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The “Focus” Safe Parking Program was created by a collaboration of the City of Morgan Hill, Morgan Hill Police Department, County of Santa Clara, Morgan Hill Unified School District and the Gilroy Compassion Center. The site is located at the Morgan Hill Bible Church...

When word of the Morgan Hill/Gilroy neglected horse herd launched on Facebook in response to the mistreatment of more than three dozen horses on two South County ranches (in the summer of 2014), we knew that they needed the help of the equine community, so we stepped in.Since Santa Clara County Animal Care and Control was doing nothing to assist in the seizure, rescue, and placement of these horses, we worked side by side with the Center Horse advocates and San Martin Animal Shelter to ensure each horse found a safe rescue, sanctuary, foster or forever home. The whole thing was a huge debacle because of ACC’s negligence in addressing this case. Horses were taken off of the property, new horses appeared on the property, and most horses did not end up in rescues in Santa Clara County.We decided that with the help of a few friends, we could take on one of the pregnant mares.  That’s when Cinder came into our lives.Cinder and several other horses from this herd used to belong to a local breeder in the performance horse industry. Most of these horses were registered Quarter Horses with outstanding pedigree and careers in the cutting industry. Cinder had a successful career as a cutting horse, but eventually this sport wore her down. They turned her into a broodmare for years, producing foal after foal, year after year.Eventually, they discarded her and that’s how she wound up with the South County herd.  Cinder’s story began the day she was born to a 23-year-old mare, who died after her birth.  Like so many of the horses from this herd, Cin came to us pregnant, her conception date unknown due to the fact that this herd was living with numerous stallions and mares together on a small lot on Center Avenue in Gilroy.Cin got the best care she could get in the months following her departure from Center Avenue. Her board was $315 per month for her to stay at Lakeview Stables in San Jose. The first thing we did was have a vet out to assess her. She was not only pregnant, but had a significant limp that was found to be caused by Navicular, a debilitating syndrome in horses, and fused hocks—most likely the result of the physical demands of being a cutting horse. The extra weight of her foal made her very uncomfortable so we purchased special boots for her to ease some of the pain. Cin adjusted to her new life at Lakeview. The owners agreed to let us build her a stall and a paddock on the hill where she and her new foal would live safely.  All along, we knew Cinder was at risk.Our daily routine included taking her for walks, letting her graze, and feeding and grooming her. She loved to roll in sand arena, but even this was becoming too difficult for her. I still cherish the times I spent braiding her hair as she grazed on the hillside. She loved her life at Lakeview, and we loved her.On April 1, just before midnight, Cinder finally delivered a very large, very healthy filly. The delivery was quick and all seemed well. We were relieved, but this relief did not last long.  Within hours CinCin started showing signs of distress. We rushed her to Steinbeck where she received several transfusions due to a ruptured uterine artery. She was bleeding internally. She fought all day to stay alive, getting up time and time again, calling to her foal. But they couldn’t save her. I can still see the pain and longing in her eyes…she’d fought so hard to deliver her foal despite the neglect and abuse she’d suffered. We decided to name the foal Belle because after all, she was Cinder’s belly.Belle required round the clock care with feedings every two hours. We managed to recruit our Lakeview family to help with the feedings and care of Belle that will go on for several months.  We were able to find an older mare at the ranch to look after her in her stall and teach her how to be a horse. But Belle is still an orphan...no person or horse can replace her mom.Belle is a very healthy young filly who reminds us of her beautiful mother. She will grow up in our care and she will never go hungry. But raising an orphan foal is never easy; she will require a lot of extra time and effort. Her formula alone is averaging over $500 per month.This is the story of just one of the horses from the South County herd. We have spent countless hours rehabilitating and caring for this mare and her foal because we have a broken system that refused to recognize the need for tougher laws and enforcement.  We cannot continue to expect the horse community to pick up the pieces. It has to be controlled at a state and county level.We MUST change the way we manage our horses in this county. We need to have our own county rescue and partnership so that we can take in horses in need sooner. It is time to reform Santa Clara County ACC.Loera will give a presentation on the aftermath of the 2014 South County abused horses case at the May 14 Santa Clara County Animal Advisory Committee meeting, which takes place 6:30 p.m. at the County Government Center, 70 W. Hedding Street, San Jose. Rivas, the owner of the nearly 40 malnourished horses, was convicted of felony animal abuse in January.

