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Describing Donald J. Trump’s presidential victory as “the most incredible political feat I have seen in my lifetime,” Wisconsin State Senator Paul Ryan shared similar sentiments as many local residents who were still stunned the morning after the next president elect was named.

Police arrested a couple after a Gilroy man stabbed an employee at Wal-Mart in Morgan Hill Nov. 8, according to authorities.MHPD officers responded to the store located at 170 Cochrane Plaza about 9 p.m. Nov. 8 on a report of a possible stabbing that had just occurred in front of Wal-Mart, reads a Nov. 9 press release.While responding to the call, police learned a man and woman fled the scene in a small silver SUV, and were last seen traveling south on U.S. 101, police said. The information was broadcast to surrounding law enforcement agencies.During the investigation, police determined a man and woman had entered the store and were acting suspicious while selecting store merchandise, according to police. The store’s loss prevention officers suspected the two subjects were preparing to leave the store without paying for the items.A loss prevention officer and the assistant store manager contacted the couple as they left the store, police said. The man pulled out a small knife and stabbed the assistant manager on the forearm, causing a non-life threatening injury. The man and woman then fled the area.Meanwhile, Gilroy police called MHPD to advise they located the suspect vehicle in the city of Gilroy, where officers detained the suspects, according to the press release. MHPD officers arrived in Gilroy with the victims, who positively identified the man and woman as the suspects involved in the incident at the Morgan Hill Wal-Mart.A search of the suspects’ vehicle turned up a knife and property stolen from Wal-Mart, police said.The suspects were identified as Noel Calderon, 31 of Gilroy, and Kimberly Angeles, 22 of Morgan Hill, police said. They were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of robbery, possession of stolen property, conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of illegal drugs and paraphernalia. Calderon also had a $50,000 warrant on suspicion of robbery out of San Jose.Anyone with information about this incident can contact MHPD at (669) 253-4964, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

Live Oak’s offense fed off the effort the defense put on the second half to cruise by Willow Glen on a 56-28 win Friday night.

As the California High Speed Rail Authority finalizes its plans to bring the train through, around or above Morgan Hill, city officials have a list of questions about the project and how it will impact local residents and businesses.City Hall is thus asking the community for input on this massive project before the City Council considers sending the HSRA a “scoping letter” on the locals’ preferred alignment later this month, according to city staff.“Regardless of the alignment that will ultimately be decided by the Authority, there are many questions that the city council and community must have answered prior to any decisions being made,” reads a Nov. 7 press release from city staff.The HSRA’s staff and consultants are currently considering four alignment alternatives for the train that will zoom through Morgan Hill at speeds faster than 200 mph. The HSRA board will choose its preferred alignment option by spring of 2017, after which will follow an environmental review and public comment period.The four alignment options are described as:• At grade, on a berm, along Monterey Road or adjacent (on the east side) of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks;• Elevated, in a viaduct, along Monterey Road or adjacent (on the east side) of the UPRR;• Elevated in a viaduct along the west side of U.S. 101;• Elevated in a viaduct along the east side of U.S. 101.The viaducts in the elevated options would rise 30 to 60 feet above the ground.While the City of Morgan Hill has “no legal authority to determine the future of the project,” the council hopes to work with the HSRA to influence the project so it “minimizes impacts on the community while developing the best project through/around Morgan Hill,” the city’s press release states.At the Nov. 16 meeting at council chambers on Peak Avenue, the council will discuss issues and questions that should be addressed in the final draft of its scoping letter to the HSRA.City staff have posted a draft list of questions for the HSRA on the city’s website. These include:“Will the HSR project have lighting for safety?”“What is the main safety mechanism if the train is derailed?”“How does noise change at different speeds?”“Will the Morgan Hill segment begin construction independent of progress in San Jose or Gilroy?”Residents can view the full list of questions and submit their own by visiting the city’s website, morganhill.ca.gov/1552/High-Speed-Rail.When completed, HSR will take travelers from San Francisco to Los Angeles in two hours, 40 minutes. The total budget of the statewide rail project is about $65 billion, which will be financed by a voter approved bond, federal stimulus grants and cap-and-trade funds, according to HSRA staff.Construction is already underway on the HSRA section that goes from Fresno to Bakersfield. The San Jose-to-Merced section—the one that will pass through Morgan Hill—is expected to be operational by 2025, planners said.Stations are planned in San Jose and Gilroy, among other locations throughout the project.The project will require the HSRA to acquire private residential and commercial properties that currently stand in the way of any alignment option.

Painting and wine tasting has become a popular trend. Getting groups of people who have never held a paintbrush to come away with a framable piece of artwork while enjoying the best of Santa Clara Valley wines was the goal at a recent Paint and Sip party at Seeker Vineyard in San Martin.

