill has suspended operations after publishing just two editions, due to financial difficulties and a “disgruntled” employee who made steady business difficult, according to the publisher.

The stage lights on FOX’s hit talent show “The X Factor” may have gone out, but not for Gilroy teen and former contestant Austin Corini.

Following a year of preparation, the Boy Scout Councils of the Monterey Bay Area and Santa Clara County decided to merge the two groups.

Volunteers pitched in, picked up trimming shears, put on gloves and got to work snipping persimmons from trees on a recent Saturday morning in a rural orchard in unincorporated South County. The cold weather and muddy conditions didn't stop them from digging and gathering fruit that would go to a good cause.

Residents of California can ring in the New Year with five free crapemyrtle trees by joining the Arbor Day Foundation any time during the month of January.

The future is looking bright for 87,000 acres of majestic South County backcountry stretching east of Highway 101 between Gilroy and Morgan Hill that was recently in danger of being closed to the public.