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The South County Outlaws lacrosse team comes together after competing in the All West Lacrosse West Coast Showcase that brought in teams from across California and beyond. The young SC Outlaws had players who had just recently picked up the game, but still battled against more seasoned opponents. Collin Fisher scored a big goal for the Outlaws despite the locals going winless in the tournament.

The building that once housed Simple Beverages liquor store, and has sat vacant for the last six-plus years on the corner of Third Street and Monterey was reduced to a pile of rubble Thursday afternoon.Developers Ken Rodrigues and Don Imwalle, who purchased the property from a post-Redevelopment trust fund last year, plan to build two new buildings housing four restaurants with a strong emphasis on outdoor patio dining.The restaurants coming to the downtown site—which has been cited as one of the most important properties for the future of the neighborhood—are owned by The Opa! Group, and include Opa, a Greek restaurant; Mo’s…the Breakfast & Burger Joint; Willard Hicks (steaks and American food); and Tac-Oh. The restaurants have other locations in the South Bay. Three of the four restaurants (excluding Tac-Oh) are located in downtown Campbell in a project similar to that proposed in Morgan Hill.Rodrigues said construction of the two buildings will take about 10 months, and outfitting the new restaurants will take another two months. He said he plans to be able to open all four restaurants simultaneously by Aug. 1, 2017.At least one resident is upset that a mature coast redwood tree located in the middle of the parking area in front of the former liquor store building is tagged for removal. Scribbled in red magic-marker ink on the notice for removal, which was taped to the tree April 29, is the message, “Trees are our protectors” and “Move the concrete.” There is also a yellow ribbon tied around the tree, and another sheet of paper with the handwritten message, “Help save this tree.”When asked about the informal protest, Rodrigues replied, “Unfortunately, that’s not going to be possible” to leave the tree standing. “We looked really hard at it. Every tree is important to me as an architect. This one was right in the middle of the (proposed) patio and the main walkway coming from the garage.”The new Downtown Garage is located behind the property, and includes a pedestrian walkway leading directly into Opa! Group project.The city’s municipal code has a detailed process for the removal of “significant” trees on public and private property. Anyone seeking to remove such a tree or trees requires a permit, which can be gained only after the proposed removal has been posted and the public has been given a chance to formally comment.The Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency purchased the .45-acre property for about $1.9 million in 2009, and since then City Hall has planned to work with a private developer to build a mixed-use or retail/dining project that will attract more visitors and sales to downtown. The state of California closed the RDA in 2012, and ultimately sold the Third Street property to Rodrigues/Imwalle for $525,000 in 2015.The parking lot located on the property is fenced off during construction and permanently closed to public vehicles. Customers for the new restaurants will be urged to park in the new garage.

Windows to nowhere, fireplaces without flues and pullout bookcases that reveal deep wall cavities are among the intriguing features of one of this year’s winners of the Gilroy Historical Society’s Architectural Awards. But the Gilroy Historical Society is not the only admirer of this building. Barbara and Jeffrey Orth admired the Holloway House for years, its charm and striking beauty hidden beneath a dilapidated exterior.

Roxanne Vinciguerra says she never thought she’d start her own artisanal biscotti business.

GILROY

Maintaining a healthy weight isn’t easy, but it’s certainly possible. It comes down to focus, discipline, patience and making smart decisions. Simply put, there are no shortcuts. Unless you’re establishing healthy eating and exercise habits, it will be impossible to stay at a healthy weight, let alone lose some unwanted pounds.

