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Late September through December is the best time of year to install a permanent, drought-tolerant landscape, and now is the best time to plan it. Many people are aware that the “traditional landscape” of lush green lawn with rosebushes and manicured shrubs was developed in England and regions of France that get more than twice the rainfall we normally do. While a typical lawn in our area requires about 57 inches of water each year, South County only receives about 21 inches on average. So whether your source of water is a well or the Sierra snowpack, this is not a sustainable landscape long- term, even if we do get a wetter winter than last year.

Sporting a lei and a smile, Anita Vanni Zanardi arrives at the Gilroy Elks Lodge on the Hill in a Ferrari Aug. 8 to celebrate her 95th birthday with friends and members of her family. She has lived in Gilroy since 1997.

South Valley Middle School sixth-grade teacher Carmen Kotto, center, is all grins after receiving a check for $20,000 on behalf of the school for being named the Comcast Sports Net All-Star Teacher. Representatives of Comcast and Provident Credit Union presented the check to Kotto during a school assembly Sept. 11.

Welcome Uno, the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center’s new educational opossum. He originally arrived at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley on the Fourth of July, a tiny pink baby weighing only 30 grams (the weight of four grapes.)

Seventeen musical acts of all ages and genres will entertain at the second annual Porchfest Gilroy from 1 to 6 p.m. Sept. 19 on Hanna and Dowdy streets, between Third Street and Sixth Street.

Speed bumps are returning to Morgan Hill’s primary downtown artery, but only until a new traffic signal is installed at Fourth Street and Monterey Road.These were among more than a dozen “traffic calming” measures—together costing about $600,000—taken by the City Council Sept. 16 to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety downtown, as well as slow the flow of vehicle movement.Elected officials remain determined to establish a “complete streets” vibe downtown that is inviting to visitors on all modes of transportation, despite the failure of an experimental two-lane Monterey Road configuration to convince the council of its permanent effectiveness earlier this year.The council voted unanimously Sept. 16 to direct city staff to enact the following street and infrastructure improvements in and around the downtown:• Add green bicycle “sharrow” markings to the pavement, along with signage to accommodate cycling traffic;• Narrow vehicle travel lanes from 10.5 feet to 10 feet in width;• Slurry seal the street for new directional striping;• Install temporary “speed cushions” on Monterey Road between Third and Fourth streets, and between Fourth and Fifth streets until a new traffic signal is installed at Fourth Street (no speed bumps will be placed where similar devices were previously located just before Third Street);• Install movable pedestrian crossing signs and electronic countdown signals at key intersections;• Provide more bike parking;• Add enhanced crosswalks at Monterey Road intersections;• Add temporary street corner bulb outs at Fourth and Fifth streets;• Add lighting to street trees;• Begin the design process for a new traffic signal at Fourth Street and Monterey Road.In addition, the council and city staff seek to encourage developers to expand the sidewalks, and businesses to convert parking spaces along Monterey Road into “parklets” for outdoor dining or other “active use.”The council also directed staff to explore street and signal improvements on Monterey Road between Cochrane Road and Main Avenue, and between Cochrane and Butterfield Boulevard in order to encourage more use of Butterfield, improve traffic flow and pedestrian/cyclist safety, beautify the roadway and slow down vehicles as they approach downtown.Councilmember Rich Constantine made a motion at the Sept. 16 meeting to remove the speed cushions, but that suggestion failed for lack of a second.From February to July, the city conducted an experiment to determine if reconfiguring Monterey Road to one lane in each direction, with buffered bicycle lanes, would sufficiently calm traffic divert motorists with no intention of stopping around the downtown. The trial generated significant debate among the public, while city staff and consultants collected data on traffic volumes, noise levels, pedestrian activity, vehicle speeds, travel times and other metrics.But at the Aug. 5 meeting, after hearing from more than 40 residents and business owners who were divided on the trial’s effectiveness, the council voted 4-1 to keep Monterey Road in its original four-lane configuration. Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr was opposed to that motion.The majority at that time determined that a two-lane configuration would not reach its goals without other traffic improvements such as a viable vehicle passage around the west side of downtown.The efforts adopted Sept. 16, and the concept of the one-lane configuration, are intended to help make downtown “the most walkable, bike-friendly, urban, family-oriented and transit-oriented neighborhood” in Morgan Hill, according to city staff.The cost to implement the new improvements is about $600,000, according to city staff. About half the funding will come from leftover Redevelopment bond proceeds, and the rest will come from the city’s public facilities fund which is financed by developers’ fees, City Manager Steve Rymer said.The new traffic signal at Fourth Street will take up the majority of the project cost, with a price tag of about $350,000.A key reason for the new traffic signal is to accommodate expected vehicle traffic moving in and out of the Fourth Street Garage, which is under construction and expected to be completed in November, city staff said. The only exit and entrance for vehicles to the facility will be on Fourth Street.City staff also recommends the new signal, as well as the existing traffic light at Second Street, should be set up with a flashing red light to act as a stop sign during times when traffic volume is low.The Fourth Street traffic signal will likely take up to a year to design and install, city staff added. Until then, speed bumps will serve to slow vehicles.Monterey Road is currently undergoing a “streetscape” construction project which will continue to restrict traffic until completion this fall. Some of the improvements approved Sept. 16 will be implemented after the construction is complete.

