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So much divisiveness was brought out locally during the 2016 election. The influence of the digital news media and social media was especially highlighted, which reflected an ongoing concern of mine.In digital news media, we now have the ability to post a comment with no fact checking or filtering for maliciousness, and thousands can see it instantly. Social media seems to be used effectively on the national stage, but we don’t yet understand the reach of it locally; I certainly believe in its potential. But again, there is no checking for facts or malicious intent.One thing that has been pointed out in many contentious public digital conversations is the lack of participation by our local elected and appointed officials, and city staff. This is generally a true statement.Until just a few days ago I rarely participated in public digital conversations. The reason was, early on I was misquoted and the piling on began; I didn’t step in to defend myself and it seemed to take on a life of its own. I then tried to defend my comments and that incited an even greater response. As much as I may not like being misquoted—it comes with the territory of being a city official—what I don’t like is the piling on and mean-spirited dialog that can so quickly ensue.So I refrain from engaging in public digital conversations because I feel no matter what I say there is no effective way of participating. I am tired of it, and now there is the cyber bullying.I have now been the suggested target for groups to protest at planning commission meetings when the issue did not include my commission work and there were efforts to disrupt my other community efforts.Cyber bullying is not just for children (do a search on adult cyber bullying).“Cyber bullying, like traditional bullying, involves an imbalance of power, aggression, and a negative action that is often repeated.”– Violence Prevention Works.How do we end rampant propagation of misinformation and hostile attacks in the digital realm? Participate yourself and support others in a civil manner. If attacked, provide support and remember to continue to use facts and remain civil. Remember that it’s not just about getting your point across; it’s also about how you do it.Let’s shine a light on those places where cyber bullying takes place. Take a screenshot of inappropriate behavior, particularly when you think that your post might be deleted by a biased moderator. Send those screen shots to: [email protected]. A website may be available to post these screenshots soon.So much has been said about the physical Morgan Hill, but what about the spirit and culture?I am confident the concerns of many issues in this election will be alleviated over time. What I am sure of right now is there has been an unpleasant shift in the spirit and culture within the digital realm in Morgan Hill.Isn’t how we treat each other just as important as issues like the concerns about how our community develops? Isn’t honesty and civil treatment more important than some focused issue?If we can get back to more honest and civil dialogues in our public digital conversations, I will certainly engage more. I hope others will too.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner, president of the Downtown Association and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. 

The Lion King’s National Touring Company roared into San Francisco with all the creativity, color  and excitement the show has always given audiences. A big part of its success is Julie Taymor’s genius direction, which won her Tony Awards in 1998 for direction and costume design. She also was the mask/puppet co-designer and composer of additional music and lyrics.

