Opinion

Aah! Summertime! Here we are, many of us stretched out in front of the television set, munching on snacks, with our iPhones stuck in one hand while playing video games with the other. Perfect, right? Actually, we should answer no! Summer has a higher purpose!...

No more gigantic warehouses Morgan Hill City Council (MHCC) passed an ordinance banning distribution centers. Then they approved Redwood Tech at 101 (RT@101), with over 10 football fields of warehouse space with loading docks. A project of equal size, Butterfield Technology Park, was also approved,...

I have been a community member of the High Speed Rail working group (CWG) for the past almost 5 years. During that time, the project has gone from a potential overhead and separate rail line to a complete at-grade rail line on the existing...

Welcome Cordoba Center to San MartinIt is my dream to live in a community where fears are lessened and differences are embraced.I recall learning in grade school that the pilgrims came from England to America seeking freedom of religion. The Muslim faith has deep roots and longevity. It is an authentic religion honoring the same God Christians and Jews honor, as there is only one God. I know exemplary people who embrace and practice the Muslim religion.I have seen the plans for the Cordoba Center proposal. They have been made with the utmost of care so as not to be intrusive to the neighbors. The cemetery is situated so that it has a natural barrier to mitigate any health concerns. The proposed buildings are compatible in size with the surrounding developments. Since all buildings in the Cordoba plans are grouped in one area, there are many open spaces between it and the neighbors."To know one, is to love one.” It is my prayer that the opposition to the Cordoba is not being based on the negative press about Islam. True Christians know that we are all children of God and that He has given us free will to express His love differently.My family of migrant workers settled in Morgan Hill in 1946. We were warmly welcomed. I wish the same acceptance for all who wish to live and visit our community and whose ethical values contribute to the harmony and well-being of our beloved community.I urge our community to support this worthwhile project as it not only would meet the needs of a significant segment of our community, but also enrich us all.Rose HernandezMorgan HillProject larger than othersSan Martin Neighborhood Alliance welcomes all religious institutions to our community.The Cordoba Center project, as proposed is:• Four times the size of the largest religious/communal/social facility currently in San Martin.• Three times the limit that requires "enhanced scrutiny" under the recently revised Santa Clara County Planning and Land Use regulations.• Twice the size that the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) concludes would reasonably accommodate the needs identified by the proposers.There are numerous inaccuracies in the DEIR, as well as important issues which are not addressed. The SMNA Board will formally address those issues in written DEIR comments to the county, which at that time will become public record.The proposed cemetery is of particular concern, as it would be sited immediately adjacent to homes dependent on well water for household consumption. We believe, based on the references we have found, that this aspect of the proposal requires further study by cognizant technical experts before it can safely be approved. Further, we believe that suitable alternatives to meet this need exist and have not been explored.San Martin faces tremendous development pressure from its neighbors to the north and south.  If we are to host large developments that our urban neighbors can't or won't accommodate, we hope and expect that the county will honor its General Plan commitment to protect our rural/agricultural community.We would be pleased to engage with the proposers, regarding a more modest project that would meet their needs with substantially less impact, but regretfully cannot support this project as proposed.Sincerely,SMNA Board of DirectorsTrina Hineser, President

City rejects sustainable ag efforts

A few weeks ago, my family and I joined the Fourth of July celebration organized by the Freedom Fest organization. As we enjoyed the parade and the beautiful weather, we met many community members and friends, all sharing in this beautiful, nearly 150-year-old Morgan...

