Guest View

The Morgan Hill City Council voted to ignore a lawful petition signed by more than 10 percent of the registered voters in this city demanding that the city council either reverse its proposed zoning amendment (proposed Ordinance No. 2131-NS) that would unnecessarily further deplete our already disappearing industrial land, or else put that question on the ballot for the voters to decide in a referendum election.  The right to decide questions of public interest in a democratic vote is guaranteed under the California State Constitution and built into the very fabric of our elections laws. It is the reason that most ordinances do not go into effect for at least 30 days after they are approved by the city council. This is the time period during which concerned voters can file their objections to a proposed ordinance, but this city council is trying to deny our citizens their constitutional right to vote on this issue.The Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition works hard to make the hospitality industry better for all. The hotels and motels in Morgan Hill, many of which are family owned businesses that span generations, have generated approximately $10 million in transit occupancy tax over the past five years. The Coalition welcomes all who care to join the hospitality industry on a level playing field.The Coalition publicly supported both the Stone Park Capital hotel project (La Quinta Inn) and development of a new downtown boutique hotel. Each of those projects are situated on lands that were zoned for commercial use (which allows hotels) when the projects were proposed. These two projects alone will increase our city’s available higher end hotel room inventory by nearly 40 percent.We advocate for sustainable growth so our local economy is less susceptible to boom/bust cycles that have crippled us in the past.Industry means jobs—good paying, manufacturing jobs that will benefit the citizens of our community as a whole, now and in the future. So we need to carefully protect our industrial land to make sure that there will be a place for people to create jobs when our children become working age.  According to the City of Morgan Hill’s own statistics, there is only about a 19-year supply of industrial land remaining within the city and there is currently a miniscule 3 percent industrial property vacancy rate in Morgan Hill.The Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition objected to the proposal to take industrial land and convert it to commercial use just so an out of town developer can build another hotel. More than 2,000 voters in Morgan Hill agreed and showed their support by signing the petition demanding that the city council repeal the proposed zoning change or put it on the ballot for the voters to decide. The city council should have allowed the voters to decide.Asit Panwala is a spokesperson for the Morgan Hill Hotel Coalition. His father owns Comfort Inn on Condit Road in Morgan Hill. The MHHC has started a group on Facebook titled "Morgan Hill Speaks," which encourages residents to become more involved in important land use issues and other local government business. 

Teachers in Morgan Hill are committed to the students, families, and community they serve. They respect and admire their colleagues. When we negotiate, we are negotiating for ourselves, but we are also negotiating to improve education in Morgan Hill. We believe that our present negotiations represent a pivotal moment in this district.  We are asking the district for an increase in compensation that will provide an incentive for our veteran teachers to stay in this district. We are asking for an increase in compensation that will make this district competitive enough to attract well-prepared new teachers.  We are asking the district to acknowledge their 30 percent increase in revenues over the last five years has only resulted in a 12 percent increase for teachers and this is why teachers have left the district. We are asking the district to value teachers as the greatest resource our students have.We are asking our community to support us in our effort to protect public education in Morgan Hill.Nicole Dietmeier is a Special Education teacher at Central High School, the district’s continuation high school. Her assignment requires her to teach a small group of students—making sure that each has access to an appropriate education program—and work with supporting agencies who service her students. Many of her students also deal with poverty, family crisis, depression and other traumas. Unofficially, Nicole says she also “provides emotional support, counseling, and access to outside resources in order to make sure that each student receives all of the support they need in order to thrive and be successful.”   Like many teachers, Nicole has a son that is a student in the district. She began her career in Morgan Hill as a paraprofessional and went back to school to become a Special Education teacher. In the process, she earned two credentials and a master’s degree. It is distressing to a parent who is also a teacher when her son “questions the legitimacy of higher education because it has not enabled me to make enough money to support my family on my own.”She also has to sacrifice time with her son to tutor and work at a friend’s home business in order to make ends meet.When Nicole first came to Central, she said, “Students told me that I would give up on them like everyone else. I told them I wouldn’t. So, when I returned the following school year, they were all shocked, but told me they were happy that I was willing to stay and not give up on them. That one single action did more to build trust with these students than anything else I could have done.” She wants to show these students that people do believe in them and will support them.Nicole is committed to both the students and staff at Central. She is not currently looking for a new position, but she also knows that she can provide a more secure life for her son, and maybe even buy her own home, if she moves to a different district where she would make more money with better benefits.  Nicole explains that “leaving the district is not something that I am looking forward to doing or have decided upon without a significant amount of thought and conversations with family. I have built a reputation, gained a second family, and have been personally rewarded with fulfilling relationships and the success of my students while at this district. I have learned how to become a successful teacher here and would love to be able to learn more and share my expertise with the district. I have realized though that the loyalty and respect I have demonstrated to the district is not mutual. The district continues to show that it does not have loyalty or respect for its teachers.”Since last March, teachers have been asking the district and the board for an increase in compensation that would keep teachers like Nicole in this district, but have only been told that a significant raise is unsustainable. Now, we are asking our families and our community to come to the Dec. 13 Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education meeting and remind the board that they must invest in their greatest resource, OUR TEACHERS.Gemma Abels is a veteran high school English teacher and the president of the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers. The Dec. 13 MHUSD board meeting will start at 6 p.m. at district headquarters, 15600 Concord Circle.

