Guest View

Period poverty is defined as the struggle those who have a menstrual cycle face while trying to afford menstrual products. Despite not being able to control a menstrual cycle, those who have one are still left to purchase products that some cannot afford. I...

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.

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!

It has been just over two years since Valley Water broke ground at Anderson Dam with the promise to protect the public and secure Santa Clara County’s water supply. Since then, our agency has made tremendous progress on this vital public safety and water...

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/.