Tomorrow, Nov. 8, is election day, and more than 20,000 registered voters in the city limits and within the Morgan Hill Unified School District boundaries will join millions of their fellow Americans in deciding who will represent them from the local to the federal level.Polls throughout Santa Clara County will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Returns will begin to be posted on the Registrar of Voters’ website shortly after the polls close, though a complete counting of the ballots could last well into the morning of Nov. 9.Sample ballots sent by mail to registered voters in October list each individual voter’s designated polling place. Voters can also determine where they should go to vote by visiting the Registrar of Voters website at sccvote.org, or by calling (800) 345-8683, or by texting “Vote” to 468683 (GOVOTE) on a mobile device.Local races on the Nov. 8 ballot in Morgan Hill include the mayor’s seat, two city council positions, three seats on the Morgan Hill Unified School District board of trustees and a director’s seat at the Santa Clara Valley Water District, as well as three measures on growth and public services, and 17 state propositions.Running for mayor are incumbent Steve Tate, Kirk Bertolet and Joseph Carrillo. The winner will serve a two-year term.Five candidates running for council are incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers, as well as Mario Banuelos, Armando Benavides and Rene Spring. The top two vote recipients in this race will win the two available seats, to serve a four-year term.In MHUSD Trustee Area 5, running for the single seat are incumbent Tom Arnett and Angelica Diaz.Candidates running for the trustee’s seat in MHUSD Trustee Area 6 are incumbent Rick Badillo, Albert Beltran Jr. and Mary Patterson.For the SCVWD director’s seat, appointed incumbent John Varela faces off with challenger Tom Cruz.The ballot text for the following three measures will also appear on the ballots for Morgan Hill voters:• Measure A (requires a two-thirds majority): To provide affordable local housing for vulnerable populations including veterans, seniors, the disabled, low and moderate income individuals or families, foster youth, victims of abuse, the homeless and individuals suffering from mental health or substance abuse illnesses, which housing may include supportive mental health and substance abuse services, shall the County of Santa Clara issue up to $950 million in general obligation bonds to acquire or improve real property subject to independent citizen oversight and regular audits?• Measure B (requires a two-thirds majority): To relieve traffic, repair potholes; shall VTA enact a 30-year half-cent sales tax to:Repair streets, fix potholes in all 15 cities;Finish BART extension to downtown San Jose, Santa Clara;Improve bicycle/pedestrian safety, especially near schools;Increase Caltrain capacity, easing highway congestion, improving safety at crossings;Relieve traffic on all 9 expressways, key highway interchanges;Enhance transit for seniors, students, disabled;Mandating annual audits by independent citizens watchdog committee to ensure accountability.• Measure S (requires a simple majority): Shall a measure be adopted to amend the Morgan Hill General Plan and Municipal Code to update the City’s voter-approved Residential Development Control System (RDCS) to extend it to 2035, establish a population ceiling of 58,200, with a slower rate of growth than currently exists, and improve policies to maintain neighborhood character, encourage more efficient land use, conserve water, and preserve open space?Not to be overlooked on the Nov. 8 ballot is the choice for president, U.S. senate and congressional seats and state and regional offices.For more information, visit the registrar’s website at sccvote.org.

With less than a week to go until the Nov. 8 election, two candidates for Morgan Hill offices disclosed more campaign contributions in accordance with the California Fair Political Practices guidelines.The FPPC rules require candidates to disclose all individual campaign contributions of $1,000 or more that they receive within 90 days of an election, according to Morgan Hill City Clerk Irma Torrez.Mayor Steve Tate and Councilman Larry Carr reported such contributions at the end of October. Both are running to retain their respective seats on the five-member city governing body.Scott Murray, a Realtor with Intero Realty in Morgan Hill, contributed $1,000 to both Tate and Carr’s campaigns before the end of October, according to both candidates’ latest disclosures.South Valley Internet, based in San Martin, gave $1,000 to Tate’s campaign Oct. 29.Tate is running against Kirk Bertolet and Joseph Carrillo in the Nov. 8 election.Carr is running against Mario Banuelos, Armando Benavides, incumbent Marilyn Librers and Rene Spring.

