Opinion

This week, Ms. Swanee Edwards wrote a letter that brought up Larry Carr’s name as a comparison to an inequity she pointed at with the South County Democratic Club. Ms. Edwards has been a friend for many years and while we do not believe...

With 60 percent of Americans diagnosed with one or more chronic illnesses—conditions which increase the risk for severe outcomes and death from Covid-19—the U.S. now more than ever needs evidence-based advice on how to maintain and restore our metabolic health.

There comes a time when each of us comes to terms with aspects of life that can change our views and challenge long held beliefs. For me it is the present issue of police in schools (school resource officers).

The COVID-19 pandemic and the severe economic recession it induced are disasters unparalleled in recent generations and it will take years to fully recover from their human and financial tolls.

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.

I have just returned from walking the El Camino, an 80-mile pilgrimage of seven days from Vigo to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Since the ninth century it has been one of the three great pilgrimage sites for Christians, along with Jerusalem and...

By Mattie Scariot The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival will take place virtually from Wednesday, April 7 to Tuesday, April 20 this year. This longtime, internationally acclaimed, local festival in Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista will feature fantastic films, panels,...

Morgan Hill retirees endorse Larry Carr City employees have a unique perspective on the day-to-day business of the city and the importance of leadership for its success. The City of Morgan Hill is a multi-million dollar municipal corporation operating as a public trust. The city needs thoughtful...

It seems that it’s all about events this time of the year. We’re planning for them and talking about the coming year, all in terms of events.By events, I mean the plethora of fun happenings you can all attend whose co-function is to raise money for some worthy cause. Fundraising events are one of the great “win-wins” of life: you get to have fun, and someone makes money and does even more good for the community with that money. It’s kind of like the “law of conservation of energy,” only here it’s the money you spend that doesn’t lose energy and will come back to the entire community with no noticeable loss in effectiveness.I’d like to take a break from the Amgen Tour of California for a moment and turn your attention to one of my favorite events of the year, and it’s usually the first one too.The Wineries of Santa Clara Valley puts on two major events every year supporting the local wine association and bringing joy to those that appreciate fine wine: the Spring and Fall Wine Passport events.The first one starts this weekend (March 2-4), and it will be the best one yet. Of course, that’s what they always say but what if a two-day event got extended to 30 days, and the kickoff evening event just increased from 16 wineries and 12 restaurants to 22 wineries and 15 restaurants? I would say we have a bigger and better event!This Friday, March 2, that kickoff event will take place at the Coyote Creek Golf Club clubhouse. Since I’m usually working the event I probably pay more attention to the people than most, and all I can say is they have a lot of fun and I wish I could join them.The finest in local wines will be poured, and this is where you can get up close to so many of our local heroes of wine. I’m going to call them heroes because so many aren’t making wine for the perceived fortunes to be made (there is a joke about how to end up with a small fortune in the wine industry: start with a big one…). They are working hard to express their passion in winemaking and help promote this wine region. I can only hope they are feeling rewarded for those efforts.Friday night will also find some of the finest restaurants in the South County showcasing their fine foods. Here too you may get to meet many of the people responsible for bringing their fine foods to you. Regardless of who is serving up the food, it is always impressive and I hope that you’ll find something from a restaurant you haven’t yet tried that inspires a future visit.The wine association is aware that many passport holders tried to visit all the wineries in the old two-day period. It could be a bit much for some so now you have an entire month to make all those tasty visits, because the spring passport event goes from March 3-31.I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again: make a plan of what wineries you want to visit, and then venture out and enjoy yourself. You can do it often now, so be safe.Kick off a year of fun events and a month of wine tasting this Friday!For more information about Passport Month and the order tickets, visit the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley website at santaclarawines.com/passport.html.

As a young journalist, I was invited to a meeting with Sheriff Bob Winter at an insurance office. At one point, one of the attendees asked the folksy Gilroyan if there was anything he could do to help. I remember Winter saying he needed...