Community

As I begin a new term on the Valley Water Board of Directors representing District 1, I am honored to serve as the Chair in 2023. While our region remains in a drought, we are cautiously optimistic about Santa Clara County’s water supply outlook this...

Retired teacher and military veteran David Fulcher is glad to be alive to tell his story—what he remembers of it anyway.

Summit for Planet Earth is April 29 From barn owls and bearded dragons to California kingsnakes and turkey vultures, the 17th annual Summit for the Planet Earth at Mount Madonna School offers the opportunity to get up close and hands-on with wildlife. Children and adults...

A dozen years after authorities discovered a dangerous amount of perchlorate in the groundwater basin and fingered a local company for the widespread contamination, one of the last remaining wells affected is considered safe to drink from.

This being an election year, we will have several issues and candidates to evaluate where we will try to determine who or what we will support with our vote. There will be ads and news articles on television, in social media, email and regular...

Eduardo Hernandez grabs his accordion and a smile instantly

At the inaugural Morgan Hill Disrupt Forum June 2, investors and consultants banked on which participating startup will be the next to disrupt their respective industries.They also offered their insight into the world of burgeoning technologies via a series of panels and guest speaker presentations, some of whom presented their own visions of how to turn existing economic models on their heads.Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, is a “perfect example” of someone who is “disrupting the business model,” explained Joint Venture Silicon Valley President Russell Hancock, who was one of the guest speakers at the Disrupt Forum, which took place at Specialized Bicycles headquarters and was sponsored by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.Netflix’s model of initially offering a mail-order DVD rental/subscription service, then expanding to streaming thousands of television and movie titles, has destroyed the old system of video rental stores and disc purchases, Hancock continued. The model has transformed not only for the consumers, but also for the producers.“Hollywood is disrupted,” Hancock said.The centerpiece of the all-day Disrupt Forum was the afternoon pitchfest, where entrepreneurs associated with seven startups—most of them from the Bay Area and surrounding region, but including one from Boston, Mass.—got a chance to convince investors they are the next industry disruptor. Or at least gain enough funding and services to continue to grow and promote their businesses.Prizes awarded at the end of the pitchfest included legal and consulting services, advertising credits, office spaces, training and mentoring. These prizes were awarded by a panel of judges—all experienced investors in their own right.All told, more than $120,000 worth of prizes were awarded to various participating startups, according to Danielle Davenport, an investor and one of the Disrupt Forum organizers.The “overall winner” among the startups was WrightGrid, a Boston-based company that offers public, unobtrusive mobile device charging and wi-fi stations. The company is focusing its efforts and expansion in Africa, where hundreds of millions of people own cell phones but where electricity is often scarce, explained WrightGrid founder and CEO Ryan Wright.WrightGrid’s prize from Disrupt Forum investors was a $10,000 “startup business banking package and valuation” from First Republic Bank, represented at the event by Sam Heshmati.Davenport said at the forum that this prize indicates WrightGrid is the “farthest along” and most ready for funding among the seven startups.Gary Jinks, an investor with Morgan Hill based South Valley Angels, awarded entry to a “closed pitch session” with his group to CruzFoam, a startup that makes surfboard foam out of shrimp shells. This product is touted as environmentally cleaner than existing kinds of synthetic surfboard foam, according to one of the company’s founders who pitched at the Disrupt Forum.The theme of the forum was “Innovation Goes Outside,” and many of the participating startups presented technology related to sports and environmental stewardship.Other prizes and winners at the Disrupt Forum include:• $5,000 worth of legal services to CruzFoam, from Wilson Sonsani Goodrich and Rosati.• $40,000 worth of mentorship and other prizes comprising a “startup package” from GWC Innovator Fund to three of the companies that pitched. Winning this prize were PhotoBloomAR, a photo/video processing application that allows users to apply augmented reality to their original media; SuperFanChase, an East Bay-based app that connects sports fans who can participate in a mobile scavenger hunt; and PearlApp, another mobile app that provides “dish level data” to diners looking for specific kinds of food—not just restaurants—when they go out at night.• $1,000 worth of coaching/mentorship from ABC Accelerator to SuperFanChase.• A day of business consulting, worth about $2,500, from Liam Downey, a Morgan Hill resident and president of The Redstone Group, to Archer Components. This startup has created a wireless electronic gear shifter for mountain bicycles.SuperFanChase came away from the Disrupt Forum with a variety of prizes. Company co-founder Bridgett Coates said she and partner Alesia Harris are excited to make use of the mentorship, advertising credits, a future presentation slot before a prominent regional tech meetup and other prizes.Coates said the biggest value of the Disrupt Forum is the experience and expertise offered by the various investors and expert panelists.“Alongside the (prizes), it’s given us an even more expanded opportunity to get closer to our goals,” Coates said. “Now we have a stream of professionals who are capable of helping us to reach our full potential. Every startup is in need of that expertise.”Downey, also one of the Disrupt Forum organizers, estimated about 100 people attended the June 2 event throughout the day. He and other organizers have already thought of improvements needed for the next Disrupt Forum (at a date to be determined), but he was pleased at how it went for their first time.“The people that pitched, they were better than I thought they would be,” said Downey. “I was quite impressed. It just shows the amount of creativity that’s out there. In a forum like this, you see all kinds of ideas.”The event organizers also hope to maintain a long-lasting effort to disrupt traditional industries, preferably to the benefit of Morgan Hill and the immediate surrounding area.“The whole idea of this, long-term, is to stimulate disruption, new ideas (and) incubation of new ideas in and around our locality,” Downey said. “I would have liked to have seen a little bit more local participation.”

