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All things must come to pass. In some cases, it’s good because you want bad things to pass, but in too many cases it’s the good things that come to pass before you’re ready to let go.Right now we have a couple good things about to pass. One is short-term and satisfied the urge to have a good time eating with friends and family mid-week. The other satisfied a never-ending need for a leader and volunteer to help make and keep the community that place we’re all proud of and want to be.The first item that will pass is the Moveable Feast. It will end July 26 after eight consecutive weeks of providing a place for the community to gather and dine at an alternative location downtown.Going to the Moveable Feast nights were a lot of fun, filled with variety and new things. Next year’s events are being considered now so we can take comfort in knowing it will likely return just as good as ever. But for now, go out and enjoy it while you can.I hope you have developed a taste for the healthy habit of taking a mid-week mental break from your own kitchen—which includes all that cleaning. No reason for that to pass now…What will be passing and not returning is the ongoing leadership and volunteer work of Kathy Sullivan (no not the Historic Society Kathy Sullivan). Kathy’s just fine, but she will be leaving us to enjoy her retirement a little closer to family in the place where she grew up, Philadelphia.Right here is where I insert the old phrase, “Her absence will create a vacuum.” There will be a void like a sinkhole that will need many volunteers to fill.Kathy was the “universal volunteer.” She was involved with so many local nonprofit organizations and community efforts that I hear her going away parties are stacked up until well after she has left.The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce recognized Sullivan this year as the Volunteer of the Year. I don’t think there was ever a doubt that she would one day be the Volunteer of the Year, but little did we know it would be so soon.She will be honored for her work well into the future, her impact was notable and lack of presence will be noticeable across so much of the community. Another community will undoubtedly be getting a volunteer army of one. I hope they know how to utilize her well and appreciate her like we do.Kathy was also a leader. I got to know her leadership as the practical thinking strong board member of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association.Sometimes on the leading edge of pushing to accomplish what was considered best for the downtown, she was also one who was willing to reign in an idea whose wings might have needed some clipping. A leader does that. We count on our leaders to make the future a better place for the majority, and Kathy helped remind us of that time after time.Kathy will be missed in many ways as a volunteer, leader and friend to so many. Kathy, enjoy a great long life helping another community be its best.I wonder if they have a Moveable Feast in Philly…?John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, chair of the city planning commission and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

‘The Story Of My Life” is about the relation-ships in life, what we miss, what we remember and what we could have done differently. Two actors carry this story with quality voices and good delivery.

The amazing story of Carole King is an inspiring one, showing what talent and drive could do in the world of popular music back in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. She has won four Grammys, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and was the first woman to receive the Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Her list of achievements goes on and on.This musical, from the book by Douglas McGarth, bundles songs she wrote and some she co-wrote with others for an entertaining evening of great music.Take some of her words, add some of her music and Carole King will meld it all into something Beautiful. That’s what happened with the songs that King (played by an outstanding Abby Mueller) created in her brilliant, sometimes jarring life. Beautiful begins in 1961 with songs by King and her husband, Gerry Goffin (a solid Liam Tobin) and friendly competitors Barry Mann (a pleasant Ben Frankhauser) and Cynthia Weil (the exceptional Becky Gulsvig), then moves to the early ’70s when King leaves a bad marriage and reluctantly writes and records one of the most successful albums of all time, Tapestry, and realizes her dream of performing at Carnegie Hall.Starting in the late ’50s as a strong-willed 16-year-old, she convinces the tough agents in the songwriting field of Broadway to listen and appreciate her music. She churned out pop, rock, and blues songs with Goffin for groups like the Shirelles, Drifters and the Righteous Brothers, creating hits including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” Splish Splash,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Yakety-Yak,” “Love Potion # 9” and “Some Kind Of Wonderful.”She went on to become successful singer-songwriter on her own with “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got A Friend,” “Up On The Roof” and “I Feel The Earth Move” and many more. To be sure, Carole King remains a legend in the recording industry.Director Marc Bruni keeps this fine cast moving in a tightened up production from the 2013 version, which includes one additional song.Creativity is the watchword for scenic Designer Derek McLane with his innovative, mobile set that smoothly changes before your eyes. A grand piano effortlessly slides off center stage to be replaced with two-storey offices and living rooms as needed.Abby Mueller delivers King’s music as close as you can get to the real thing.  ‘Beautiful’  Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market and Eighth streets, San FranciscoPerformances through Sept 18Tickets: $45-$212For reservations and information: (888) 746-1799, or visit www.shnsf.com