Three years ago, CARAS—the Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy and Services—first opened its doors in Gilroy to offer assistance to the Latino community. The nonprofit organization picked up where MACSA—Mexican American Community Services Agency—left off when it closed its downtown Gilroy office.

The Granada Theater, an embattled icon of downtown Morgan Hill that has been threatened for years with demolition and redevelopment, will survive as an entertainment venue—albeit after a 14-month renovation process that could start as soon as October.The five-member Morgan Hill City Council, acting as the Morgan Hill Redevelopment Successor Agency, agreed to sell the theater to developer Frank Leal for $294,476. Leal—a veteran of the regional hospitality industry and owner of Leal Vineyards in Hollister and Willow Heights Mansion in Morgan Hill—agreed to renovate the theater building and reopen it as a full-time “entertainment, special event and assembly venue with food and beverage service,” according to a city staff report.The council approved the sale unanimously at the Sept. 2 meeting. City staff also recommend granting Leal $704,000 in leftover RDA bond proceeds to assist with the renovation and reopening.The sale of the property on the 17400 block of Monterey Road also includes the space currently occupied by the Morgan Hill Cigar Company, which will have to relocate before Leal and his crew begin construction.The Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency purchased the property in 2008 at a cost of about $2.4 million.The sale price approved Sept. 2 is supported by an Aug. 3 appraisal of the property by Valbridge Property Advisors.The RDA was shut down by the state in 2011, and since then the city has struggled to find a developer with whom to partner in an effort to turn the Granada into a money-making enterprise that can generate tax revenues to fund local services. The city is in somewhat of a hurry to improve the site—as well as other former RDA properties downtown—because post-RDA regulators including the state Department of Finance are eager to put the assets back on the tax rolls at their highest possible income generating value.Assistant City Manager Leslie Little explained the discrepancy between the 2008 purchase price and the cost to Leal is largely due to a more strict criteria that agencies like the RDA had for purchasing property. When an RDA purchased property, by law it was required to pay for any personal property on the site, fixtures and equipment, improvements, and “loss of goodwill” or disruption of existing business on the property.“In today’s normal real estate market, we had an appraisal that suggested the highest and best use is the land value,” Little explained. “The buildings are not contributors (to the property value). They are functionally obsolete. They actually detract from the land value.”Little was referring to the Downtown Mall as well as the decrepit Granada Theater building, both of which were included in the recent appraisal.Furthermore, Little added, the Granada/Downtown Mall site, known as “site 1,” was comprised of a number of smaller parcels. Purchasing properties in such a manner is often more expensive than what a developer could recover from their sale.The Granada has been closed as a full-time movie theater since 2003. It was built in the 1950s. Over the last couple years, the nonprofit Morgan Hill Granada Preservation Society has been showing weekend movies at the theater, and even converted one of its two auditoriums into a live entertainment venue. The nonprofit gained a short-term lease to enact these part-time activities from the public trust that currently owns the property.Leal’s proposal will generate ongoing economic development activity for Morgan Hill by attracting visitors, providing jobs and contributing to the “vitality” of existing businesses, according to city staff.Leal, working with Weston Miles Architects, expects to spend more than $2 million of his own funds on the Granada project, city staff added. Proposed improvements include structural reinforcement, fire suppression sprinklers, an exterior facelift, heating and air systems and flood mitigation measures.When construction is complete in about 14 months, the newly reopened theater will employ up to 30 full-time and 60 part-time staff, according to city staff. The project will also retain the historic marquee and signage adorning the front of the theater.Leal also agreed to the following conditions:• A 20-year land use restriction that requires the building remain in use as an “entertainment and public assembly” venue;• Submit demolition and development permits before closing the purchase;• Begin construction within 30 days after closing;• Participate in collective downtown marketing and improvement efforts such as the Morgan Hill Downtown Association;• Open the theater at least six times per year for community or charity events.

Vehicle theft

GILROY—The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has opted not to file criminal charges against a veteran Gilroy police officer following a May incident where his teenage stepdaughter shot herself in the leg with his personal handgun.