A group of hopeful local leaders has a “bright idea” to illuminate a local public entertainment facility as their contribution to the Morgan Hill community.The Leadership Morgan Hill Class of 2015 is currently raising money for the project, a “permanent, state-of-the-art stage lighting system” for the Morgan Hill Downtown Amphitheater, according to class member Lisa Washington. The amphitheater is located adjacent to the Community and Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road, and is the venue for the Chamber of Commerce’s annual summertime “Friday Night Music Series” and other special events.“We expect to enhance the experience of residents and out-of-town guests at this year’s (FNMS), and broaden the appeal of the amphitheater for additional events such as concerts, ceremonies and lectures,” Washington said. “For the city of Morgan Hill, this will translate into upside potential for revenues from new renters.”The class is looking to raise $25,000 to design, build and install the ambitious volunteer-, nonprofit-funded project, which they have titled “Bright Idea.” They are currently halfway toward the fundraising goal, Washington said. They hope to have the lighting system installed by the time FNMS starts June 5.Specifically, the project would add six lights onto each of two existing light poles, pointing at the stage from the edge of the audience lawn. Another 12 lights will be installed above the stage, pointing onto the performance area for down lighting, backlighting and angling to light up the dance floor, Washington explained.“The LED light fixtures will be weather and UV resistant with wireless controls and a spectrum of colors—red, green, blue and white,” Washington added.The Morgan Hill City Council approved the “Bright Idea” concept at the April 15 meeting, and will take up the matter again as it gets close to installation by the end of this summer. The city of Morgan Hill owns the amphitheater and CCC property, and charges fees to the public and nonprofits such as the Chamber to use the facilities.Chamber board Chair Rich Firato, who also chairs the committee that runs the annual FNMS, said the “Bright Idea” lighting will enhance the music and dancing experience at the venue.“It will bring an upscale experience to concert goers and performers for night-time events at the amphitheater,” Firato said. “Plus, it will streamline production of our live music program this summer, since we’ll no longer have the hassle of setting up and taking down temporary lighting each week.”FNMS begins June 5 at the Downtown Amphitheater, and will continue most Friday nights through the summer.LMH Class of 2015 is offering recognition opportunities to donors who make generous contributions to the fundraising effort, from “Bronze” to “Platinum” levels, Washington said. Sponsors will be features in event promotions.LMH is a training and development program “created to inspire future leaders to community service,” according to the LMH website. Each class goes through a year-long program, and is required to complete a hands-on project that benefits the community in order to graduate from the program.For more information about the project and to make a donation, visit leadershipmorganhill.org or check out the Facebook page titled “LMH Class of 2015 – Bright Idea Project.”

Mike Corbin, one of Hollister’s best-known business owners who has been a household name in the motorcycle world for decades, recently introduced his “proof of concept” prototype for a magnetically powered motor that he thinks will revolutionize the electric vehicle industry.  Known as the Corbin...