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When it's summertime, you crave for something cold and fruity.  Combine frozen strawberries with frozen pink lemonade concentrate and you have a recipe for deliciousness.  This fizzy summertime strawberry treat will delight your tastebuds and keep you quenched while basking in the sun.  

The Morgan Hill City Council has amended a resolution placing a measure on the November ballot to appoint, rather than elect the city treasurer and city clerk. The Nov. 6 ballot measure will now only include a change in the the clerk position.

A fire that ripped through southeast San Martin burned 20 acres of vegetation and multiple homes, displacing 21 residents of the rural unincorporated community.The blaze started about 4:15pm July 25 as a vegetation fire in the area of the 12100 block of Church Avenue. The fire spread and destroyed a mobile home and three outbuildings, and damaged two houses, according to CalFire Fire Prevention Specialist Pam Temmermand.One of the destroyed buildings was “an extremely large barn,” Temmermand said. It appeared at least one greenhouse was overrun by the flames.Sixteen vehicles were also destroyed before crews were able to contain most of the fire. Southbound lanes on U.S. 101 were closed due to the thick smoke drifting across the freeway.The blaze was about 85 percent contained as of the morning of July 26, Temmermand said.Temmermand added that a total of 21 residents of the destroyed and damaged homes are temporarily displaced. Santa Clara County Office of Emergency Services is working with American Red Cross and the county’s Social Services Administration to assist the displaced residents.Units from CalFire, Gilroy Fire Department and San Jose Fire Department responded to the fire.As CalFire tankers dropped water from a reservoir to the east, firefighters desperately tried to save a two-story house on Lena Avenue where huge flames lapped at the back door step. An elderly woman in the house made it to safety. Other residents of the house had left earlier in the day for vacation.Although Temmermand said no livestock or other animals were reportedly caught in the fire, at least one resident said some chickens perished. About 30 horses were saved from the fire, firefighters on the scene said.Mike Sibley, 71, who rents a trailer on the Lena Avenue property, said he received a call from the owner of the house warning him of the fire. Sibley rushed back from a bar in Morgan Hill, where he had been hanging out with friends. He said he at times drove on the wrong side of the road to get to the fire several miles south.Sibley said he arrived in time to rush into the mobile home he has been renting for about eight years and save his 20-year-old dog, Oddie, and some valuables.He left his vehicle in front and headed to the scene of chaos."There was three or four cars on fire and I probably would have lost mine if I went back there," Sibley said.He also managed to lead out a kid goat."There were about 30 goats in there and that was the only one who wanted to follow me out," he said. "The firefighters out here are doing an amazing job."Sibley did however lose several personal items when another of the buildings on the property burned.About 7pm, Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputies cleared onlooking pedestrians away from in front of the house on Lena Avenue and moved them back to Manna Way after an electric pole caught on fire and threatened their safety.A gray pit bull was picked up by animal control in the area, firefighters said.No injuries among people were reported, according to Temmermand.Plumes of black smoke were blown south by 10-miles-per-hour wind gusts toward Gilroy and Christmas Hill Park six miles away, where the Garlic Festival will be held this weekend. The wildfire never posed a danger for north Gilroy neighborhoods, or the park.The cause of the fire is still under investigation. 

Morgan Hill voters will see three local measures appear on their ballots this November—an increase in the tax on hotel room stays, a tax on cannabis sales in Morgan Hill and a measure that would change city clerk and city treasurer roles to appointed positions.The City Council voted unanimously July 18 to move forward with the measures.In April, the City of Morgan Hill commissioned a survey by Godbe Research to gauge public opinion on increasing the city’s Transient Occupancy Tax—often referred to as a hotel tax—as well as a sales tax on marijuana. Respondents generally favored both taxes.The Transient Occupancy Tax in the city is would increase from 10 to 11 percent, if voters approve. The money will go into Morgan Hill’s coffers at the discretion of the city council. The decision by the council to place the measure on the ballot was paired with another to take steps toward creating a new Tourism Business Inclusion District.The inclusion district is not on the ballot, and the specifics of its creation hinge on voter approval of the occupancy tax increase. The inclusion district is planned to have a tax of 1.5 percent which the hotels will collect from patrons to boost marketing and promotion for the City of Morgan Hill.A council staff report defines the occupancy tax as “an additional charge added to hotel/motel room night stays (that) is collected by the hotels and transferred to the city.”Harjot Sangha, accounting manager for the city, estimated Morgan Hill’s original occupancy tax began around the 1970s at a rate of 5 percent. Hotel patrons pay the occupancy tax when renting a room, and it is the responsibility of the owner to then turn the tax collected over to the city.The Godbe study found that support for the occupancy tax was somewhere between 63 and 67 percent of those surveyed, with constituents willing to increase the tax by up to 4 percent.The proposed inclusion district to be formed in conjunction with the potential occupancy tax increase will likely be made up of property owners, hotel representatives, city staff and a council- or mayor-appointed member.The city council report defines the inclusion district as “a business district formed by the hotels where through a majority vote they self-tax to generate revenues that would be used for tourism promotions.”Several business owners in Morgan Hill spoke at the July 18 meeting in support of the occupancy tax increase and inclusion district formation. Andrew Firestone, principal for StonePark Capital, spoke passionately in favor of the inclusion district at the meeting, citing similar districts in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.Firestone said in an interview that the council’s decision to place the measure on the ballot and move forward with the inclusion district “was a great example of collaborations between the hotels and the city.”Councilman Rich Constantine said at the meeting that he’s “always impressed when a business volunteers to tax themselves.”Cannabis TaxThe Godbe study also found that 63 to 64 percent of those surveyed were in favor of taxing marijuana when or if any cannabis-oriented businesses are allowed in Morgan Hill.The city council moved to impose a 30 percent tax on both medicinal and recreational marijuana businesses if either is opened in the city. The measure for a cannabis tax follows a strategy adopted by other cities and counties, first approving marijuana taxes and continuing the debate over what, if any, cannabis businesses would be allowed in the municipality.Councilman Larry Carr echoed this sentiment and said the approval to move forward with the cannabis tax measure on the November ballot was just the beginning of more discussions. He added that the discussion about cannabis businesses in Morgan Hill is “far from over.”While there was some concern within the council over how much revenue would realistically be brought to the city with a cannabis tax, all council members agreed to let voters decide whether the tax should be approved.David McPherson, cannabis compliance director at Hinderliter, de Llamas and Associates, helped draft the presentation to the council and spoke on the proposed cannabis tax at the July 18 meeting along with Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing.McPherson said at the meeting that he has assisted in the drafting of several other cities’ cannabis tax ordinances. The council decided to amend the ballot measures’ language on the  projected revenue from cannabis taxes to a range of $340,000 to $750,000.Mayor Steve Tate said he was still not in favor of cannabis businesses opening in Morgan Hill, but voted in favor of putting the measure on the ballot.Tate stated, “I don’t want cannabis things going on in this community, but if they are we damn well better tax them.”City Treasurer and City ClerkEight years ago the Morgan Hill City Council moved forward with a ballot measure that would have changed the positions of city clerk and city treasurer to appointed positions as opposed to elected. The measure did not pass because of what City Attorney Donald Larkin described as “active opposition.”Larkin said he did not think the same opposition would be present this time if the measure was put on the ballot. He said most cities in California have made the positions appointed posts. According to the city council staff report, Morgan Hill is one of two cities in Santa Clara County where the positions are elected, the other being Santa Clara. Larkin said shifting the roles to appointed positions could save the city about $40,000 annually.“The lesson we learned from last time is we need to do a better job educating the voters about what it is the city clerk and city treasurer do,” said Larkin.If the measure passes, current City Treasurer David Clink would serve the remainder of his term through 2020.

