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Just before halftime against Mt. Pleasant, Sobrato runningback Jared Jones broke lose for a 40-yard touchdown.

Another construction project is about to begin in downtown Morgan Hill, as the owner of the former retail building at Second Street and Monterey Road is preparing to bring a new restaurant—or two—to the neighborhood.Contractors fenced off the roughly 8,000-square-foot property, on the southeast corner of the intersection, earlier this week after they acquired permits from the city, according to architect Jim Dumas of Dumas + Associates.The building formerly housed Royal Clothier and Tryst—both clothing stores that relocated elsewhere downtown after developer Steve Pace purchased the site in 2015.Dumas said his crews and the developer will be “gutting the building” and remodeling it for at least one restaurant space, though they might open it up for two such tenants. The outdoor space on the south side of the building—between the vacant structure and Prova restaurant—will be converted from the current “pocket park” to outdoor dining for the new restaurant.The developer does not have a specific tenant or tenants lined up yet, but Dumas said they are looking for a “restaurant/bar” to move in when construction is completed. A wine bar is another possibility.Construction is expected to last about eight months, Dumas added.Dumas didn’t know how old the Royal Clothier building is, but he confirmed it received seismic upgrades in 1990. He and Pace are planning to make it even more earthquake safe.Their plans also include accentuating the building’s existing “Spanish influence,” with “deeply recessed windows,” new entryways and other architectural features, Dumas said. The outdoor patio will include a “trellis shade structure” with lighting, plus fans and mist-spraying nozzles for dining during the warm seasons.More restaurants on the horizonThe Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency purchased the downtown Second Street property for about $1.4 million in 2008, using bond proceeds. After the state shut down the RDA in 2011, the city was forced to sell off the Royal Clothier building—as well as other properties it owned downtown—to developers who would commit to projects with a mix of new residential and commercial uses that would complement each other and existing transportation infrastructure.Pace purchased the Royal Clothier building from the post-RDA regulators for about $880,000.Other former RDA properties were sold off to developers in a similar fashion about the same time the city council approved the sale to Pace. Construction or planning in various stages is underway at each downtown site.These former RDA properties include:• The former Simple Beverages site at Third Street and Monterey Road, where The Opa Group is in the process of building four new restaurants in two buildings under construction. That project is expected to be complete in January 2018.• The Granada Theater, which South Valley hospitality developer Frank Leal remodeled as a high-class event venue last year.• The former Downtown Mall site, which was also acquired by Leal. He has demolished the former structure, and is preparing to build the 60-room Granada Hotel on the site.• The former Depot Center or BookSmart shopping center, where developer City Ventures has been busy lately pouring foundations for a new residential/commercial project.• The “Sunsweet” property on East Third Street, where owners Rocke and Glenda Garcia have the council’s approval to build an 80-plus high-density residential project with a restaurant on the ground floor.Other projects underway or recently completed downtown are the Barley Place condominium project at East Main Avenue and Depot Street; and a restaurant, art gallery and wine bar with rooftop dining on the southwest corner of Second Street and Monterey Road (across the street from the Pace property).

On the surface, Jones took a simple counter play where he followed his blockers that broke him loose for a 41-0 lead. But that 40-yard run put Jones into the record books.