When I’m out and about going to events and meetings I tend to get a lot of useful information. This column will be dedicated to report back to the community on what’s up in our area. This past weekend I attended “Lend me a Tenor” at Limelight Actors Theater with my brother, sister-in-law and my friends Jaime & Evelia Rosso. It was a wonderful show with much laughter from the audience. They hold a raffle every show to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox,TEAM FOX which raises money for Parkinson’s research. This year is their 6th show with Steve Spencer & Kae Jenny-Spencer. If you go what not to miss: Rocky Road Ahead candy, which you can only purchase at the theater, made in Gilroy by Rosalind Ferrotte. On Monday July 4, I volunteered doing security for my friend and fellow Rotarian Chief Denise Turner at the, 71st U.S. Women’s Open at CordeValle in San Martin. I was stationed for nine hours on the path next to a bridge where the players were dropped off from the 6th hole to walk to the 7th hole. Each player that practiced that day walked by me with their caddy and entourage. At the beginning of my shift I worked with Cynthia Iwanaga who was also a volunteer and works for the city of Morgan Hill. It was exciting but the most nerve-racking part of my duty was to watch out for a resident feral momma kitty and her four kittens. Didn’t want one of those kittens run over by the golf carts whizzing by! It was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect in the mid 80’s. There were players from all over the world and a really big deal for our area. Every year Gilroy Rotary sends students to leadership camp and they come back with life-changing experiences. This year’s campers were Estaban Rubio CHS, Kassandra Avery CHS, Collet Howard CHS, Michael Vu CHS, Andres Stebbins GECCA, Emily Boykin GHS. The theme was Be a Gift to the World. Besides leadership activities they assembled care packages for the homeless for the Sunrise Homeless Shelter and wrote letters hoping to brighten their days. They also assembled care packages and letters for a class of first grade students at Longfellow Elementary School in San Francisco. The packages contained pens, pencils, notebooks and other basic school supplies along with individualized cards for each of the students.

A personal dispute led to a stabbing Friday morning in Morgan Hill, and a suspect is in custody, according to authorities.Morgan Hill police officers responded to a residence on the 17000 block of Walnut Grove Drive 7:35 a.m. July 15, to investigate a report of a man suffering from a stab wound.As officers arrived on the scene, a female told them the victim was inside the residence with a stab wound to his upper torso, police said. Police entered the home and located the 50-year-old victim in room. The victim was awake and able to speak to officers.Police also located the suspect inside the home. He is identified as Raul Garcia, 55 of Morgan Hill, according to police. He was arrested without incident.The victim was transported to San Jose Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, police said.Based on the investigation, police said the stabbing was the result of a personal feud between the suspect and victim. Garcia thought the victim had committed past injustices to him and his family.Anyone with information about this incident can contact MHPD Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or (408) 947-7867.

