Opinion

February is nationally recognized as Spay and Neuter Awareness Month to educate and bring awareness to the benefits of spaying or neutering your pet.In the United States, there are more than 6 million homeless animals brought to animal shelters annually. Often, these healthy, well-behaved animals are euthanized due to shelter overpopulation. By making the choice to spay or neuter your pet, you will help to reduce the homeless animal population and increase the longevity of your pet’s health.While not widely discussed, spaying and neutering has been shown to increase your pet’s lifespan because it decreases the risk of certain types of cancers. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, spaying females prior to their first heat cycle decreases the risk of uterine and breast cancer, and also prevent uterine infections. Neutering males prevents testicular cancer and the enlargement of the prostate glands. By fixing your pets at an early age, you can provide them with a long, healthy life.Additionally, spaying and neutering pets can curb bad behavior. Unneutered dogs can be more assertive and aggressive than neutered males, and unneutered cats are much more prevalent to spray than fixed cats.   It is a common misconception that sterilizing your pet is expensive. There are many veterinarian clinics and local shelters that provide these services at an affordable price. Additionally, many communities provide financial assistance to help offset the cost to spay or neuter your pet.  For more information about financial assistance programs in your area, contact your local Humane Society or local animal shelter.To ensure your animal family member has a healthy, long life, and to help save millions of unnecessary homeless animals each year, please remember to spay or neuter your pet.For more information or to find a spay/neuter clinic in your area, use the spay/neuter locator here: petsmartcharities.org/adopt-a-pet/find-a-spayneuter-clinicSen. 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.   

I hope the Morgan Hill City Council does the right thing and allows a marijuana dispensary in Morgan Hill.As it is, I have to travel to San Jose to get CBD, a non-psychoactive extract of marijuana. I use it for my bursitis in my left hip, and by using it, I am able to walk five miles without pain. I am able to sleep on my left side now, which I was not able to do before.CBD improves my health and I don't get high from it.Please, please allow a dispensary in Morgan Hill.Linda O'MaleyMorgan Hill

Last week was a big week in the world of planning for our community. The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, Morgan Hill Downtown Association and the Morgan Hill City Council all held their annual planning retreats.Every year, most organizations will spend an extended period of time really focusing and digging into understanding what it is they do and how they are going to do more of it and do it better.Looking to both the past and the future are all part of creating a meaningful and attainable vision.We spend time looking at the past to see how we did; most of what I’ve seen has been pretty good in my opinion. 2017 was a pretty good year if you believe in constant planned improvement in how we operate as a community. I mean this in the broadest sense with things like seeing public art going up, the Friday Night Music Series blowing up, the increased popularity of the downtown, expanded industrial activity, fundraising events reaching new levels in quality and effectiveness, our Fourth of July and Holiday Lights parades growing and adding definition to who we are, public parks with private partnerships opening downtown; the list goes on and on…We will spend a lot of time gazing into a future that is incredibly bright. That bright future could look different to each person in an organization, and must be distilled to ones they can agree to champion as an organization. Courses to a vision must be charted by mere people, often volunteers that practice a level of good common sense that is not so common these days. I would even call our city councilmembers elected volunteers with their level of compensation.Advice from professionals in the different fields of interest is usually available in Morgan Hill, but ultimately it is really up to the dedicated amateurs to make decisions and chart courses to the visions of the future.So I guess what I am working toward is giving recognition to all of those people that work so hard to make this community what it is in so many ways.Thank you to the city council for the countless hours of work that so often go un-thanked. Thank you to the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Association, Independence Day Celebrations, Kiwanis, Historical Society, AAUW and more…Thank you for paying attention to the past and seeing a vision for the future of Morgan Hill.Thank you for having the courage to make decisions that might ultimately prove to be wrong because no one makes all of the right decisions except for the one who makes none, and then they already made one bad one to begin with…Thank you to the professionals who help guide us amateurs. Thank you for putting community ahead of self. As far as I know, not one of you has made a fortune from all of your hard work, contrary to what some may say.Thank you to all of you who are considering joining the ranks of our volunteer community.Thank you to all of the volunteers of all types that make Morgan Hill truly community driven.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].