The Amgen Tour of California, the biggest bicycle race in all of these United States, is almost here! ARE YOU READY?It’s now May, which the League of American Bicyclists has declared National Bike Month. They have 57 million members, so they win—it’s Bike Month.Next, we are about to venture into our own Morgan Hill Bike Week. It’s the first time we’ve done it here and it’s being done right—with a little help from our friends. Bike Week officially starts May 9.To get an early start on Bike Week this Friday, May 4, you’ll want to mount up and head to the corner of First and Depot Streets. A no-host ride is planned to gather at 7:30pm and it promises to be one big party—a Bike Party to be exact. Bike Parties are popular in other cities, so let’s see how much fun we can have and make it a Morgan Hill style event. I’ve heard this bike event may include dancing…On Wednesday, May 9, you can ride to school with your children to celebrate Bike to School Day. Many of our local school children just learned about bike safety from the folks at Specialized Bicycle Components and AEG (Amgen ToC event organizers), so let’s practice safety and fun.Then next Thursday morning, May 10, is “Ride to Work Day.” Stop at the Community Center and get “energized” with refreshments and some goodies so you can leave the car at home.On Friday, May 11, head down to the Downtown Amphitheater for the Amgen ToC kick off concert. Specialized got involved, allowing the Chamber of Commerce to bring in some great musical acts. Specialized helped sponsor the concert, bike inspections and a bike rodeo that will take place in the parking lot with local bike shop partner “Bike Therapy” involved.Wanna try something different for Mother’s Day? Come out and ride with the Mayor and other community leaders you’d like to see sweat, and show that spending a few quality miles with mom is the way to spend the day. After the ride, sit down to some well-earned pancakes at the Morgan Hill Grange.Specialized is a friend to the Morgan Hill community, and what do friends do? They invite you over to their place on Tuesday, May 15. Specialized will open up their headquarters and “Windtunnel” to our community for a rare look around their digs. You must see all of the cool stuff they have in their museum, check out some custom bikes (like a chopper and hot rod bike) and maybe have a beer or glass of wine while you’re at it.To cap off our Bike Week, on May 16 we will host the world of international bicycle racing—that’s race day! I think I’ve already said enough about that.FYI:  a community meeting on street closures and details on the event will be held May 8, 6pm to 8pm, at the Community Center, 17000 Monterey Road. This is a great opportunity to hear details about the event so don’t miss it if you’d like to know more about getting around on race day.Enjoy your Bike Week!For detailed information, visit https://www.morgan-hill.ca.gov/1679/Events-and-Activities.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at [email protected].

I am writing in support of Dr. Carmen Garcia, Superintendent of Morgan Hill Unified School District. I retired in July 2022 after over 15 years with the district and have recently come back to assist the district providing interim administrative support.   During my time with...

In my last column, I described an event that could be the biggest thing to hit Morgan Hill since the Swedish Crown Prince and Princess visited in 1926.The Amgen Tour of California is coming and will bring the world right into our living room. This world class event will be in our town, not 10 miles south or 28 miles north like the last two world class events, both of which pretty much passed us by.Again, this is a big deal for us.Are you one of those people that wonder how this event came to be in Morgan Hill? An event that I’ve heard could cost over $100,000 just to be provided the privilege of hosting—in addition to the direct costs associated with a world class event (just the part we’re paying for)? An event that normally gobbles reams of paper just to fill out the qualification forms to participate?We are the beneficiaries of someone else’s misfortune. Another community pulled out of the event, and Amgen Tour organizers gave the folks in San Jose a call, who in turn gave our folks in Morgan Hill a call.Yes, we have a relationship with San Jose that is strong enough for that call to take place. Bet you had no idea that could have happened.So how did that happen? My theory… In April 2013 the community of Morgan Hill declared that we wanted tourism to grow as a key industry. The city council heard that proclamation, and an environment was created that fostered reaching out to our neighbors to work together in the name of tourism.A couple years back, the very people that gave us that recent call were invited to Morgan Hill to see what we see every day—a beautiful community that could actually be an asset to San Jose.An asset to San Jose? Yes, an asset in the sense that one of the lures to potential visitors of San Jose could be our “charming” community just minutes away from the big city hubbub. When you’re done at the Tech Museum, head over to Morgan Hill for lunch and hiking, for example.A stage was set years ago where this event is now about to play out. This event will in turn hopefully set in motion a recognition of Morgan Hill as a great place to visit, build businesses and live. These are called investments in the future.There is a lot of work to do before we can show off Morgan Hill to the world, and at the same time feel comfortable our community will enjoy this event. We have to get everyone who lives in, works in, or regularly passes through the downtown informed about the event and work to minimize the impacts to them. That work will start right away.As short as the event may be, one day there will be some inconveniences that we need to minimize for the entire community. Careful planning will help with that.We need to plan collaboratively to make the most of the large number of visitors and event coverage. We may only get one chance to shine, and we’re going to make the most of it.Let the work begin.John McKay is president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, a city planning commissioner and co-founder of the Morgan Hill Tourism Alliance. He can be reached at [email protected].