Overeager mother-in-law spoils birthday surprise
DEAR ABBY: My mother-in-law sent my 7-year-old son a gift and a card for his birthday. They arrived about a week early. A few days before his birthday, she called and asked if he had received them. He said he had, but before he could explain that he hadn't opened them, she started talking about the gift inside, revealing the surprise.
Weekend nets 85 suspected DUI arrests in Santa Clara County
The countywide winter holiday anti-DUI crackdown so far has netted 85 arrests of motorists on suspicion of impaired driving, according to a Santa Clara County Sheriff’s spokesman. The arrests were made by officers from 13 law enforcement agencies throughout the county from Dec. 13 until midnight Sunday, Dec. 15, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup. Last year, officers arrested 104 DUI suspects during the same three-day time period, Stenderup said. The arrests were the result of DUI checkpoints and extra officers on patrol for the annual “Avoid the 13” DUI crackdown, police said. The winter holiday crackdown period will continue through Jan. 1, 2014, and will include a DUI checkpoint Friday at an undisclosed location within the City limits, according to police. Funding for the Avoid the 13 program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Widower dreading Christmas will feel better reaching out
DEAR ABBY: Christmas is coming, and I dread it. I have only my brother, his wife and their kids. I'm on Social Security disability and I barely make it each month. They buy me gifts, but I feel embarrassed to accept them because I can't buy anything for them. It makes me feel small.
Grandson’s bullying behavior needs professional evaluation
DEAR ABBY: Our 7-year-old grandson has been a handful since he was able to walk. He has been sneaky and has told lies for as long as any of us can remember. He has been suspended from school more than 10 times for various things. He stole several hundred dollars from his mom's purse and took it to school so he would have money to buy snacks. He stays awake longer than everyone else in the house so he can take things and hide them in his closet.
Girl’s doubts about religion put her at odds with parents
DEAR ABBY: I'm 16 and come from a devout Roman Catholic family. My parents have taken my brother and me to church every Sunday without fail my entire life. We pray before meals, before school, at bedtime and at other times every day. My room is filled with religious objects. As far as I know, everyone else in my extended family is equally fervent.
One for the ages: Turnover clinches win for Live Oak in 46-43 thriller over Sobrato
Fans in the stands inside Live Oak’s gym roared the entire night, giving a mid-December girls basketball game a feel you don’t expect until February.
Motorcyclist ‘severely injured’ in wreck on U.S. 101
At approximately 1:42 p.m. Friday, the California Highway Patrol responded to a motorcycle accident on U.S. 101 at the Masten Avenue exit in Gilroy. Based on the CHP's incident report, a helicopter is en route to provide aid to the “severely injured” driver.
CHP responds to motorcycle crash on Watsonville Road
Authorities responded to a traffic accident in which a motorcycle collided with a tree on Watsonville Road in Gilroy Friday morning. Officers from the California Highway Patrol responded to the accident at 11:34 a.m., according to the CHP website. The unidentified motorcycle rider was found laying on the side of the road when authorities arrived to the scene of the accident, which took place on Watsonville Road between Burchell and Day roads. The collision happened at a low speed, and the male rider suffered a "minor" injury and complaint of pain to his right leg, according to CHP Officer Herb Kellogg.No other vehicles were involved in the collision, authorities said.More information on this accident will be posted as it becomes available.
VTA board elects officers for 2014
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors elected San Jose City Councilman Ash Kalra as Chair for 2014, and Gilroy Vice Mayor Perry Woodward as Vice Chair at Thursday’s meeting. Kalra served as the VTA board’s Vice Chair for 2013 and will replace outgoing Chair Joe Pirzynski, a Los Gatos Town Councilman. Kalra has been on the VTA board since 2009 and has been a member of the VTA’s administration and finance committee where he served as Vice Chair in 2012 and as Chair in 2013, according to VTA staff. Kalra was elected to the San Jose Council in 2008, and he represents the City’s District 2 (south San Jose).“VTA has an exciting year ahead from furthering work on the BART extension to Silicon Valley to establishing Bus Rapid Transit throughout the County to working with a new general manager,” Kalra said. “I’m looking forward to partnering with the community, VTA employees and others to make transportation even better throughout Santa Clara County and the region.”Woodward has served as a VTA director since 2010, and in 2013 has been on the board’s administration and finance committee. He is the Mayor Pro Tempore of Gilroy, and was elected to the City Council in 2007. “VTA is facing an exciting future, and I’m happy my colleagues have expressed the confidence in me to help guide it through the upcoming year,” Woodward said. “VTA will need to think creatively and act decisively to meet the growing demands of the traveling public. It will take the board’s leadership and guidance to keep VTA moving down the right path.”Both Kalra and Woodward also serve on Caltrain’s Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board.VTA is responsible for bus, light rail and paratransit operations; congestion management; specific highway improvement projects; and countywide transportation planning services throughout the county including the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale.










