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St. Louise was just minutes away from the horror at the park, and the quick response of its emergency and medical staff provided invaluable treatment and triage for shooting victims that summer evening.

In a resolution two years in the making, the Morgan Hill City Council has moved forward with the purchase of 33 acres of land in the Southeast Quadrant from Chiala Farms. However, it remains to be seen if the city can find a trust...

Britton Middle School recently launched its new online store for local families and Bobcat supporters to purchase anything from physical education clothes and spirit gear to yearbooks and dance tickets. The online store is the brainchild of longtime physical education teacher and coach Jim Green,...

Authorities are searching a home on McLaughlin Court, just north of downtown Morgan Hill, for explosive material and bomb-making supplies.As of 11:30am March 13, the street that spans less than a block and ends in a cul-de-sac was closed with crime scene tape while police served a search warrant. Morgan Hill Police called in the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad to conduct the search. Santa Clara County Fire District's hazardous materials team was also at the scene.The search was prompted by two explosions that occurred less than four hours apart in the area of the McLaughlin Court home March 12, according to Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Troy Hoefling.About 2:45pm March 12, a nearby resident called police to report “a firework or explosion,” Hoefling said. Officers responded but did not find a source of the disturbance at that time.Then about 6pm March 12, another resident called to report a “louder explosion” than the previous one, Hoefling said. That caller offered more details, including the sighting of a puff of smoke from a specific residence following the explosion.Police returned to the neighborhood and contacted the homeowner where the explosion allegedly occurred. Authorities contacted the homeowner in his garage, where officers saw suspicious chemicals and what looked like a small laboratory similar to what might be found in a high school chemistry class, Hoefling said. Officers could not immediately determine what the home laboratory was for, but suspected its purpose could have been to produce explosives or narcotics.The homeowner was arrested on suspicion of possession of “bomb-making material or explosive ingredients,” Hoefling said. Police are not releasing the suspect’s name until the search of the home is complete. He remains in custody.Officers determined nobody else was in the home and “backed out” of the area after they saw the suspicious chemicals Monday night, and waited until the county bomb squad was available before continuing a search of the property, Hoefling said.The Monday evening discovery of possible bomb-making chemicals and other materials led authorities to evacuate the neighborhood. The evacuated residents returned home Monday night, but police asked them to leave again Tuesday morning until the bomb squad completed the search, Hoefling said.The search of the McLaughlin Court home is expected to be complete by about 6pm March 13, police said.McLaughlin Court is located about one block east of Monterey Road, and just north of East Central Avenue. The Morgan Hill Pre-School Academy and Shadow Mountain Baptist School, among other commercial properties, are nearby. Britton Middle School about two blocks away, on the west side of Monterey Road at West Central Avenue.Check back later for updates to this developing story.

Morgan Hill experienced a jump in permitted housing units in 2018, and 2019 is shaping up to continue that trend. According to Morgan Hill’s Housing Element Annual Progress Report, which every jurisdiction is required to submit annually to the California Department of Housing and Community...

While the voters are getting ready to decide the fate of a current hotel proposal in north Morgan Hill, the city council last month closed the books on a previous referendum effort for a different site that was once pegged for a future hotel.

Anderson Reservoir was at about 54 percent capacity this week, but it still welcomed recreational boaters for a new season, which began April 15. “Enjoy it while you can,” could have been the message to the boaters this spring, with a five-year complete closure and...

Local veterans, their families and community members are invited to honor those who served in the U.S. armed services—and remember those who died in combat—at the annual Veterans Day ceremony at 9am Nov. 11 in downtown Morgan Hill.

Neil Kitchens, a Republican candidate who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 30th District State Assembly seat in 2018, has been charged with five counts of election fraud. Kitchens pleaded not guilty at an arraignment June 27 in Monterey County Superior Court, according to court...

Christina Turner, who has served as Morgan Hill’s Assistant City Manager for Administrative Services since the beginning of 2016, was selected Sept. 6 as the city council’s top choice for the position of city manager.The council voted in closed session to authorize the mayor and city attorney to begin negotiating a contract with Turner for City Hall’s top staff position, according to Mayor Steve Tate.Turner’s salary, benefits and other compensation as city manager will be determined at the end of the negotiations, which city officials hope to complete before the end of the month. After the contract is settled, the council plans to appoint Turner to the city manager post at the Sept. 27 meeting, Tate said.Turner, who the city hired from the City of Gilroy in January 2016, said she is excited to begin working as Morgan Hill’s city manager as soon as the negotiations are complete.She cited her previous work in South County—which brings a depth of knowledge of the region where Morgan Hill officials are continually in pursuit of ongoing partnerships—as one aspect of her qualifications for city manager. She also thinks her “strong financial background” in both the public and private sector influenced the council’s decision to point to her as the top candidate for the job.As city manager, Turner said she wants to “continue to cultivate the good morale we enjoy at the city, and find ways to keep the team energized and doing great things for Morgan Hill.”She added, “We have an amazing group of talented professionals.”Turner will replace outgoing City Manager Steve Rymer, who accepted a position last month as the city administrator of Rochester, Minn. Rymer, who has been Morgan Hill’s city manager since 2013, has said previously will remain in Morgan Hill through the end of September.The city hired Turner at an annual salary of about $189,000 in 2016, not including benefits. Rymer’s salary for 2016 was about $248,000, according to the city’s website.The council spent their day Sept. 6 in closed session interviewing Turner and three other city staff members for the city manager’s position. The other applicants who made it to the council interview were Police Chief David Swing, Community Services Director Chris Ghione and Economic Development Director Edith Ramirez.The interviews included a series of questions from the council members, as well as a self evaluation, Tate said.“They all did a fantastic job,” Tate said. “Any one of them could have done the job (of city manager). Christina came out a little bit better than anyone else. She’ll be an outstanding team leader, and keep the same spirit going that Steve (Rymer) has created. We’re very excited to have her.”Shortly after learning of Rymer’s planned departure from Morgan Hill, the council decided they wanted to appoint an employee who is already working at City Hall, rather than conduct a nationwide search for the best candidate.Turner previously served as the City of Gilroy’s Finance Director and Treasurer. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from Santa Clara University and is a Certified Public Accountant.