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Sobrato’s first game of the 2017 season against Christopher is fast approaching.

Kayla Tulowitzki may just be a year into playing organized softball, but the improvements are showing and she has the hardware to prove it.

Morgan Hill City Manager Steve Rymer, who has received glowing evaluations from the city council and a number of salary raises since he was appointed to his current position in 2013, has applied for a similar job in his native state of Minnesota.Rymer was one of three finalists chosen by the Rochester, Minn. City Council to interview for their City Administrator position, according to a news report from the Rochester Post Bulletin. Rymer and the other two candidates will be interviewed by the Rochester City Council in public July 14.“Like Morgan Hill, Rochester is a progressive city with an exciting future,” Rymer said in a statement to the Times. “Being their next City Administrator would provide me an opportunity to work and live in a nationally recognized community and for us to be closer to our family.”Rochester’s City Administrator is the city’s top staff job and highest-paid position, with an annual salary of $170,625 as of the end of 2016, according to the city’s website.Rochester, which is located about 80 miles southeast of Minneapolis, has a population of about 107,000.Rymer, who is originally from Minnesota, has worked for the City of Morgan Hill since 2006, starting in recreation services. The council appointed him to city manager in 2013. At a May 3 meeting, the council voted to raise his annual salary in Morgan Hill from $233,700 to $248,000.In 2014, the council offered Rymer, a Morgan Hill resident, a low-interest $950,000 home loan, plus a $110,000 home improvement loan in 2015.

Only 10 members of the public showed up for a July 10 workshop encouraging participation from residents in shaping new Morgan Hill City Council election districts, but the experienced demographer hired by the city to gather data and coordinate the process described that as a “good turnout.”

Police are looking for a man who tried to break into a home in San Martin after carjacking a vehicle in Santa Cruz, according to authorities.Just after midnight July 9, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Water Avenue in San Martin, after a resident there called 911 to report an attempted break-in, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Rich Glennon. The homeowner heard the suspect trying to force entry into the home, and warned him from inside that police were being called.The suspect initially refused to leave the San Martin property. After the homeowner used a firearm to fire a warning shot, the suspect fled in a Chevrolet Impala that he had previously stolen out of Santa Cruz, Glennon said.Deputies arrived to the area and located the stolen vehicle, and attempted to make a traffic stop, according to Glennon. The suspect continued to flee police, and a short vehicle chase took place.The suspect led deputies to the end of Brookview Court in Morgan Hill, where he abandoned the Impala and continued to run away on foot through residential yards, Glennon said.Deputies and Morgan Hill Police set up a perimeter and conducted a search—which included a K9 and helicopter—while ordering local residents to shelter in place, Glennon said. However, authorities did not find the suspect.Glennon said police later found out the suspect had stolen the Impala from a location in Santa Cruz by approaching the vehicle, and telling the driver that he had a gun and wanted the car. However, the victims did not see a firearm in the man’s possession.The suspect is described as a white male, about 35 years old, with shoulder-length brown hair, Glennon said.No injuries were reported in the alleged crime spree.Anyone with information about this incident can contact the Sheriff’s Office at (408) 299-2311.

