Community

In case you have missed the barrage of political campaign commercials, I thought I would let you know 2024 is an election year. And not just any election year—a Presidential Election Year.  Locally, our general election ballots will include the Presidential race, U.S. Senate, U.S....

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust this week announced that by the end of 2025, it will acquire a 50-acre property near the intersection of Highways 129 and 101 in San Juan Bautista—marking the first time the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has regained full access...

Community members are invited to attend a public forum to hear from three finalists for the top leadership position at Gavilan College, according to a press release from the school.

I missed it, but it’s never too late to talk about Autism or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). April is Autism Awareness month and I usually mention it in a sermon sometime in April.   Autism is particularly close to my heart because one of my adult...

U.S. military veterans on motorcycles with the Patriot Guard escorted one of their fallen brothers to funeral and burial services in Morgan Hill last week.Services for Richard Villalba took place April 21 in Morgan Hill. The funeral procession was escorted by the Patriot Guard riders from Lima Campagna Johnson Funeral Home on Monterey Road just north of town, to the funeral service at St. Catherine Parish, and then to the cemetery on Spring Avenue.Villalba served in the Army in the 1990s. His service included combat in the Persian Gulf. He died after a long battle with cancer, according to his brother George Moya, who traveled from Arizona to attend the services.“I was at the hospital when he passed,” Moya said. “It was a hard thing to watch.”But he added it was “awesome” to see not only familiar friends and family at the services, but also the veterans on motorcycles who came to escort their fellow soldier to his final resting place.“Family is the most important thing in life, and when it’s a veteran you need to pay respect all the way around,” Moya said.Villalba and his spouse Jake Navarette-Villalba are the owners of Salon NV. Moya said their business has “flourished” over the years.Patriot Guard Riders is a volunteer, nonprofit organization that “ensures dignity and respect at memorial services honoring fallen military heroes, first responders and honorably discharged veterans,” according to their website patriotguard.org. The group consists of mostly U.S. military veterans, who are also motorcyclists.The April 21 “mission” to escort Villalba’s remains and funeral procession was led by Patriot Guard Ride Captain Mark Zappa, a Gilroy resident.Morgan Hill resident Kirk Bertolet, also a Patriot Guard Rider, participated in the procession as well.

Morgan Hill Future Farmers of America hosted The Santa Clara

It’s hard to find a job fighting climate change, oddly. But the organic farming industry is one place where a person can make a living making a difference.  Food systems account for 20% to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to data from the...

Morgan Hill added 1,162 residents in 2006 to become Santa Clara