I have a personal policy of not responding to comments regarding any of my writings or posts in social media. As a City Planning Commissioner and one who is involved in several aspects of the community, I have to hold myself to the highest level of behavior (and it’s pretty much just who I am). In my experience, even my most benign response can quickly devolve into a hostile conversation led by those who don’t adhere to a civil dialogue or resist twisting words. Too bad really, since I do believe in a good conversation.So I have broken my silence in responding here because I just cannot sit and watch some of the misinformation propagated by so few that is seen by so many.Mark Grzan has insisted on misinforming others about the Agricultural Preservation Set Aside; and yes, he is the author of the gross example of the misinformation I mentioned in my last column.I want to introduce simple facts if I could, so here is the exact Agricultural Preservation Set-Asides language:Policy CNF-3.14 Agricultural Preservation set-Asides. Set aside at least 300 allotments for housing that may be applied anywhere in the City through 2035. Recipient projects must directly establish permanent agricultural conservation easements within the City Limits or within the City’s Priority Agricultural Conservation Area.Zoning Section 18.78.060.D.1 adds: Easements must be established within the City’s Sphere of Influence and in a manner consistent with the Citywide Agricultural Lands Preservation Program. The number of allotments granted will be commensurate with the community benefit obtained from the resulting preservation of agricultural lands. No more than 35 set-aside allotments are available for agricultural preservation projects within a single year.Let me interpret a little here, from the top.“Allotments”: an allotment is the permission to apply to build a residential dwelling unit. An allotment does not assure the right to build; you must still meet several criteria before you have the right to begin building. One allotment is needed for each dwelling “unit” (a dwelling for one family).“Housing that may be applied anywhere in the City”: you can only build on lands designated for development and you can only build what is zoned for that land (examples: free standing homes or townhomes) and at the density allowed (example: five houses per acre, or maybe 15 depending on zoning).“Agricultural conservation easements”: a restriction you place on the land so that no development can ever take place except for normal agricultural related structures and a single family dwelling unit per existing lot.“City’s Priority Agricultural Conservation Area”: this is an area of farmland identified in the 2014 Agricultural Lands Preservation Program and incorporated into the Citywide Agricultural Lands Preservation Program. It is essentially all in the Southeast Quadrant area. Still with me?So in simpler terms: if you protect priority agricultural lands you can build anywhere in Morgan Hill where allowed, without going through the RDCS competition. However you must protect an equal area of farmland that you propose to build on (one-to-one in acreage) and you must still receive a passing score of at least 80 percent in the RDCS competition criteria; you just don’t have to compete or wait for the competition, which takes place only once a year.A developer skips competing for allotments, which makes life easier for them, AND the region gets agricultural lands protected in perpetuity from development. Looks like a win-win here.This is almost exactly the opposite of what Mr. Grzan is saying—and there is no way that Measure S implies that we can build outside of the city limits. We can’t, and Mr. Grzan knows that.We need to be careful what we say in public and the letter by Mr. Grzan either indicates that he is not at all familiar with the document and commonly used terms, or is intentionally misleading potential voters. His stint as a councilmember should have educated him to the meaning of everything I repeated here.Please check out the included snapshots of Mr. Grzan’s comments on social media that expand on his assertions. I leave it up to you to decide what his intent is.Thank you for your time, and please read the Measure S document and ask real questions of those who are informed.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. This op-ed is a response to the most recent letter to the editor authored by Mark Grzan. 

What an election year this has been. Locally, we’ve seen a noticeable change in the climate of political discourse.There is so much intentional, and I hope unintentional, misinformation out there that it can get difficult for some to a get a handle on the issues.Measure S is the poster child for many of the ills I see in modern Morgan Hill politics (not meaning to diminish other areas of ills). Creating a population cap and how we might get there is tough to do.One thing almost universal is concern for the future. Also universal is the inability to get everyone in a small room to agree, nonetheless an entire community—especially when it comes to our future.We all care about the future of this community. We all care and we put together Measure S to the best of our abilities after what was hundreds of hours of education and discussion for many.The voter initiative that is Measure S may not be perfect but I believe that, except for a few areas where you have to consider the entire document as a whole, it is very well written. Please take it as a whole.What I am now seeing in so many cases regarding Measure S is just a few people saying the same negative thing repeatedly.Much of this discussion is fueled by emotion and misinformation. I don’t usually do this, but I must cite one gross example where a commenter said that Measure S allows 300 units to be developed in agricultural lands. Actually, it states that the development of 300 units in a special “set-aside” can take place within Morgan Hill’s developable areas if there is an equal area protected by an agricultural conservation easement on prime agricultural lands within a specified area.There is a lot of this kind of thing going on so we must be careful about what we hear and verify it for ourselves. Please remember that no matter how comfortable we feel trusting others that they have done their research on an issue, do the hard work of researching important issues and protect your vote; it is your vote, after all.A dear friend once told me you can’t change the minds of those who’ve already made them up, so focus on the ones who agree with you to keep a strong base and accurately inform the undecided.For those that believe Measure S is the right document to help us continue our path into what I think is an incredibly bright future, please speak up and support your discussions liberally with facts.We all care about the future. Guess how I’m voting on Measure S.John McKay is a Morgan Hill resident, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

Outside Mullingar is a charming offering by the renowned TheatreWorks Company and loaded with award-winning actors, director and playwright. You can’t blink without looking at a prize winner from a Nobel to Oscars, Tonys and you can throw in a Lifetime achievement award. It’s never a question of “will it be “good?” You know if it’s TheatreWorks it WILL be good. So it is with Outside Mullingar, a captivating moment spent on an Irish farm with all of its humor, sadness and life decisions.

