Guest View

Like all of Santa Clara County, Morgan Hill has a rich agricultural history. Most of today's remaining actively grown agriculture (ag) is in South County. To preserve our region's proud history, residents throughout the county want to see active ag preserved to the maximum extent possible.   Our community has invested significant time and resources in evaluating alternatives to preserve viable ag. Morgan Hill's forward thinking, citywide Agricultural Preservation Program was developed with guidance from respected ag preservation and economic consultants. It includes a "stay ahead" provision requiring preservation to occur before development.Morgan Hill has pledged to invest millions of dollars in ag preservation from a fund that continues to grow as the city develops. We have a plan that effectively saves the most ag while providing other benefits to our community and region.It is unrealistic to think that if we don't change anything, South County ag land will remain ag. We have ample evidence to the contrary. Every parcel in unincorporated South County has development rights, including active ag parcels.San Martin is a visual example of ag land turned into housing on large acreage parcels. If you go to the south end of Trail Drive, you'll see five homes under construction. It is literally happening now! House by house, our ag lands will disappear unless we do something different.Morgan Hill is doing something different and innovative. One way to guarantee that these lands remain ag is to remove their development rights by recording a permanent ag easement on the deeds. Land owners will do this—for a price.The city will assure that any ag land developed in or around Morgan Hill preserves an equal amount of designated ag land in the area southeast of the city. It can do this by supplementing payments from an open space account funded by developers who compete for housing allocations in the city. Housing development in the city assists in preserving ag lands in the surrounding county.We are also working with landowners on other innovative approaches to compensating them for ag easements.Morgan Hill has a great reputation for providing high quality recreation facilities. Another creative way to fund ag preservation is to annex a small portion of the area (less than 180 acres) near the Tenant-101 interchange to enhance its family and youth-oriented recreation, sports and leisure offerings. Morgan Hill can leverage its reputation by expanding its active recreation facilities.This envisioned development will pay ag preservation fees, so it will assist in preserving ag in the surrounding county.Another planned use for the southeast area is a new Catholic high school on land owned by the church near the Tenant-101 interchange. It will be a tremendous South County asset, and its development will also help fund ag preservation.Morgan Hill's plans do not add any housing to these areas. None.Consistent with the widely accepted Santa Clara Food and Farmlands Resolution, Morgan Hill is working diligently to insure that small-scale ag remains viable in our sphere of influence. We are seeking the services of a third-party administrator to oversee easements and explore creative ways to provide ag infrastructure to small-scale farmers.To make ag preservation a reality, Morgan Hill is working closely with our Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to gain approval to annex the land for recreation and the Catholic high school. A hearing is scheduled Feb. 3. It is imperative for LAFCo to approve our application, as it proactively and responsibly preserves viable ag while also providing quality community-serving facilities.Steve Tate is the mayor of Morgan Hill. The Feb. 3 LAFCO meeting will take place at the county’s board meeting chambers, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose.

On Oct. 31, 1517, a fairly obscure professor and monk posted theses for an academic discussion. That action—and Martin Luther’s life of writing, teaching, preaching and standing up to the emperor and pope—sparked a Reformation that changed the world.Luther asks some of the most basic questions of human existence. He was on a quest for the right relationship between God and people, and how to show love for others in need. This speaks to the basic universal hunger we have to find our ground of being and to find an orientation that helps us to explain, “Why am I here?” and, “Where am I going?” and that then has an impact on how we actually live in this world.As we mark 500 years, I would like to personally invite you to any or all of three big community events this month hosted at our congregation, Advent Lutheran Church.• Faith of Our Neighbors: Christianity in the Lutheran Tradition presentation, sponsored by the Interfaith Community of South County, 4 p.m. Oct. 15• Reformation Hymn Festival, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 22• Catholic–Lutheran Common Prayer Service, 7 p.m. Oct. 30.Luther is an example of how one can stand up on the basis of one’s faith against institutions and individuals who are hurting people. When Michael King, Sr., visited Germany in 1934, he was so inspired by how Martin Luther changed society without a call to take up arms, that he changed his name, and his son’s name, to Martin Luther King. Ideas do matter.We will claim Luther and at the same time we will disagree with Luther. Along with my church denomination, I refute in the strongest terms Luther’s anti-Jewish writing late in his life. Luther himself was a clear example of one of his teachings: that each person is at one time both a saint and a sinner.He was simultaneously the most loved and most hated person in the Western world. No one in history left behind a more detailed written record—130 volumes—and no one seemed to feel the need to edit him. Nearly 1 billion Protestant Christians in the world today have been influenced by him.His influence extends far beyond the church. He unleashed new ways of thinking that profoundly shaped the secular world. For example, as a vocal advocate for the universal education of children, including girls, Luther paved the way for the now-ubiquitous public school system.He was the first to prove the power of the media to amplify the marketplace of ideas and to provide a check on government. He set in motion cultural changes that would lay the groundwork for democracies in the U.S. and Europe.I joyfully participate in the life of our South County community alongside people of many faiths. In the worship, teaching and life of today’s Lutheran church, we continue to share faith and service from Luther’s insight into the grace of God in Christ Jesus as attested in the scriptures. Five hundred years later, we may well be at another hinge of history. Our time, too, requires deep theological and ethical reflection to lead to courageous living.Anita R. Warner is the Pastor for Advent Lutheran Church of Morgan Hill, 16870 Murphy Ave. She wrote this guest view for the Morgan Hill Times. For more information about this month’s events and the church, visit advent-lutheran.org.

The commercial sexual exploitation of children is not new. Society has struggled with its existence and its damaging impacts throughout history. In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) became a cornerstone of federal anti-trafficking legislation to prosecute traffickers, prevent trafficking crimes and protect victims. TVPA recognizes there is no such thing as a “child prostitute,” and children cannot consent to sexual activity, much less the illegal act of prostitution/commercial sex.

My great-grandfather was a bishop in a small Christian denomination who got his start preaching on street corners. Crowds gathered to hear his message of God’s love. Eventually he founded a church in Dayton, Ohio’s poorest district, leading standing-room-only services. I admire my great-grandfather,...

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...