Before a Morgan Hill man beat Bertha Paulson to death in 2013, she had been the victim of domestic violence multiple times in the three years since she moved to California, according to authorities and her older sister.Her killer, Michael Sheppard, 64, was convicted of second-degree murder Nov. 2 in Paulson’s death. Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Chuck Gillingham said Sheppard faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison.The jury found that Sheppard killed Paulson, 45, the night of June 15, 2013 at his home at Morgan Hill Apartments, a small mobile home park just north of downtown. It was the only murder in Morgan Hill in 2013.Court files and testimony during last week’s trial—which started Oct. 30 at the South County Courthouse—showed that Paulson died of a broken neck and suffered fractured ribs, collapsed lungs and numerous cuts. Her body was covered in bruises. These injuries resulted from a “brutal” attack by Sheppard, described Margaret Petros of Mothers Against Murder, an advocate for Paulson’s family.“What is really sad is she did not have any family or close friends in this area,” Petros said from the nonprofit’s Los Altos office.Petros attended last week’s trial on behalf of Paulson’s relatives, who live in Alaska. The family could not attend due to the uncertainty of the trial date over the last four-plus years, and financial constraints.Shortly after Paulson’s death, her surviving family—which includes two older sisters and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins—contacted the advocacy group seeking help to transport her body back to her native home of Mountain Village, Alaska, Petros said. Paulson is also survived by her three adult children.Mothers Against Murder teamed up with two funeral homes—one in San Jose and the other in Anchorage, Alaska—to transport the body. The family then conducted two memorial services: one in Anchorage with extended family; and one in Mountain Village, where Paulson was buried.“MAM fully covered the cost to make sure the victim was treated with respect and dignity to her final destination,” Petros added.The victim’s older sister, Margaret Waskey, had even more questions about how Paulson died when she saw her sister’s body.‘A loving person’Paulson was the “baby” of nine siblings, Waskey told the Times on the phone from Mountain Village, a small town where she and other family members depend on seasonal fishing income to survive.“We were all hurt the first moment she was gone,” said Waskey, who adopted two of Paulson’s three children when they were young.She said Paulson moved out of Alaska about four years before her death, spending some time in Seattle before coming to California. Contact between Paulson and her family dropped off after she left Alaska, Waskey said.“A few months” before Paulson’s death, Waskey received a phone call from a San Jose hospital notifying her that Paulson had been assaulted by a man she had been seeing before Sheppard, Petros added.When she arrived in Morgan Hill, Paulson was homeless, living in an encampment behind Morgan Hill Apartments, where Sheppard lived.“She was a loving person,” Waskey said. “People liked to hang around with her.”Sheppard’s testimonyAccording to Morgan Hill police, during the initial investigation into Paulson’s death, witnesses said about a month earlier they had seen Sheppard—with whom she had an “off and on” romantic relationship—assault her.The Nov. 2 conviction of second-degree murder indicates the jury saw Paulson’s death as “more of a domestic violence type” of homicide, rather than a “calculated, thought-out crime,” Gillingham said. Even though he pushed for first-degree murder, Gillingham found the jury’s verdict “reasonable.”He also praised Morgan Hill police investigators.“It says a lot to the men and women in that department that in a case that involved the most marginalized of our society, they were willing to devote so many resources to ensure that I...had the tools to seek justice,” Gillingham said.During the trial, Sheppard testified that he had been drinking heavily when he and Paulson began verbally arguing. This escalated to a physical altercation that ended with Paulson’s death.Initially, Sheppard admitted to police that he beat Paulson until she was unconscious. He tried to revive her but, unable to do so, he moved her to the railroad tracks behind his residence. Witnesses found her there, dead, the next morning.At the trial, Sheppard added that he used a shopping cart to move Paulson’s body. Petros said that the state’s testimony and other evidence indicated he hit her so hard in some places—including her head—that Sheppard may have used a baseball bat or similar weapon.Furthermore, throughout the court proceedings, Sheppard offered changing explanations for the attack—at one point claiming to be insane, and at others insisting he was so intoxicated he didn’t know what he was doing, Petros said.Sheppard also testified that when he laid her body near the railroad tracks, he tried to make it look like she had been raped. Police said she was found with her pants down and a jacket over her upper body.Violence rare at parkSince 2013, police and EMS have responded to Morgan Hill Apartments 190 times for service calls. Only three of these—including Paulson’s murder—were for reports of violent crimes, according to Police Analyst Margarita Balagso. The other two violent incidents were aggravated assaults. Ten of the calls were for domestic disturbances.Petros’ commitment to Paulson and her family is ongoing, as she and Mothers Against Murder hope to get her to Morgan Hill to attend Sheppard’s sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 19. In fact, she hopes to fill the courtroom with supporters of Paulson and victims like her.“No one deserves to have their life taken away like this,” Petros said. “My agenda is to bring awareness out there, and let the public know how much hurt there is.”