In case you haven’t heard, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association is hosting the gourmet food trucks of Moveable Feast Wednesdays on Third Street for a six-week trial.Approximately 2,000 people came downtown the first Wednesday (Sept. 14) and about 1,000 the second week. These numbers almost perfectly matched event predictions provided by Moveable Feast’s Ryan Sebastian and Gilroy’s Downtown Association’s Melanie Corona.Having empirical testimony provided by our neighbor to the south who promotes their downtown like we do was key to our decision to take the plunge in Morgan Hill. We had entertained the idea of bringing in the gourmet food trucks in the past but we needed to be sure that we would not harm the downtown’s existing businesses.We were told there were so many visitors to Gilroy’s events that crowds overflowed into the restaurants and bars. Apparently, not everybody finds what they want on a truck or wants to wait in line for their food, and many want an adult beverage before or after they eat. Gilroy’s businesses were so happy that they asked for their trial run to be extended.After hearing from Melanie, listening to Ryan again, and visiting Gilroy’s Moveable Feast event we felt that the time was right to give this a run of our own in Morgan Hill.We would bring in the trucks on a Wednesday evening since it is generally recognized as a slow night for downtown businesses. We would close down East Third Street and take advantage of the parking garage plaza for dining and gathering, with live local musicians providing background music. We would save parking spaces in the garage for the local residents and thank them for putting up with the inconvenience.Two weeks in, I think we can comfortably say this has been a success. Trucks are selling out and several restaurants have seen noticeable increases in business. The worst I’ve heard is there has been no business increase in some restaurants and most of the crowds show up too late for many of the retail shops.One of the things we were told was the event would be the place of social gathering with long lost friends meeting for the first time in ages. I didn’t buy it. Sure enough, there I was hearing over and over again the greeting of friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. I saw friends I hadn’t seen in ages.The social aspect is every bit a part of the gourmet food truck scene as the food itself.Another nice thing that happened was two of the truck operators showed an interest in looking for a brick-and-mortar home for their business in Morgan Hill. I wasn’t expecting that, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. We are developing a reputation for having a fun downtown.I hope the rest of the trial events go like the first two. Maybe we can make this a long-term series of events with the potential to become a regional draw.If you haven’t been to one of these events I encourage you to come down Wednesday night through Oct. 19 and see what it’s all about. You might just see an old friend you haven’t seen in ages or maybe make some new ones.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be contacted by email at [email protected].

Whitney Pintello directs this very clever bit of theater by London playwright Michael Wilmot with a bold hand and broad brush.

I’ve lived in Morgan Hill for 16 years now. To some, that makes me a newcomer, and to others an old timer; but to me it’s been time to understand and reinforce why I chose to live here.I recently spoke to some folks about why we moved here and it was fun comparing stories. It seems that emotions and desire played a surprisingly important role for quite a few in a decision that for so many is just a practical one.Michelle and I moved here after we spent one of those idyllic evenings visiting and enjoying the Friday Night Music Series. That was back when it was on Second Street. Maybe 100 people showed up.I’ve said it before many times: I felt like we were back in my father’s hometown in Iowa and it just felt right.At the time, we were in the middle of a house remodel, lived 15 minutes from work and were close to everything. But something grabbed us and made us do what so many others we’ve spoken to have done: we dropped everything and found a new home—not just a house—here in Morgan Hill.And I’m going to throw a rant in here—we did not buy a house here because we got more house for our money. We bought here because we got more of a home for the life we choose to lead.It’s not just us, it should be no surprise that so many of us felt an emotional response to this town and decided to move here. It’s a choice that is not taken lightly, so it’s no wonder we have such a volunteer-rich community.We live on the northern edge of a lifestyle and we have a 12-mile gap to the next outpost to the north where we have to steel ourselves to enter an environment that is akin to being packed into sardine cans. To most of the “sardine canners,” we’re the ones making the sacrifices by living on the frontier and to some extent they’re right. We’re modern frontierspeople, I tell ya…We consciously and gladly give up a lot of conveniences to live here.  In trade, I got this incredible rural community where the vistas of a narrow valley greet me every time I walk out my front door.  We have access to such great local produce that I really suffer when I can’t get what is local and fresh in season.We have a downtown that is a regional dining destination and it’s just getting better.I don’t need to jump on a freeway to get to hiking, biking, boating or other outdoor pursuits. I can go to a couple dozen wineries within 20 minutes of my front door!Okay, so I have to leave town for fancy clothes (except for Tommy Bahama…), I may sit in traffic for a couple hours a day trying to cross the great divide to earn a buck, I wear out my car and my gas card sizzles.I make those sacrifices and it’s OK, because I am a frontiersman.John McKay is Interim President of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, a city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance.

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