Santa Clara County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state and is projected to add more than 500,000 new residents in the next 25 years.What is the best way to accommodate this growth and build communities in ways that allow local governments to provide cost effective services while ensuring that valuable natural resources such as open space and agricultural lands are preserved?This is a major challenge for local government—and a core concern for the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County, more commonly known as LAFCO.LAFCO is a state-mandated, independent local agency whose purpose is to discourage urban sprawl, preserve open space and agricultural lands and encourage efficient delivery of services.LAFCO fulfills these goals by regulating the boundaries of cities and special districts and by conducting studies to inform its regulatory duties.Santa Clara County’s LAFCO has seven members, including two county supervisors, one San Jose City Council member, one council member from any of the other 14 cities in the county, two special district board members and one public member selected by the other six. As LAFCO members, they must act on behalf of the countywide public interest, consistent with locally adopted LAFCO policies and the state mandate.In the 1950s, California experienced dramatic population growth and economic development. Demand for housing, jobs and services triggered rampant, unplanned, sprawling development that resulted in inefficient public service delivery systems and massive conversion of agricultural and open space to urban use. In response, the State Legislature created LAFCOs in 1963 and gave them responsibility for encouraging orderly growth and development in each county.Early in the 1970s, Santa Clara LAFCO, the 15 cities and the county jointly adopted policies that call for urban development to occur only within cities. Cities proposed urban service area boundaries that identified lands each intended to annex for future development. Those boundaries were adopted by LAFCO and future expansions became subject to its approval.Since urban service areas are key to where and when future growth will occur and services will be provided, LAFCO reviews each expansion request very carefully.One of LAFCO’s first considerations in reviewing an expansion proposal is whether there are infill development opportunities and whether the city has used or underused its existing supply of vacant land before seeking expansion.Among many other factors, LAFCO also will consider whether the expansion would result in conversion of agricultural or open space lands, whether the services and infrastructure needed to support the proposed growth can be financed and provided without negatively impacting current city services, and whether there is an adequate water supply available.  The creation of LAFCO and implementation of its policies has slowed the outward spread of urban development in Santa Clara County. This has, in turn, allowed for the preservation of an informal “greenbelt” around the urbanized area that consists of protected open space lands, farmlands and scenic hillsides. Consequently, despite experiencing significant growth over the years, our county remains a very desirable place to live and work.Today, LAFCO continues to play a vital role in promoting sustainable growth and good governance in Santa Clara County. Through its actions to curb sprawl and preserve open space and agricultural lands, LAFCO can play a key role in addressing emerging issues such as the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.Neelima Palacherla is Executive Officer of the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Clara County. For more information about LAFCO, visit,www.santaclaralafco.org.

Despite some much-welcomed rain in April, Santa Clara County remains in a drought emergency. These recent storms were nowhere near enough to make up for the record dry conditions that impacted California during the first three months of 2022. During that time, San Jose recorded...

Morgan Hill City Councilman Rene Spring delivered the following comments at a June 1 rainbow flag raising ceremony at City Hall Plaza on Peak Avenue. “As I prepared for what I wanted to say at our local ceremony, I googled around and came across an amazingly well written speech by Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Tom Guest. His words speak for themselves. I found them so fitting for our ceremony. He's one of my heroes!,” Spring said, including portions of Guest’s speech in his comments at the local ceremony. The flag will continue to fly over City Hall throughout June, commemorating the month as LGBTQ Pride Month in Morgan Hill.Good morning. My name is Rene Spring. I am Morgan Hill’s first openly gay councilmember.Thank you all for coming. We are here today to celebrate the beginning of LGBTQ Pride Month, as it’s being celebrated in many communities across our region, throughout the country and even in many countries all over the world.It is great to see so many of you joining this event today and to show your solidarity and respect for the LGBTQ community! I did not expect this great turnout! Homophobia, biphobia and transphobia still exist. Events like today are a signal that we need to change that and need to embrace each other even more.In my short speech today, I will use the generic term “gay” instead of the acronym “LGBTQ.”Partly because it is the word I am most comfortable with, it is the word I feel is most universal and it is the word I am least likely to get tongue tied over.PRIDE. What exactly do we mean by GAY PRIDE? Does that mean we are proud to be gay? Isn’t that sort of like being proud to be short, or proud to have blue eyes? We really have nothing to do with the fact that we are gay.I started to realize I was different at about the age of 12 or 13. By the age of 16 or 17, I was certain I was gay. I was never PROUD of it. I was ashamed; I was embarrassed; I was afraid. I came out to my family and friends at the age of 17, and to my surprise, their response was: “Well, finally, we knew!” I was lucky to be embraced by a loving family and wonderful friends, but I also realize not all are that lucky yet.We are born gay. And if you are gay, you can deny it, you can pretend, you can act. But you cannot change that fact.Gay pride is not about being proud of the fact that we happen to be gay. It’s about NOT allowing others to make us feel shame because we are gay. It’s about NOT allowing others to define our worth based on our sexuality,It’s about NOT allowing others to define the love we share as less pure, less real, less deserving of recognition.Gay pride is about owning who we are. Gay pride is about valuing the diversity that is humanity in all its varied presentations.According to the Flags of the World Project, which unravels the history behind many of the world's flags, the original Pride Rainbow Flag was designed by a San Francisco individual named Gilbert Baker who just recently passed away. The rainbow flag is also symbolic because of its diversity.As you know, Morgan Hill is a very diverse community, in many ways. I believe that strength and solidarity can be found in diversity. Through this strength and solidarity, we can build communities which are based on the foundations of acceptance and inclusivity. Diversity is not just about recognizing our differences; rather it is about acknowledging our uniqueness and individuality.In acknowledging this uniqueness, it's evident that we're actually very much the same. We are people with different identities and layers—but people nonetheless.Welcome to LGBTQ Pride month in Morgan Hill—the first one ever in Morgan Hill!