The Moveable Feast traveling fleet of food trucks will continue to stop on East Third Street in downtown Morgan Hill every Wednesday through July, despite the objections of a family who has owned property on the street for decades.The Dasovic family owns three homes on East Third Street, which has been redeveloped and redesigned more than once since 2009 as one of City Hall’s preferred sites for community events downtown. Only a public sidewalk separates the edge of the homes’ front yards from the boundary of events such as Moveable Feast.Diane Dasovic sent a letter to the city council June 21 listing their grievances with these events, which bring trespassers and litter to their properties, and restrict their ability to come and go as they please when the street is open only to vendors and crowds on foot.The letter was submitted as public comment on a proposed “Downtown special events and street closures” that would have allowed event organizers to shut down East Third Street up to 72 days per year, for several hours at a time.“That would have a devastating effect for the residents, especially my elderly mother,” Diane Dasovic’s letter reads. “It would force her out of her house of over 40 years.”Her letter asked the council to deny permits for Moveable Feast beyond the date of June 21, and to resist adopting the proposed event and street closures policy, which city staff recommended for approval at that evening’s meeting. The council decided to allow Moveable Feast to complete its full eight-week run as originally scheduled, but took no action on an events and street closures policy.City staff will come back to the council in the fall with a revised policy proposal, according to Morgan Hill Community Services Coordinator Nichole Martin.Dasovic blames the City of Morgan Hill for allowing event organizers to “(deny) residents access to their driveways and homes” during the events. She also blames the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, organizer of the Moveable Feast—the most recent event on East Third Street that has occurred every Wednesday since early June and will continue until July 26.But not everyone is complaining. A neighbor of the Dasovics’ on East Third Street said he and his parents, who own the family home, don’t have any gripes with Moveable Feast or other downtown events. The resident, Steve Pagaza, said noise and crowds are “expected” in an urban neighborhood.“It’s not unreasonable,” Pagaza said. “It’s not like you’re living in the country.”Balance is keyCity officials have said while the residents of East Third Street are aware that the street is designed to be closed down for periodic public gatherings, these events should strike a balance between that purpose and the rights of the property owners.“We have one resident who has been there the whole time, who has known about what we’re doing,” Mayor Steve Tate said. “We need to do everything to be respectful of these residents (but) I don’t think that should have an impact on the number of events we have.”MHDA representatives argue they have done everything they can to accommodate the Dasovics during Moveable Feast, including reserving parking spaces for them in a public lot just outside the event area, and ensuring they will have an escort from the fire department if they need to need to get in or out of their homes while the street is closed.Dasovic’s letter stated her family views the proposed special events policy as “retaliation to our request that (the) city allow my elderly mother vehicle access to her driveway and home, as her health requires, and her doctor had requested, during the Moveable Feast series.”And Dasovic accuses event organizers of shirking their requirement to comply with federal disability access guidelines.“The public has repeatedly trespassed on our private property, while the event organizer has turned a blind eye and refused the measures we requested to prevent this,” the letter adds.Is a policy needed?City staff recommended adopting the policy because of an increase for requests for downtown events that require street closures. The city has long promoted such events, which attract large crowds and thus more people to spend money at downtown businesses. The policy would have applied to popular large-scale festivals such as Mushroom Mardi Gras and Taste of Morgan Hill, as well as the Moveable Feast and the National Night Out public safety event, which typically occurs in downtown Morgan Hill in August.At the June 21 meeting, some council members couldn’t agree with city staff about the number of expected patrons per event that would trigger the policy. Staff recommended any event that brings 500 people or more to Third Street should be subject to the policy. For closure of Monterey Road, expected attendance of 5,000 or more would have triggered the policy.These events, which have become even more in demand since the city spent $25 million sprucing up the downtown in the last couple years, have paid off, according to proponents.“The people trying to do something good are being bombarded with negativity,” MHDA board member Julia Wolfsmith, who owns a salon on Third Street, told the council. “Fifty people (for example) on any street downtown is important for any business downtown. We depend on the festivals and events to get our name out there, and our exposure.”MHDA board member Kathy Sullivan told the council June 21 that the Dasovics were offered a ride to the meeting that evening, while Moveable Feast was occupying Third Street, but “they chose not to take it.” She urged the council to adopt the policy “for the greater good of the city.”Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr said the city has “spent a lot of time, a lot of money (and) effort” on the reconstruction of East Third Street, which “has always been the epicenter of Morgan Hill.”“That being said, we need to make every reasonable accommodation we can” for the residents, he added. Carr later added that the Dasovics’ concerns are “solvable,” but the residents should be more willing to work with the city and event organizers.The city rebuilt East Third Street in 2009 with about $2 million in Redevelopment funds and a $1.7 million state grant. In 2015, the city demolished and rebuilt the street again after the original driving surface, composed of paver stones, suffered from ongoing damages. The city and contractor Joseph J. Albanese settled a lawsuit on the damages, awarding the city about $357,000 to complete the latest rebuild.

Petty theftSomeone stole two license plates from a gray Saturn parked on La Alameda Drive. The theft was reported 9:37 p.m. July 3.Auto burglaryA thief or thieves smashed the window of a 1997 Honda Odyssey and stole items. The crime was reported 3 a.m. July 5 on Railroad Avenue.Someone broke the window on a black Mazda 3 parked on the 18200 block of Hale Avenue and stole paperwork and electronics items. The crime was reported 7:38 a.m. July 5.TheftA guest at Economy Inn, 15080 Monterey Road, stole a television from a guest room. The theft was reported 10:20 a.m. July 4.DisturbanceAbout 10 girls reportedly attacked another girl on the top floor of the downtown parking garage, 50 East Third Street, and broadcast the fight on the Snapchat social media application. The disturbance was reported 10:23 p.m. July 3.Recovered stolen vehicleA white Econoline van, previously reported stolen, was recovered on Diana Avenue. The vehicle was recovered with two sets of bolt cutters on the front seat. Police arrested a 39-year-old man in relation to the theft. The van was reported 10:28 a.m. July 1. Dine and dashA large family ate lunch at Denny’s, on Cochrane Road, and left the restaurant without paying their bill. The crime was reported 1:28 p.m. July 2.BatteryA man punched a victim in the face following a verbal argument at the Safeway fuel pumps at Tennant Station Way. The crime was reported 2:37 p.m. July 2.Stolen vehicleSomeone stole a black 1998 Honda Civic from a spot on Village Circle. The theft was reported 8:07 a.m. July 2.A thief or thieves stole a red 1989 Honda Civic from the parking lot of Sushi Ichiban, 116 Cochrane Plaza. The theft was reported 2:38 p.m. July 3.Someone stole a green 1994 GMC truck from Jasmine Square Apartments, 16530 Monterey Road. The crime was reported 7:24 a.m. July 5.VandalismA victim reported a “drive by shooting” after someone drove by her house, near Cochrane Road and Butterfield Boulevard, in a vehicle and shot a window with a BB gun. Police filed the incident as a vandalism case. The incident was reported 3:33 p.m. July 1.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

The Spirit of Morgan Hill 8U Red competitive travel team won all four tournaments it has entered this season.

Former world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero is hard at work preparing for his main event showdown with unbeaten Omar Figueroa that headlines Premier Boxing Champions on Fox and Fox Deportes July 15 in the first boxing event at the newly renovated Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.