Morgan Hill City Hall stepped into the ongoing public debate over Measure S by distributing a “fact sheet” on the growth control system update, which voters will consider for approval in the Nov. 8 election.“This fact sheet is intended to provide factual information from the city about extending and amending the city’s development control ordinance, which would otherwise expire in 2020, to 2035,” reads the introduction to the fact sheet, which city staff disseminated by email and social media Nov. 3. “In general, (Measure S) restricts development through a competitive bidding system, requires water conservation, requires preservation of open space and includes provisions designed to preserve city character.”If approved, Measure S would update the city’s Residential Development Control System. This ordinance, which limits the city’s population and the number of homes built in the city limits each year, was last approved by the voters in 2004 as Measure C.Opponents of Measure S—including mayoral candidate Kirk Bertolet and council candidates Rene Spring and Armando Benavides—think the measure doesn’t do enough to limit growth in Morgan Hill.Morgan Hill Community Services Coordinator Nichole Martin said the city posted the fact sheet “as a continuation of its communication about Measure S.” The document provides a comparison with the existing growth control ordinance “to show how Measure S addresses some of the key issues important to the community.”One of the key changes in Measure S is it will slow down the city’s annual growth, according to the city’s fact sheet. Measure S would set an annual maximum growth rate of 215 homes per year, and the council could opt to reduce that number any year during the life of the measure (until 2035). But the 215-home maximum could never be increased, according to the Measure S legalese.Measure S also “includes provisions for City Council to reduce number of allotments if it determines that the community’s public infrastructure (including schools) will be inadequate to accommodate new development,” the city’s fact sheet reads.Under Measure C, the number of homes built annually over the last decade has varied from 173 (2011) to 344 (2009), with an average of 247, according to city staff.Another key feature of Measure S is it creates a population “cap” of 58,200 in 2035, while Measure C strives toward a population “target” of 48,000 in 2020, the fact sheet continues. Under the current system, the annual number of allotments—set by the council with input from the planning commission, residents and developers—is determined by a “formula to achieve (the) target population.”Measure S would also restrict developers’ ability to gain extensions to their granted allotments if they are unable to start construction on time. The Nov. 8 measure would allow “no more than one extension for a maximum of one year with limited eligibility (City or other public agency delay or severe act of nature),” reads the city’s fact sheet.Measure C, on the other hand, allows allotment extensions for a number of reasons. Since the 2009 recession, the council has granted dozens of extensions for allotments to developers who did not have enough money to build their allotments, or had purchased projects from owners who couldn’t afford to follow through with their construction plans.One of the more controversial—and nuanced—changes in Measure S is the new guidelines under which the city council may apply to annex land for more residential development.Under Measure S, the city council must make six findings in any annexation proposal before submitting an application to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), according to the city’s fact sheet. These findings are:• Expansion is necessary to accommodate the growth specified in the General Plan;• Expansion is consistent with the city’s own policies or rules “specifying preferred sequence of future annexations;”• Public services and infrastructure “are or will be sufficient to accommodate development resulting from expansion” of the Urban Service Area (USA) boundary, and “additional development will not adversely impact” services and infrastructure;• Expansion supports “orderly development” and “prioritizes infill” construction in areas already served by city services;• Expansion is necessary to accommodate housing and/or employment needs of Morgan Hill;• Expansion promotes “fiscal responsibility, cost-effective service delivery” and the city’s ability to plan for and maintain urban services over time.Under Measure C, which expires in 2020, the council has to make one of two findings in order to request annexation from LAFCO: there is insufficient land within existing USA to accommodate five years worth of residential growth, or the proposal meets the city’s policy for a “desirable infill” project, the Nov. 3 fact sheet states.Proponents of Measure S have said the existing annexation application threshold is inadequate because the council and LAFCO frequently disagree on how much “developable land” there is in current city boundaries.In March, LAFCO denied two requests by the city to expand the USA around 229 acres in the Southeast Quadrant and about 70 acres on the southwest side of town. The majority of LAFCO commissioners said the annexations would fail to limit urban sprawl and preserve open space.All five members of the council—including incumbents Mayor Steve Tate, Councilman Larry Carr and Councilwoman Marilyn Librers—support Measure S. Even Councilman Rich Constantine, who voted against placing the measure on the ballot in August because it wasn’t sufficiently supported by three years worth of factual analysis commissioned by the council, has said he hopes the voters approve Measure S.Other candidates supporting Measure S are council candidate Mario Banuelos and mayoral candidate Joseph Carrillo.Opposing Measure S on the Nov. 8 ballot are mayoral candidate Bertolet, as well as council candidates Benavides and Spring.Opponents have said if Measure S fails, they would encourage the council to draw up a more restrictive RDCS update to place on the ballot at the next election before 2020. Those who support Measure S have said its failure Nov. 8 wouldn’t leave the city enough time to draft another ballot measure because developers compete for housing allotments two years before they can begin construction.

Morgan Hill police caught up to a suspect driving a stolen vehicle after he got stuck in a field and tried to hide, according to authorities.At 3:30 p.m. Nov. 2, MHPD officers located a stolen vehicle driving east on Tennant Avenue, reads a Nov. 3 press release from MHPD. The officer tried to stop the vehicle by activating his lights and siren, but the driver disregarded the order and fled.The driver led the officer through Morgan Hill and into San Martin, police said. The officer terminated the pursuit when the suspect drove into oncoming traffic, creating a potential collision hazard.Shortly after police terminated the pursuit, an officer found the stolen vehicle stuck in a field on the 13000 block of Columbet Avenue, according to authorities.MHPD’s K-9 officer and his handler were called to the scene to assist in the search for the suspect. Police canvassed the area and followed the suspect’s footprints in the muddy field to a property on the 13000 block of Mammini Court in San Martin, police said.The suspect, later identified as Daniel Cruz, 31 of San Jose, was found hiding on the property and was arrested without further incident, police said.Officers determined that Cruz was wanted for stealing a vehicle out of Santa Cruz, the press release states. He was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on a felony warrant, and suspicion of being in possession of a stolen vehicle, evading police, possession of burglary tools, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of narcotics.Anyone with information about this incident can call MHPD Detective Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-STOP.