Opinion

Walk into any classroom in Morgan Hill today and you’ll see more than textbooks and worksheets. You’ll see students coding simple programs, building bridges from craft sticks, experimenting with sound and light, and using creativity to solve real problems.  That’s STEAM in action—science, technology, engineering,...

I am writing in response to your 2023 article, “A rare breed in Morgan Hill,” which featured a Barbado da Terceira named Mac and included commentary from Dana Simel, President of the Barbado da Terceira Club USA.  While the article is engaging and clearly written...

The separation of church and state is not an abstract ideal or a modern invention—it is a foundational safeguard embedded in the fabric of American democracy. Its purpose is not to diminish faith, but to protect both religious freedom and civic equality. The Founders, many...

The California Fish and Game Commission will make their final decision to list mountain lions as a threatened species in the Santa Cruz mountains on Feb. 11-12. If approved, it will deploy a recovery plan to increase mountain lion populations that have already reached...

In an effort to address California’s housing crisis, the State Legislature passed laws like Senate Bill 35 (SB 35), which streamline approval for high-density housing developments. While the intent may be noble, reducing costs and increasing affordability, the reality on the ground is far...

A community hospital is more than a place we go when something goes wrong. It is one of the essential pillars of a healthy and resilient community. When a medical emergency strikes, minutes, even seconds, matter. Having a hospital close to home can mean the...

The past few weeks have been among the darkest in modern Iranian history—for Iranians inside the country and throughout the diaspora. The pain is profound, relentless and almost impossible to put into words.  An entire nation is in mourning, suspended between grief and fragile hope...

Morgan Hill’s budget deficit must be addressed, but that shouldn’t result in any significantly reduced services.  Due to a widespread aversion among residents to any increase in tax levels, sometimes rightly so, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. There is a...

Morgan Hill’s budget challenge is real, but it is not unusual—and it is not unsolvable. The familiar responses are to cut services or raise taxes.  While both remain options, there is a third path that deserves careful, open-minded consideration: selective service consolidation, particularly with the...

Back in 2020, I wrote a letter “Need more detail on Budget cuts.” The subject was raised again in a letter on options other than raising taxes or cutting jobs, and another on transparency in July 2025.  This year the City of Morgan Hill says...