Guest View

Approximately 4.8 million Californians have filed first-time unemployment claims since mid-March in the midst of a pandemic that the U.S. Census Bureau says has reduced income for more than half of the state’s households.

Our top priority remains an effort to retrofit and strengthen Anderson Dam, home to Santa Clara County’s largest reservoir, so it can safely withstand a strong earthquake.

What an incredible quarter century I have spent working for these community newspapers.  Twenty five years spent learning, teaching and contributing to producing your local newspaper.  I had several mentors over the years, who each had many more years here than I have racked up.  They taught me so much about each department, how it works and how they all fit together. Thank you to each and every one of you (you know who you are) for investing in me and making me better.  Much of my work was behind the scenes, planning and organizing, making sure everything came together on deadline.  I loved every minute of it!

It’s no surprise that our lives have become more hectic and fragmented each day.As part of our daily existence, we look to snippets of information in our community circles. Whether by news reports, friends, family or the increasing dependence on social media to stay connected, small bites of information we receive are the key to staying informed.Some time ago, I started working on specific Facebook Groups and other digital communities to help keep busy folks informed. These concerned the areas that mattered most to others and myself—one of which was our community here in Morgan Hill.  As the founder of the Morgan Hill Community Group Page (MHCG) on Facebook, there was growing need for our residents to have a centralized place to receive rapid information in our community from fellow residents. “By the residents, for the residents” is our credo, without City or government influence. Beyond other current happenings and discussions, topics like growth, crime and where can I find specific goods, services and more, has now become valuable to the group.Over the past year, the Morgan Hill Community Group page on Facebook has experienced growth. The once silent voice of residents is now rising up to engage many topics they previously didn’t have time or a venue for. This new-age way of communicating through social media is something I have advocated for many years. It provides each of us a simplified, fast and low-impact way to share our input in a massive venue.Another interesting aspect of the MHCG page is that more residents are engaging with each other to form smaller sub-social groups that use the page as a conduit for social good. More than once MHCG has joined residents together to save lost pets, help homeless in need and build community around our concerns of city growth. Even Bay Area news channels have fed off the good coming from the Morgan Hill community and MHCG page.While it’s not perfect, it’s shaping to become a catalyst that will change our view on Morgan Hill’s direction and commitment to a better community. In polls placed on the MHCG page, majorities are extremely biased on core areas of growth, city expenditures and lack of resident involvement in large decisions. This socialized communication is the shape of the future, and how the silent majority finds a voice again to reflect what “community” means to them.It’s also easy to envision how this model could allow our City Hall leaders a certified resident “e-vote” system to shape the residents’ desires for our future. This is another important topic I greatly advocate we consider.Being a native of Santa Clara County, I’m proud that our residents have stepped up to the plate recently through the MHCG page on Facebook and made Morgan Hill a community others wish to model. That spirit resides solely in each of those engaged positively in the group and helps make in a small way our Morgan Hill community a wonderful place to live.Steve “Papi” Chappell is a Morgan Hill resident and business owner. He is also a record holding champion in Land Speed Racing and the founder of the Morgan Hill Community Group Page on Facebook, which can be found at facebook.com/groups/MorganHillCommunityGroupPage/.

The month of March offers us the opportunity to acknowledge the unique benefits of music education through the celebration of “Music in our Schools Month.”

Eat, drink, play, work out, get healthy and beautiful, design or buy a house and get it financed all at the Historic Granary located on Depot Street by the train station in downtown Morgan Hill.  Wander the garden paths and take in the quiet nature...