Friends and Family of Nisei Veterans (FFNV), a locally-based, multi-state Japanese-American veterans’ group, will hold its annual meeting Feb. 10 at the Morgan Hill Buddhist Community Center, 16450 Murphy Ave.  The main guest speaker will be Congressional Medal of Honor recipient James Taylor, who was the Grand Marshal of the 2015 Independence Day Parade in Morgan Hill. The host will be Lawson Sakai, who is President of FFNV and also Grand Marshal of the 2014 parade.On Nov. 9, 1967, First Lieutenant Taylor was serving in Vietnam as a cavalry officer. When his troops came under intense enemy fire and one armored assault vehicle was hit, Lt. Taylor jumped into action.The Medal of Honor citation reads: “His actions of unsurpassed valor were a source of inspiration to his entire troop, contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy position, and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers.”The public is cordially invited to attend at 12:30pm.Brian ShiroyamaMorgan Hill

The stories began flying last week: Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would raid businesses across California and deport undocumented workers.

Here’s a solution to High Speed Rail through Morgan Hill: I read an article that the city of Hawthorne, Calif., has signed a contract with the Elon Musk boring company to bore a two-mile tunnel for traffic. Why can't the state do the same thing with the High Speed Rail to bypass Morgan Hill downtown?Since there are no stops in Morgan Hill, this should be easy to do. Make it big enough for two trains (four tracks), and you can run the regular Union Pacific trains through it too. Morgan Hill could chip in for that as it will be a big benefit to the quality of life along the current Union Pacific tracks, where there have been a lot of homes built up lately.I don't understand why Gov. Jerry Brown hasn't proposed that solution. It would make his HSR less expensive. Seems like an easy, cheaper solution.Regards,Mark ZiebarthMorgan Hill

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].

2017 will be a memorable year for Santa Clara County, especially for water resources management.It was the year that broke our state’s longest dry streak with record-setting precipitation. A year of transition between extremes—from drought to floods. A year for big decisions on the future of our water supply. And it was a year to redouble our commitment to preparing for wet and dry years to ensure safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment and economy for the Silicon Valley.As Board Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, I am proud to reflect on some of the year’s highlights.  A historic flood along Coyote Creek was a vivid reminder that flood risks persist in our county, and our hearts go out to those affected. Despite our investments of close to $1 billion in flood protection projects over several decades protecting nearly 100,000 parcels, our work is far from complete. The Coyote Creek flood has ignited a new urgency in our fight to reduce flood risks and help keep communities safe.This year, we completed the Lower Silver Creek Flood Protection Project in east San Jose. The project extends approximately 4.4 miles from its connection at Coyote Creek to Cunningham Avenue. When the Lake Cunningham detention basin is complete, it will protect approximately 3,800 homes and businesses.  After the Coyote Creek flood in February, my colleagues and I led advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., to seek federal funding and support changes to the regulatory process, which has delayed many important flood protection projects. At home, we took immediate action to build short-term flood barriers at the Rock Springs neighborhood, remove invasive vegetation along Coyote Creek and remove downed trees and potential creek blockages. The board also approved new operating parameters at Anderson and Coyote reservoirs to create more storage space, further reducing the chance of flooding.In one of the most critical decisions of the year, the water district board voted to participate in the California WaterFix project to improve the infrastructure that carries water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Our board developed a list of seven guiding principles to examine a less costly, scaled-down and staged project that would serve Silicon Valley’s needs, as well as those of our partner agencies.To further improve reliability of our imported water supply sources, we applied for $484.5 million in state funding for the potential expansion of the Pacheco Reservoir. Located about 13 miles southwest of San Luis Reservoir, this project offers emergency and drought-year supply, fish habitat enhancement, flood protection and other benefits.  Another way we are preparing for the future is through expanding the use of recycled water.No doubt about it, 2017 was a forward-moving year. I wouldn’t expect anything less for the Silicon Valley, and I am humbled to have led the efforts this year. Follow more of what we accomplished throughout the year in our 2017 annual report, available at valleywater.org.John Varela represents District 1—which includes Morgan Hill, San Martin, Gilroy and hills east of San Jose and Milpitas—on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors. He can be reached at [email protected].

Thank You, Morgan HillOn behalf of Michelle's husband Dustin, daughter Kennedy, and our entire family, we want to thank the City Council, Morgan Hill teammates and the community for your overwhelming support and generosity.Your display of compassion helped all of us as we struggled to understand why Michelle was taken from us at this time. Morgan Hill's kindness was reflective of the way Michelle lived her life, and we know she is thankful for all that the Morgan Hill community has done for her family. We thank you all for your ongoing support during this difficult time. It’s another example of why Morgan Hill is such a special, caring community.Steve and Helene RymerSteve Rymer is the former city manager of Morgan Hill.Too early for legal potIt's still early days for recreational marijuana in California. Why the rush to allow the marijuana industry in Morgan Hill?While it's unclear what legal marijuana will ultimately look like in this state, it is certain that many voters will regret having voted “yes" on Proposition 64 once the costs to law enforcement, public health, and quality of life are realized.Ryan TreffersMorgan Hill