Regulations issued by President Donald Trump to Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices are chilling.All undocumented people working and living in the U.S. are now legally deportable. This includes not only “the bad guys” with criminal records but millions of hard-working, taxpaying undocumented immigrants who have contributed greatly to the economy of this country.All people in this country have constitutional rights. Trump’s goal is to take away the right to a hearing in preparation for mass deportations. He has increased the budget for Homeland Security to $3 billion from our taxes. He has expanded the number of ICE agents to 25,000 on the border. Thirty percent of these are veterans of the war in Iraq who were trained to kill, not to arrest and deport.“Expedited removal” is the law allowing ICE to pick up and deport without giving access to a hearing or a lawyer. Under former President Barack Obama, expedited removals were limited to those caught within two miles of the Mexican border. Now, there are no limits. All can be deported wherever they are found, and if they cannot prove they have been here for eight years (on the spot), they can be deported with no legal hearing.  Two-thirds of those detained are not able to access lawyers. Those who can afford a lawyer or have access to legal aid have seven times the opportunity to be released from detention.The movement by city police chiefs to disassociate from any cooperation with ICE is admirable. In a raid several weeks ago in Santa Cruz, ICE agents lied to local police when they promised they had warrants. During the raid, they emptied an entire apartment building and detained law abiding, innocent people who were there. The mayor and police chief apologized to the community and said it would not happen again.ICE has also misrepresented themselves as “police officers,” and thus gained access to homes where they could not enter without a warrant. They question people who do not know their rights and get them to sign them away.The state of California is asking for regular reports on their raids and the daily publication of people detained, which ICE has refused to do. These refusals by ICE are illegal.What can we do to help the terrified undocumented in our area? Having the police pledge not to cooperate with ICE is one step. Educating the people who are frightened about their rights is a priority. We can arrange for public Know Your Rights workshops through Siren and the Asian Law Center. We can educate ourselves to educate all the undocumented we know or meet.   Can we organize to form groups that will intercept these ICE raids? Nothing works better than bad publicity from newspapers and radio stations.Which churches and homes in our areas will be willing to be sanctuary places for a family? Have we educated our teachers and principals about ICE coming to schools?If we work together in true community we can bring back constitutional rights to all.Natasha Wist is a former school psychologist and family therapist with 31 years experience. Since retiring, she has volunteered teaching immigrant women in Morgan Hill. For many years, she has been active in peace and justice movements in Morgan Hill and San Jose.

The California State Senate has recognized May as Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month with the passage of Senate Resolution 34, which I was proud to have authored. This designation will help bring attention to this life debilitating disease.  Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease in the United States, with 30,000 people currently afflicted and 1,000 new cases diagnosed every year. One out of every 3,500 babies born in America has cystic fibrosis, and more than 75 percent of people with the disease are diagnosed before the age of two.  Prompt diagnosis of the disease can lead to better treatment of the symptoms and control over the disease, which is defined by a thick buildup of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs, causing persistent infections, lung damage and respiratory failure. And while there is no known cure for this chronic and progressive systemic disease, there have been advancements in research that have produced promising leads in gene, protein and drug therapies that have led to longer life expectancy and better life quality.In the 1950s, cystic fibrosis was almost exclusively found only in children, few of whom lived long enough to even attend elementary school. Through early diagnosis, advancements in medicine and a better understanding of the disease, now over half of those with cystic fibrosis are 18 years of age or older and have a life expectancy into their early 40s.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 12 million Americans are symptomless carriers of the cystic fibrosis gene, and if both you and your partner have the gene, it greatly increases your child’s chance of having the disease.I applaud the work of the researchers and advocates who work for a cure every day and create innovative ways of treating the disease. Through their efforts, those afflicted with cystic fibrosis can pursue their life goals, whether it is a particular career path, marriage, children or all of the above. Please take a moment to learn more about cystic fibrosis.Sen. Bill Monning represents the 17th State Senate District, which includes all of San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz counties, and portions of Monterey and Santa Clara counties.