Freedom Fest starts July 3
The annual Morgan Hill Freedom Fest festivities in celebration of Independence Day start July 3, with the Patriotic Sing at 5pm at the Downtown Morgan Hill Amphitheater, 17000 Monterey Road. It will be followed by the Family Music Fest, starting at 6pm July 3 on Monterey Road between Main and Dunne avenues. The music fest features three stages of live entertainment throughout the city’s downtown, with Monterey Road and side streets closed to vehicle traffic to make room for the performers, dancing, vendors and audience.
On July 4, festivities start early in the morning with the Freedom Run 5K race and Kids 1 mile walk/run, followed by the Classic Car Cruise n Show through downtown Morgan Hill. Starting at 10am is the Fourth of July parade, which will follow its usual route along Monterey Road, West Main Avenue, Peak Avenue and West Dunne Avenue. The theme for this year’s parade is “A Star Spangled Celebration.”
The holiday celebration closes out in the evening with the Fireworks on the Green, which starts at 3pm with live music, food vendors and other activities at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center on Condit Road. The Freedom Fest fireworks display will take place at approximately 9:30pm.
For more information on the Freedom Fest events, including road closures and parking details, visit morganhillfreedomfest.com.
Thurston graduates
Cameron Thurston, of Morgan Hill, graduated from Plymouth State University during its 152nd Anniversary Commencement Ceremony on May 12. Thurston graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing.
Thurston was among more than 680 Class of 2023 students who received degrees.
County’s MedAssist program reaches milestone
Santa Clara County’s MedAssist program helps combat high prescription drug costs for qualifying residents who have been diagnosed with diabetes, asthma or severe allergies. More than 1,000 individuals have now enrolled in the program and are receiving grants for the high out-of-pocket costs of prescription medications like anti-diabetics (including insulin), asthma inhalers, and epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPen).
The County hit the 1,000 mark recently.
“If you use an EpiPen, an asthma inhaler, or medications to treat diabetes, you need the meds. They’re not ‘nice’ to have; they’re ‘must’ haves. They’re life essential,” said County Supervisor Joe Simitian, chair of the County’s Health and Hospital Committee, who proposed the program. “But they cost too much. MedAssist was specifically designed to ensure that folks who need these life-saving medications can afford them.”
“It’s a tremendous milestone,” he added. “We’ve launched a program unlike any other. And it’s already pushing down the cost for more than 1,000 local residents. I’m hoping more and more folks access the help we’ve made available.”
In Santa Clara County, there are nearly 120,000 adults who have been diagnosed with diabetes, more than 250,000 adults and children with asthma, and more than 20,000 individuals who are prescribed epinephrine auto-injectors for allergic reactions.
MedAssist provides eligible residents with a monthly grant to offset paid medical expenses, prescriptions, co-pays, or health insurance premiums based on their annual gross household income.
The eligibility criteria for this program are:
• Resident of Santa Clara County.
• Must have valid prescription for asthma inhaler, diabetes medication or epinephrine auto-injector.
• Must have household out-of-pocket health care expense in the previous calendar year.
• Maximum annual gross household income limits.
“MedAssist helps offset high out-of-pocket medical expenses,” Simitian said. “I encourage people to apply. The program is designed to help folks in the so called ‘missing middle’—people who may make a pretty good income but are just getting slammed by these high-cost drugs. Our goal here is to keep you well and cut your costs.”
Apply online at GetMedAssist.com or call 408.970.2001 for information.
Authorities suspend burn permits
Cal Fire announced on June 26 the suspension of all burn permits for outdoor residential burning in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa counties as well as western portions of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties that will take effect Friday.
The agency said an abundant grass crop resulting from a wet winter is starting to dry out because of winds and warming temperatures.
High volumes of dead grass and hotter and drier conditions in the regions have increased the fire danger, Cal Fire said.
According to Cal Fire, since the beginning of the year firefighters across the state have responded to over 1,900 wildfires that burned over 6,700 acres.
Other areas such as Napa and Solano counties were given the burn notice suspension last week.
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