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Morgan Hill Police arrested a local man accused of exposing himself to multiple victims while driving on city streets.About 11:30 a.m. Aug. 7, officers responded to the 100 block of Melody Lane to arrest the suspect, Nathanial O’Brien, on a warrant for indecent exposure, according to a press release from MHPD. O’Brien was located inside the residence, and was taken into custody without incident.The warrant was based on three separate incidents when O’Brien was driving his vehicle and exposed himself to victims while they drove, police said. On one occasion, the victim tried to drive away but O’Brien caught up to her vehicle and continued to expose himself.The victims provided police with a physical description of the suspect as well as the license plate number on the back of the vehicle that O’Brien was driving, police said.After his arrest, O’Brien was booked at Santa Clara County Jail.Anyone with information about this case can contact MHPD Dt. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

Candidates interested in running for local offices in the Nov. 8 election have until 5 p.m. today to submit their qualifying paperwork.Up for grabs in the City of Morgan Hill election are the mayor’s seat, two spots on the city council, city clerk and city treasurer. In the Morgan Hill Unified School District are three seats on the board of education.According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office website, four potential candidates—including incumbent Mayor Steve Tate—have picked up the paperwork to qualify to be on the Nov. 8 ballot. Also on the “unofficial list” of candidates are Joseph Carrillo, Tony Figueroa and Kirk R. Bertolet.The “unofficial list” of candidates on the registrar’s website indicates those who been issued their “declaration of candidacy,” but have not necessarily completed the paperwork to qualify. Some of the candidates have submitted the paperwork, as indicated with a date next to the field “declaration of candidacy filed” under each name on the registrar’s list. The completed paperwork must be submitted to election officials by 5 p.m. Aug. 12 if a candidate wants to appear on the ballot.For the two city council seats, incumbents Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers along with three challengers have pulled papers from election officials. Challengers listed so far are Rene Spring, Mario Banuelos and Armando Benavides.The top two vote recipients in the council election will win the two seats that are up for grabs. Council members serve four-year terms, and the mayor serves a two-year term.Incumbent City Clerk Irma Torrez has pulled paperwork for re-election. She is the only candidate on the unofficial list so far.No candidates are yet listed in the race for Morgan Hill City Treasurer. Incumbent and long-time City Treasurer Michael Roorda announced last month that he will not be seeking election.Council members Rich Constantine and Gordon Siebert will remain on the council after the election, as their current terms expire in 2018.On the Morgan Hill Unified School District’s board of education, three expiring seats are up for grabs with two (Trustees Tom Arnett and Rick Badillo) filing with the registrar’s office and the other (Board President Bob Benevento) pulling papers but not filing as of Friday morning.Arnett won an abbreviated at-large seat in June, taking over for former trustee Amy Porter-Jensen who resigned in October 2015.However, MHUSD will hold its first trustee area election in November, after making the change due to the threat of a lawsuit from a Latino advocacy group. Instead of voting in all candidates regardless of address, voters can now only vote in election years that have a candidate within their trustee area. Candidates must also live in that trustee area if they plan to run.Arnett, who is designated in Trustee Area 5 and is currently running unopposed with no other candidates having pulled papers thus far, moved his family over the Fourth of July weekend to a residence within his trustee area so he could seek a full four-year term. Those maps can be viewed on the district website, mhusd.org, under the “Find Your Trustee Area” tab.Badillo has already committed to running for re-election and is designated in Trustee Area 6. He will be up against a pair of challengers in Albert Beltran Jr. and nonprofit director Mary Patterson, according to the county’s unofficial candidate list.Meanwhile, in Trustee Area 7, incumbent Benevento and newcomer Teresa Murillo are listed as having pulled paperwork but have not yet filed to be on the November ballot. If Benevento does not file by the end of the day, the nomination period for his seat will be extended another week.Board members elected in November will serve four-year terms beginning December 2016.Vice President Ron Woolf (Trustee Area 2), along with Trustees Donna Ruebusch (Area 1), Gino Borgioli (Area 3) and David Gerard (Area 4), remain on the board and those four seats are set to expire in 2018.The Nov. 8 election will also feature races for president, U.S. congressional offices, as well as statewide, regional and county ballot contests.Check back for updates on which candidates officially qualify for the Nov. 8 election.

National Night Out left a big impression on Gilroy residents as hundreds of people turned out downtown to bond and have fun last week. The annual community-building campaign on the first Tuesday of August promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live.

Wanting to impress my winery-spoiled sister visiting from Napa, we ventured over to Lion Ranch Vineyards and Winery in San Martin, where the most heavenly expression of Rhone style wine is made.