Just imagine a child’s look of amazement as they stare in wonder at incredible structures, some up to six feet tall: playful panda bears, Chinese dragons, giant poppies and intricate Chinese lanterns, each illuminated with tens of thousands of bright lights.That’s what visitors will see at a Chinese art installation that will put Gilroy Gardens on the international map for the next four months, attracting tourists from near and far to experience a historic art show that has only appeared in a handful of venues around the world.Called “Lumination: Chinese Culture Celebrated in a Whole New Light,” it’s an extraordinary light display representing more than 2,000 years of Chinese history and culture, shown with brightly lit sculptures of iconic structures such as the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and Terracotta Warriors, each artistically woven into the park’s 26 acres of natural beauty.“You have the lanterns, incredible displays of Chinese mythology, and architecture, spectacular enormous displays illuminated at night, and then you have Chinese acrobats performing every night,” says Glenn Dobbin, managing partner for Toronto-based DDM Entertainment & Events, Inc., who helped bring the program here.“And you have traditional Chinese craftsman, so you’ll see these arts and crafts that you’ve likely never seen.”Intricate, handmade objects composed of countless individual pieces, including traditional handcrafted silk lanterns, porcelain china plates and tiny glass bottles filled with colored water, are a commanding vision by day.But at night, they are simply breathtaking, as literally millions of LED bulbs illuminate over 30 displays of Chinese culture, including the mythical qilin, an icon of the Qin and Qing dynasties that resembles the Western unicorn.The Chinese theme extends throughout the lushly landscaped 536-acre park, featuring an authentic Chinese marketplace. There will be acrobats, performers, and, yes, Chinese food.Gilroy Gardens was originally a commercial plant nursery and a vacation spot for employees of Nob Hill Foods markets. It was founded by Nob Hill owners Michael and Claudia Bonfante, who built it after selling the chain. It opened to the public in 2001 with 19 rides and six gardens.In 2008 the city of Gilroy took it over. It now has a water park and playgrounds, but its main attraction is the luxurious verdant gardens, forests and walking trails, making it especially well suited for the night events. Its Christmas lights festival began in 2004.Fifty Chinese artisans have worked seven days a week for six weeks to assemble “Lumination.” They are staying in homes and empty offices at the park, with comforts of home including Internet connections, a laundromat and a giant kitchen.“They cook their own food, they take care of themselves,” says Thomas Kuo, a translator.“They all are enjoying their stay. Sometimes they work three hours a day, and sometimes they have to work eight hours a day, but they make sure that the workers get their rest.”The materials come in huge shipping containers.Among those who participated in the show’s assembly phase, Hou Ping Lu, 68, has worked in 10 different countries as an artist. His focus is on lanterns, which he has crafted for 50 years. His favorite piece, the Nine Heaven Pagoda, is a structure that appears to stretch into the sky.This display can’t be missed, since it’s the first one seen on entering the park.Hou has been traveling for his art since 1995 and heads to Singapore next. It’s his way of life, he says.“My wife doesn’t travel with me,” he says. “Earning money is a man’s thing. I will send money back home and my wife will relax.”He’s visited San Francisco, seen the Golden Gate Bridge, Chinatown and Stanford University, but the other workers haven’t been there, says Hou.These artisans have added a level of culture to Gilroy that should bring in more visitors from San Francisco, says Barb Granter, general manager of Gilroy Gardens. While the park does draw people from 100 miles away, it has far more visitors from Los Gatos than the north parts of the Bay Area. She thinks “Lumination” will change that.“It’s about a special event that’s a Chinese festival, coming to view the sculptures, and be immersed in Chinese culture,” says Granter.“Lumination” began its journey to Gilroy Gardens more than two years ago when the park was looking for a way to extend its number of operating days and reach a new audience.“We had been actively looking for something that would allow us to do an evening event,” says Granter. “We would need a good 2,000-3,000 people to keep it open at night.”When Toronto-based Dobbin first visited Bonfante Gardens back in 2006, he realized he’d discovered the perfect venue for an authentic Chinese lantern festival.“I’m the governor of the Chinese Cultural Center in Toronto,” he says. “This is the biggest Chinese cultural center in the West, so Chinese culture became a part of my life.”In other venues, including Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, City Park in New Orleans and Fair Park in Dallas, the exhibit has brought as many as 250,000 visitors.“This is the most beautiful natural setting we’ve ever worked in, the setting, the background, it’s almost like this park was built for a lantern festival. I think it’s gorgeous,” says Dobbin.Brad Kava contributed to this article. ‘Lumination’ runs July 16-Nov. 27, 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Tickets are $30, or $20 when buying four or more. Parking is $14. Save $5 by buying online. Daytime park admission is $34 online. For additional information go to luminationgilroy.org/index.