Accident

Two women accused of stabbing three men in a July 7 altercation in downtown Morgan Hill will remain in jail at least until their next hearing, despite their attorneys’ pleas to reduce their bail from $175,000.

Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr is scheduled to go to trial in August on a charge of domestic battery, stemming from a November 2017 incident at the downtown home he shared with his girlfriend at the time.Carr, 49, appeared July 20 at the South County Courthouse for the latest pre-trial hearing in the misdemeanor case. Carr’s alleged victim sat next to him throughout the morning court session. She had told Morgan Hill Police officers the night of Carr’s arrest that he broke her glasses and pulled her hair during a heated verbal argument.Carr pleaded not guilty to the charge in February. He told investigating police officers that any contact he made with the woman during the November argument was accidental.Carr declined to comment on the case outside the courtroom July 20. His attorney, Stuart Kirchick, said Carr and the victim are “on very good terms.” The attorney said he did not know their current relationship status, or if they still were living together.In February, at the same hearing where Carr pleaded not guilty, the judge granted him a one-year “peaceful contact order” that regulates the contact he can have with the alleged victim.The woman’s attorney, Wesley Schroeder, was also in court for Carr’s hearing July 20. Schroeder said the woman has a right to an attorney, but otherwise declined to comment on why she retained him as legal counsel. Schroeder also declined to answer questions about his client’s current relationship with Carr.Judge Jacqueline Duong set a trial date of Aug. 13 for Carr’s case. Kirchick said the trial, expected to last about five days, likely won’t begin on that date because he expects to be working on an unrelated trial in a different Santa Clara County courtroom at the time. But he thinks Carr’s trial will begin before August is over.The judge also ordered the victim to be on telephone standby for possible testimony during the trial. Schroeder asked that any subpoena or other court order for the woman be directed to him.It has not been determined if the August trial will be a jury trial or bench trial. California law allows Carr to request a jury trial, but he can waive that right and be tried by a judge. Kirchick said he and the prosecutor are discussing what type of trial will take place.Kirchick added that recent delays in Carr’s case are “not unreasonable,” and such delays are common in criminal proceedings. He added he has been unavailable for a speedier trial for Carr due to his involvement in an unrelated trial that began in April. He expects that trial will last until at least November, but he will be available for Carr’s proceedings in August.Morgan Hill Police responded to Carr’s residence the evening of Nov. 25, 2017, and arrested Carr after taking statements from both parties. The victim’s sister called police to report the incident. Carr’s girlfriend had called her sister earlier in the evening, during the argument with Carr, and told her that Carr was threatening her, pulled her hair and damaged her glasses, according to police reports.Police arrested Carr after taking statements from him and and the woman.Carr—who is currently serving in his fifth term as a Morgan Hill councilmember—was convicted of a similar misdemeanor charge in 2015, in relation to an incident at the couple’s previous home March 23. Carr pleaded no contest to domestic battery and completed a 16-week counseling program. The court later dismissed the charge from his record, at Carr’s formal request. Carr has also denied acting violently in that incident, and said he pleaded no contest to avoid prolonged court proceedings.If Carr is convicted of the 2017 charge, the court can consider the 2015 conviction as a prior offense in his sentencing, according to authorities.

More than 150 kids and parents rocked out with Sean’s Music Factory Thursday, July 12 at the Morgan Hill Library on Main Avenue.

What started in 1979 as a small community food festival centered on the small, stinky, cousin of the onion has since turned into a world-recognized, Guinness record-holding, multimillion-dollar destination that helped put little Gilroy on the map. The Garlic Festival is a non-profit, but it's also big business–not just for the festival itself, but the entire South Valley, along with one of Gilroy's most recognizable companies, Christopher Ranch.