 

Maria and Ricardo Hernandez moved to Gilroy from Cupertino, a town with noodle houses aplenty. Luckily for them and other lovers of ramen, they have a new place with authentic Japanese fare that satisfies their cravings.“It’s hard to find a good ramen place and this place is one of the best,” says Maria, 36.That place is Ten Japan in Hecker Pass Plaza at 1340 First Street, Suite C, in Gilroy.Ten Japan, open four years now, shut its doors to renovate this past spring. Owners Jo and Akiko Shiihara wanted to create a new feel to their restaurant and decided to install a sushi bar.Bamboo at the entry sets the tone for the restaurant and the walls, now painted sleek black, are adorned with colorful abstract metal art that make the room pop. Finally, pendant lights hanging over the sushi bar and each table for two make for a relaxed ambiance.Now diners can enjoy their sushi and ramen while groovin’ to techno house beats or feelin’ irie with some reggae rhythms for the lunch crowd.Jo Shiihara, 44, noticed that many Japanese restaurants in the area didn’t have traditionally trained chefs making authentic Japanese cuisine. He said he felt compelled to show Gilroy what good Japanese food should taste like.Jo is a classically trained French chef who worked in Tokyo’s famous Figaro Restaurant for 11 years.He and Akiko moved from Santa Barbara, where Jo worked as a chef at Arigato Sushi.Jo says that a unique aspect of his food is great sauces, which he attributes to his training in French cuisine.Kayla Fernandez, 20, is one of the servers at the restaurant and says that among the most popular items on the menu are the garlic edamame ($5.50) and the miso ramen ($9.75) with thick wavy noodles in a miso soup that begins with a pork bone broth base.The result is a creamy dish that is savory, but not overly salty. It’s prepared with sliced chashu, cabbage, bamboo shoots and topped with scallions, chopped spinach and sweet corn.In addition to nigiri and sashimi, Kayla says other big sellers include Ten Japan’s butterfly roll ($9.50) and two speciality rolls: the 49er ($13.50) and the Lethal Weapon ($13.50).Even if you’re not a Niners fan, the 49er roll is a palate pleaser with shrimp tempura, avocado, mango, salmon and tuna. It’s topped with crunchy tempura flakes and the sweet and cool flavors of the mango and avocado are balanced by a spicy aioli sauce.Our party accepted most of Kayla’s suggestions and next on our list to try was the Lethal Weapon. Not surprisingly, this specialty roll packed some heat—made with spicy tuna, salmon, yellowtail, fresh cucumber and jalapeño pepper. The Lethal Weapon was topped with tempura flakes and plated with habanero sauce alongside the chef’s spicy aioli.Customer Chris Pacheco, 31, of Gilroy says “the sushi is better than anywhere else and the service is great.”Ten Japan is a quaint but swanky little place. The staff is relatively small and the restaurant fills up quickly. Jo Shiihara is proud to bring these flavors to Gilroy. “I love to hear the customers are impressed and say thank you to the chefs,” he says.