Quite a lively discussion in the Times’ Editorial Board meeting this week about the upcoming school board vote on the Navigator Charter School application next week. A split 3-3 vote there will lead to a cautious acceptance newspaper editorial, but my position is hardly that. I’ve witnessed what Principal James Dent accomplished in Gilroy’s worst-performing public elementary school, Eliot, then I watched as the leadership continue to evolve when Dent and his team opened Gilroy Prep Charter School, a school that is anything but elitist with 64% English Language Learners, 65% Free and Reduced Lunch qualifying students, 75% Latino and 8% Special Education. The Board should not only approve, but support and welcome Navigator and Dent. This is a charter school that in its first year, posted a 970 API score becoming the highest-performing first-year charter out of 500 in the state of California since 2006. Navigator schools will work with the district to improve education across the board. It’s not a money-hungry business model conjured up to play on the poor public school system. Rather, it’s a bona fide effort to improve public school education. I’ve witnessed the push for innovation, expectation and progress for more than 5 years in Gilroy and believe the teaching methods and core philosophy are, in a sense, a magic bullet. It’s about absolutely making sure that students have a solid foundation of knowledge in subject areas. If you don’t know your multiplication tables inside and out, or your syllables, you’re never going to become a critical thinker, problem solver or capable communicator. Board trustee Amy Porter Jensen has it right when calling for “collaboration” between the staffs at Navigator Schools and MHUSD to make “both sides be successful in a way that will allow us to continue to move forward and reach all students and their needs.” Late word at presstime: Rocketship – a whole different charter school animal – is going to very soon announce its intention to open in Morgan Hill, too. Choices for parents are welcome.

This is a new version of this grand old chestnut that opened to rave reviews  and awards in London in 1986 and on Broadway in 1988. With the same music by Andrew Lloyd Weber and based on the novel “LaFantome de L’opera” by Gaston Leroux, the production at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco is directed by Laurence Conner with a gusto and drive that keeps everything moving at a fast pace.Producer Cameron Mackintosh decided to bring a new "Phantom” theatrically to the stage, and he has succeeded with new magnificent sets by Paul Brown and a little different take on the story line, which still ends the same way.This updated “Phantom” still has the marvelous music, and the basics stay the same. The story moves on the same path as the original but sets, costumes, choreography and a younger Phantom and Christine are offered in a faster moving story.The chandelier still hovers and flashes and intimidates, the Phantom still creates havoc, and the new steep and almost invisible stairs that take Christine and the Phantom to his lair under the Opera House is fascinating. The huge production number “Masquerade” number that opens the second act replaces the sweeping staircases in the older production with mirrors. The cast seems to be a little cramped, but the costumes by the late Maria Bjornson overwhelm with color and design. All are well lit by Paule Constable and made clearly audible by Mick Potter and, most importantly, a fine orchestra under the baton of Dale Rieling.I felt Chris Mann’s Phantom lacked the chemistry and bravado that other Phantoms have delivered, and his voice didn’t seem to have the punch that should have been there (perhaps he was not well.)  Katie Travis’s Christine was full and clear with a fine sound. The rest of the cast gave a smooth supporting performance.There is an old adage that says, “If it ain’t broken don’t fix it.”I don’t think the original “Phantom” was broken, but I guess we must go with the times. A new generation will see this production and probably shake their heads the next time it changes 30 years from now.All in all, this "Phantom” will entertain.

It seems that everyone is angry these days. For many, politics—from the national down to the local level—took on a more substantial and even dire note this last year.Selecting a president from two candidates who couldn’t be more different and the local residential growth control and City Council races fostered some uncomfortable discourse. Hostility became routine on the national level. We saw some of that creep into the local scene, which is unusual for us.I don’t have to say anything more about national politics—just go to any digital news outlet and you can see for yourself. In this case, I feel I must say digital because there is something happening virtually every few hours. If you are intently following the goings-on in Washington, a lot can happen before that morning newspaper shows up.At the local level, I have to say that starting last year, with the happenings of the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Trustees, we have been exposed to new lows in our treatment of each other. Activities of some on the school board was almost like a preview of what we’re seeing in the White House right now. Threats of impeachment, news media exposure of comments made, attempts at censuring, public outcry, denials, obfuscation, shifting of blame, retractions, apologies, etc… Wow, that was unpleasant.I don’t know if it will be ongoing, but we have seen some of the unpleasant behaviors continue locally to this day.I was recently at a city council meeting where a respected member of the community chastised city staff and loudly pronounced that either they were lying or didn’t know who to contact on an issue that had generated some passionate feelings. I don’t remember seeing this kind of behavior before.I don’t think that kind of behavior belongs in Morgan Hill. This is not the Morgan Hill way, and I hope we all actively work to curb this kind of behavior in the public place.Last weekend, I got into it with a neighbor of mine. I was working in the driveway late Sunday when I heard a terrible blood curdling cry for help, which turned to a whimper and then a moan into oblivion. Of course I grabbed a flashlight and went to see what happened in my backyard. Through the trees I saw two sets of eyes and heard a loud guttural response. Not to be deterred, I focused the flashlight right on the eyes and let them know that I heard what had just happened. That was when a loud yell in my direction really got my attention and I started the scramble in the other direction.That loud yell was the snarl of a mature mountain lion, and I think I disturbed its dinner.Being the polite neighbor that I try to be, I promptly backed away and tried to allow him to eat in peace, until we went to get the video camera...Whether it’s paid staff, City Council, a commission, grocer, neighbor or mountain lion, let’s remember that we are all in this community together, and it is us who set and maintain the tone of behavior that is acceptable. There is no police enforcement of civility; that’s up to us. And remember to let your neighbors finish their meal before disturbing them.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.