A Morgan Hill draft General Plan Update aims to keep future housing development at its current and—to city officials and many residents—preferred density by encouraging new single-family homes on existing farmland on the east side of town.And the farmers who have maintained these agricultural uses for decades—including the Mariani and Guglielmo families—are OK with that, as long as some of the area’s agricultural history is preserved for future generations.Later this month, the Morgan Hill City Council will consider the draft General Plan Update that introduces this and a number of other new land use policies in order to maintain the city’s low-density housing charm.Specifically, the draft document currently on the table will allow new homes in the currently agricultural “East of 101 Area Plan Overlay,” which is bound by Half Road, Diana Avenue, Condit Road and Hill Road.The five-member council is scheduled to discuss the latest draft of the Morgan Hill 2035 General Plan Update at the July 20 meeting, with approval an as-yet undetermined staff recommendation scheduled for July 27, according to City Manager Steve Rymer. The document, when approved, will set guidelines for how the city will grow from now until 2035. It includes designations for properties currently outside the city limits, but which the council and city staff will likely determine are necessary to accommodate future growth.By state law, cities in California are required to update their General Plans every 10 years.East of 101Properties included in this land use area of the General Plan update sit just outside the city’s Urban Service Area, so the proposed city plan for the neighborhood will require approval by the Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission.Most of this area is agricultural, planted with orchards and vineyards. But the General Plan proposal—which is supported by these farmland owners—aims to eventually transform the area into a low-density residential neighborhood with a variety of housing types, complete with “services and amenities to serve new residents…so daily needs can be met close to home,” the draft states.The plan also aims to preserve some of the area’s farming heritage by incorporating “historical agricultural uses.” Andy Mariani, owner of Andy’s Orchard—which is included in the East of 101 overlay—said, for example, this could be a “preservation orchard” that represents the valley’s once prolific crops, a community garden or an educational resource that can be shared with the community at large or students at nearby Live Oak High School.Development in this area would require a master plan or specific plan before it can proceed.Incompatible usesMariani urged the council to adopt this aspect of the General Plan update at a discussion meeting in May. He and other longtime farmers spoke of how difficult it is to continue farming in an area where residential uses increasingly encroach.“In actuality, I lost money the last three years,” said Mariani, who has run his cherry orchard on Half Road for 60 years. “The housing development around us—chimneys, pavement, exhaust—all contribute to higher winter temperatures…With the schools and surrounding homes, tasks like harvesting and spraying are much more problematic…Half Road has become a commuter route from the hills on the east side. Eventually, we’ll be boxed in on all sides by urban development.”He added that his family is “not just a bunch of wealthy landowners eager to develop their land.” But Mariani cautioned that if the city doesn’t adopt the East of 101 overlay in the current General Plan draft, farmers will be forced by the economic hardship to sell their property, thereby eliminating any chance to preserve the agricultural heritage of the area.He later clarified that the overlay proposed in the current General Plan draft isn’t likely to occur for another 20 years. “As a family, we have to plan for 20 years down the road,” he said.Gary Guglielmo, whose family has owned Guglielmo Winery and maintained the vineyards on East Main Avenue for 90 years, said farming in this area “doesn’t pencil out to a profit” anymore.“The wine industry is very competitive,” Guglielmo said at the May 25 council meeting. “The future growth of our business is agritourism (which will) draw more people to Morgan Hill…It doesn’t make sense from a business standpoint to plant new vines—it has and will sit vacant.”John Telfer, a real estate broker and owner of South County Realty, presented the council with data that shows the city is running out of vacant land available for future single-family housing, which seems to offer the charm that most Morgan Hill residents prefer. Therefore, encouraging such housing in the area east of 101 is crucial.Proposed housing in the General Plan 2035 draft’s east of 101 overlay allows for single-family housing lots between 7,000 and 18,000 square feet, Telfer said.“The property owners are comfortable” with the proposal, he added. Recent council discussions on the General Plan update—a process that started in Morgan Hill more than two years ago—have entertained the possibility of keeping the overlay area designated a rural county, and pursuing incorporation into the city limits when and if the property owners get a specific plan completed.“The problem with that is, specific plans are very time intensive and very expensive,” Telfer said. “Nobody (among the property owners) would do that unless at least the General Plan had it.”Long-term goalsWith these and many more updates included in the draft document, the city council hopes to maintain a mix of 70 percent single-family housing and 30 percent multi-family. However, Telfer thinks that won’t be possible. The supply of property available for lower density housing is shrinking, and based on recent trends, LAFCO is unlikely to approve the future city boundary requests on which the General Plan housing vision relies.The General Plan includes many more policies that identify future needs for commercial/industrial land uses, housing and transportation needs, downtown development, economic development and preservation of environmental resources.The draft can be viewed at morganhill2035.org.