Gilroy resident Frank Louis Masoni died in combat just two days after landing with the U.S. Marine Corps at Tarawa Atoll in the South Pacific in November 1943. Nearly three-quarters of a century later, in the summer of 2017, his remains were positively identified by military officials, and his South County descendants will finally get to bury him.

VandalismSomeone broke the window of a gray Honda Pilot on East Dunne Avenue. The vandalism was reported 7:21pm Oct. 26.Someone shot paintballs at a home on Calle Hermosa. The vandalism was reported 7:57am Nov. 1.A vandal or vandals threw a piece of concrete into the front window of a building on Monterey Road, causing about $1,000 worth of damage. The vandalism was reported 9:06am Nov. 1.Someone threw an item through the window of the U.S. Post Office, 16600 Monterey Road, creating a hole “bigger than a football.” The crime was reported 9:37pm Nov. 1.A vandal or vandals damaged several vehicles, solar panels and a boat on a property at Murphy Springs Court. The suspect or suspects caused between $15,000 and $30,000 in damage. The crime was reported 10:31am Nov. 2.Someone used black spray paint to write “Death” on the wall of a business located on the 16800 block of Monterey Road. The vandalism was reported 8:17pm Oct. 31.Petty theftTwo suspects stole an unspecified number of UPS boxes that were delivered to a business on Joleen Way. The packages’ contents were worth about $2,330. The theft was reported 1:55pm Oct. 31.A male suspect stole shirts, underwear, flashlights and other items from Walmart, 170 Cochrane Plaza. The crime was reported 5:23am Oct. 26.Stolen vehicleA 2005 Chevrolet Silverado was stolen from a residence on La Vela Court in Morgan Hill, and was later recovered in Oakland. The vehicle was reported stolen 5:19am Oct. 27. Auto burglarySomeone broke into a Chevrolet Spark parked at Walmart, 170 Cochrane Plaza, and stole an ID, phone and cigarettes. The break-in was reported 6:12am Nov. 2.Hit and runA black Chevrolet Tahoe collided with a black Chevrolet Cruze at Cochrane and Monterey roads, and the Tahoe fled the scene. The driver of the Cruze told police he attempted to exchange information with the other driver before the suspect fled. The incident was reported 4:11pm Oct. 24.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

Spirit of Morgan Hill 10U Red team wrapped up its competitive Fall softball season with a first-place win in the silver bracket of the Monster Bash Classic Tournament on October 22. The championship game went five innings with Spirit coming out on top 14-12. Starting pitcher, Olivia Mixco struck out eight batters and teammates Gabby Evans, Samantha Zimmerman, Cameron Elliott and Jordan Bouton each collected multiple hits to contribute towards the win. The team worked hard all season, challenging themselves as eight and nine-year-olds playing in 11U tournaments. For girls 4-17 interested in playing softball, registration for the Spring Recreation Season opens online in early December at spiritofmorganhill.org.

A small appliance fire in a downtown Morgan Hill restaurant was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system before firefighters arrived to the scene early Tuesday morning, according to authorities.About 5:14am Oct. 31, firefighters were dispatched to a fire at Odeum restaurant, 17500 Depot Street, according to Morgan Hill Fire Battalion Chief Jim Galassi.“It was a small appliance fire,” Galassi said. “The sprinkler system did its job and had it knocked down by the time we got there.”The restaurant and part of the adjacent building’s interior were “charred with smoke,” but there appeared to be little or no fire damage, Galassi added. The restaurant also suffered some water damage from the sprinkler system.Nobody was inside the restaurant or the building at the time of the fire, and Galassi did not know how the appliance caught on fire.Odeum was closed Oct. 31 for lunch. An employee inside the restaurant, where a cleaning crew was busy mopping and drying up the mess, said about 4pm that she did not know if Odeum would be open for dinner.

SAN JOSE – By the end of the evening, Patrick Marleau had earned a videoboard tribute honoring his 19 seasons playing for the San Jose Sharks, Joe Thornton had moved into sole possession of 20th place in NHL history for points, and the host team rallied to defeat Toronto 3-2 in front of a sold-out SAP Center.