Beware! There are mountaineers out there, and they are all around you. They are hard to spot, because they look just like you and me. Cleverly disguised as teachers, accountants, students and such, they are hidden from view. You may not recognize them, but believe me, they are out there.On a recent Saturday morning in mid-July, 68 of your friends and neighbors stood at the foot of 10,381-foot Round Top Mountain in the Sierra, and set out on a mountaineering challenge they had prepared for over the past seven months. It began with a four-mile loop at Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve on New Year's morning. Throughout the winter and spring, we tromped five more trails, some as close as Henry Coe State Park; others farther afield like Mount Diablo State Park. At each stop, we strengthened legs, lungs, and group esprit for the summer's coming challenge. Round Top was the fourth summer challenge. Five years ago, I wrote a November column inviting readers to make a bold commitment; something exciting and a bit scary. ‘Come with me to the top of Clouds Rest in Yosemite next July; a thirteen mile round trip walk to a 9,926-foot peak that looks 1,100 feet down on Half Dome.’ The first of six "prep" hikes would be New Year's morning, an annual tradition I had invited readers to for several years. With the challenge as an incentive, the 20 or so that had come in years past exploded to well over 100. Nearly 70 people came to Clouds Rest and similar numbers have come in subsequent years as we have tackled Mt. Tallac (9,738') and Mount Hoffman (10,856'). It would be easy to dismiss these people as lycra-clad fitness fanatics. It just isn't so. Round Top challengers ranged from age eight to 76, and they came in every size and shape. The day before the challenge, we gather for a short hike to stretch our legs and acclimate to the altitude. Round Top is near Carson Pass (8,652 feet) where Highway 88 crosses the Sierra crest not too far south of Lake Tahoe. We set out from the trailhead at the very top of the pass where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the road. After a short walk through a forest of lodgepole and western white pines, we emerged into a beautiful landscape characteristic of the high altitude terrain we would travel throughout our wanderings. Timberline at Carson Pass is much lower than it is farther south in the Sierra. At a relatively modest elevation, we had popped into wide open alpine country. In between sporadic wind-sculpted whitebark pines—the only conifers still hanging on—nothing grew above thigh high. The view was limitless in every direction, but the wide open landscape played second fiddle to the wildflower display. Lupine, several penstemon, iris, spreading phlox, mule's ears, several paintbrushes, wallflowers, delphiniums, and on and on. It was all too gaudy to be God's refined tastes—I suspect that Disney had a hand in it. We lunched beside Winnemucca Lake nestled beneath Round Top. Every inch of terrain was laid bare between the toes of our boots and the summit looming impressively overhead. Many sat quietly, just looking up. The Woods Lake trailhead was humming with greetings and lively chatter by 8:30 Saturday morning. Prior challenges had been out-and-back hikes, but our route this year would be a loop. When I did a reconnaissance of the route several weeks earlier, the first leg to Round Top Lake was covered with snow. While I never lost my way, I did lose the trail several times. I cautioned people that if the trail was hidden, follow the creek, which would lead you to Round Top Lake. Just below Round Top Lake, we popped above the trees and back into the open terrain we enjoyed yesterday. Here, we left the gently graded trail and turned up, steeply up. No more trees, but surprisingly colorful ground hugging alpine plants matted the inhospitable rocky slope. Rather than hiking, we were now trudging, each step a triumph of will. I tell people that half way up these climbs, they will want to grab a rope, organize a posse and give me some old west justice. But when they get to the top, all will be forgiven. Dead tired, chest pounding, every step up a seemingly endless mountain slope like Round Top is a test of will. But when the "up" vanishes and all the world is beneath your feet, it is hard to describe the feeling and for many—the transformation—that comes over you. The wind was brisk and the view was infinite at the top. Round Top Lake and Winnemucca Lake just below appeared as if through an airplane window. To the north, Lake Tahoe and Desolation Wilderness. To the south, the restless Sierra grew higher and higher down toward Yosemite and beyond. In better visibility, we would have seen Mount Diablo out west. The weather, the country, the flowers and the views teamed up to give us a memorable day. As ever, I thank all of you who come, but more than that, I tip my cap to you. For many of you, it is just a hard day on the trail, but for others, I know Round Top tested your limits. Yet, you took the challenge. 

More than three years after the arrest of Nicolas Lhermine—the former YMCA employee who was convicted of sexually molesting four young girls under his care—the civil trial initiated by his victims’ families is scheduled to begin this month.

Listed below are some of the incidents Morgan Hill police responded to in recent weeks. FireWood chips in the median of Cochrane Road at Sutter Boulevard caught on fire about 2:30 p.m. Aug. 3. No major damage was reported.Animal controlSix chickens were loose in the creek on Preservation Way about 10:50 a.m. Aug. 2. The caller complained the poultry were eating the landscaping in her yard.Illegal RV parkingA large RV was parked on the 300 block of Noble Court for at least two days, and the caller worried that the occupants intended to stay there long-term. The municipal code violation was reported 5:40 p.m. Aug. 1.Vehicle vs. bicyclistA Honda Fit and a bicyclist collided in a traffic accident near the intersection of Llagas Road and Del Monte Avenue July 25. The bicyclist was transported to hospital with pain to his ribs and an abrasion to his right elbow. He was not wearing a helmet. Responding authorities also determined the bicyclist had a $3,000 warrant for his arrest out of Morgan Hill. The accident was reported 3:16 p.m.Auto burglaryA thief or thieves broke into a black Ford Flex in front of Starbucks, 17015 Walnut Grove Drive. A window was smashed and stolen was a backpack that contained a laptop computer. The crime was reported 3:55 p.m. July 27.Petty theftSomeone stole a Vitamix blender, worth about $520, from Target, 1061 Cochrane Road. The crime was reported 8:36 p.m. July 24.A thief or thieves stole the rear license plate from a GMC that was parked on La Sierra Court. The crime was reported 12:37 p.m. July 25.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

Our South County marketplace can be a daunting one for first time buyers, or for anyone who may not have 20 percent to put down on a home. There are many options to help you without the limiting factor of 20 percent down. Lenders have a variety of products that can help anyone who doesn't quite have that much saved for the down payment.