Anyone rooting for a bond measure on the ballot better be prepared to be disappointed. Wouldn't be surprised if everything but the school bond failed, and if that wins, it will only be by a whisker over the 55 percent. And personally, I didn't appreciate Gilroy Unified and Gilroy High School using the School Loop e-mail system and the mass calling post telephone message to promote a pro-Measure P town hall meeting. Parents didn't sign up for campaign e-mails - in essence spam. They signed up to stay up to date on their child's school performance. And it's amazing that the few GHS teachers who still refuse to use the system for grades, homework and progress reports are not being held accountable in any way, shape or form. Poor management on both counts - and both are critically important. But I'm still voting for the school bond ...It's certainly harder these days to raise money to feed the poor than it should be to get all GHS teachers to use School Loop. Day after day the economy, with hard-working people in tow, is getting hammered. People are fearful. There is little, if any, confidence and it's very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And yet all that translates into more people who need help. So, if you can afford to have some fun close to home and would like to help St. Joseph's Family Center, buy a ticket for a Nov. 1 event that Director David Cox has organized - and invite a few friends. The band "Soul Kiss" will be featured at gorgeous Leal Vineyards in Hollister. Tickets are $75 and include hors d'oeuvres, wine tasting, cigars, tequila tasting and a nice feeling knowing that you've helped out a truly exemplary organization that helps the needy. Call Leal to grab a ticket:
1-831-636-1023.
Since we're talking wine, will somebody please take down the banner downtown advertising Passport Weekend for the area wineries ... it was Oct. 4 for Bacchus sakes ...
Mr. Bacchus would like the slogan used at the beautifully updated Sarah's Vineyard on Hecker Pass: "Wine is music from the vineyard." Even the winery phone number is cool: 877-44PINOT ... the annual Harvest Party held Saturday night really made the grade, and proprietor Tim Slater has really upgraded the entire property which goes perfectly now with the multiple award-winning wines. If you haven't stopped by Sarah's lately, or ever, do it. The barrel tasting room is warm, cozy and tasteful and the garden area has luscious vineyard views and a couple of bocce ball courts - even though Miss Jenny and I dropped our match to a couple of San Jose guys who were definitely Italian bowling sandbaggers. Anyway, Sarah's is perfect for a picnic, a spirited game and a bottle(s) of wine with friends ... "Who needs Napa?" ... with $3.50 per gallon gas and the fantastic improvements our area wineries have made that's what I think the slogan for the South County Winery Association should be ... would make for a cool T-shirt, too.
Bobby "Big Tex" Burch always has cool T-shirts when he organizes a poker tourney. Imagine, it's already the fourth annual Gilroy Community Services Department Halloween Hold 'Em Tournament coming up on Saturday, Oct. 25. If you want to try, your hand, literally, call 846-0460. Prizes for the winners, proceeds for city youth, teen and senior programs.
Hope the city isn't gambling on a concrete dog park at Las Animas Veterans Park. It sure looks that way with the construction that's under way, though, and what a shame and a waste of money that would be. Dogs, and their owners, like grass. "Building" that in the old pond area at Las Animas Park, a beautiful place with a wonderful viewshed, grass galore and magnificent trees, should have been simple and inexpensive. Woof, woof! ...
But back to Halloween, how many temporary costume shops can one city have? And do we really need to float a big blow-up pumpkin on a rooftop downtown? It's more than tacky, but then again we live in a city that allowed an anteater-ugly (that's worse than coyote ugly) neon sign advertising chips and salsa on its most beautiful historic building in the heart off downtown. Hey, we sure do got standards ... and while I'm at it, when did Halloween become a more important holiday for adults than children?
And I still can't believe the distressed call to the Red Phone that confused our reporting of a tapas bar going in at Old City Hall with a topless bar ... honestly, that's not a component of the mayor's downtown revitalization plan, is it MayorAl?
Kids with talent can be the big winners in the South Valley Symphony's first annual young musician competition on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Gilroy. Santa Clara County and San Benito County musicians are eligible. The first-place winner will be a featured soloist with the symphony during the 2008-'09 concert season. Download an application at southvalleysymphony.org. Young musicians know that character counts, so it's good that school board candidate Mark Good wants to find a way to keep and support music programs. Good enough for my vote.
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Mark Derry
Mark Derry is the executive editor of the Gilroy Dispatch. Reach him at (408)847-7010 or editor@garlic.com.
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