Community

This weekend, which celebrates the Memorial Day holiday, will feature the family-friendly 36th annual Mushroom Mardi Gras food, art and wine festival in downtown Morgan Hill.At the Community & Cultural Center and spread throughout the downtown area, the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras will welcome thousands of residents and visitors. More than 80,000 people flooded last year’s festival over two days, according to Mardi Gras organizers.The festival, which raises funds for college scholarships for local high school students, will feature two days of food (with many vendors showcasing local and regional mushrooms), shopping and entertainment. Three stages throughout the festival grounds will perform a variety of live music and performances.In 2014, the Festival distributed $77,500 in scholarships, mini-grants and other donations. Over the last three decades, the Mushroom Mardi Gras has issued more than $860,000 in scholarships, $29,500 in mini-grants and $420,000 to participating school groups.The Mushroom Mardi Gras and participating vendors will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 23, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 24. It will take place at the Downtown Morgan Hill Amphitheater and Community Center grounds, and along Depot Street between Dunne Avenue and Second Street.Downtown streets on the east side of Monterey Road will be closed during the event.Parking is available at a number of lots surrounding the festival venue, including at the Butterfield Boulevard Park and Ride lot, which is a short walk across the railroad tracks from the Mushroom Mardi Gras. For a $5 donation to the Live Oak Emerald Regime Band, attendees can park at the large lot on the corner of Church Street and San Pedro Avenue with a free shuttle ride to and from the festival.For more information, visit the festival website at mhmmg.org.

A wanted man slipped away from Gilroy police Jan. 26, only

Meditation workshop June 8 “Day of Peace” mindfulness meditation workshop takes place 10am-3pm June 8 at the Morgan Hill House, Villa Mira Monte, 17860 Monterey Road. The workshop will be led by James Morrison, who was a Buddhist monk for more than 30 years.  The workshop...

Wearing gold-glitter eye shadow and extra-long fake eyelashes,

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Bucking a nationwide trend, violent crime in Morgan Hill is not

Local families with children involved in Morgan Hill sports leagues—some spanning three generations—had every reason to be upset with school district officials and board trustees after sitting around for nearly three hours to be heard Tuesday night.

Morgan Hill Police Officer Todd Davis quickly applied his training and a donated portable resuscitation device to save an elderly resident’s life earlier this month, according to authorities.Davis was on patrol Oct. 4 when a call from the emergency dispatch center came over the radio reporting a medical aid incident at a home in Morgan Hill. While firefighters and paramedics were on their way, Davis said as soon as he heard the initial call, he looked up and he happened to be “right there,” outside the residence where the emergency was reported.“I was already out of my vehicle and in my trunk,” gathering his medical bag seconds after he heard the call from dispatch, he said.The call was related to a 77-year-old woman who was unresponsive and not breathing, according to police. Davis arrived at the scene “well before fire and paramedics,” reads an Oct. 12 press release from MHPD.“Time is the main factor” in such medical emergencies, Davis, 38, said. “You’ve got to hurry up and get them breathing, with chest compressions” and other first-aid.Davis entered the woman’s home as her “panicked” caretaker was performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), he told the Times. He intervened in the resuscitation effort with an Automated External Defibrillator, which all on-duty MHPD patrol officers carry in their patrol vehicles.“My main focus was to bring calm, and start handing out directions,” he said. Davis, who began his career as a police officer about four years ago at MHPD, quickly applied the AED and continued performing CPR on the elderly woman for about five minutes, until paramedics arrived and took over.The story ended happily moments later, as the woman’s pulse returned shortly after paramedics arrived, Davis said. “She was talking by the time she got to the hospital,” he added.Davis said it “feels awesome” to know the woman survived the emergency and is on her way to recovery.“This is why you do it,” said Davis, who served in the U.S. Army for six years before becoming a police officer. “Far too often, the person doesn’t make it, and this is one of the rare instances where your efforts pay off. It feels wonderful.”Davis and MHPD also credited the the Morgan Hill Community Law Enforcement Foundation and Racing Hearts organization for helping, through donations, to place AEDs in local patrol vehicles. “That’s a new tool we’ve just had in the last year,” Davis said.For more information about CLEF, visit morganhillclef.org. For more information about Racing Hearts, visit racinghearts.org.

Rotary Club of Morgan Hill is accepting community grant