Gilroy Chamber Business Focus November 2022

November 28, 2022

Proud Members of the Gilroy Chamber

The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce appreciates the support of our members. Investment dollars are dedicated to vital programs such as economic development, business marketing, leadership programs and more. We applaud each of you for helping make Gilroy a better place to live and work. Proud Members of the Gilroy Chamber. Learn more about these members by visiting our directory.

30 Years & over
Abbott’s Pro-Power
Allstate Insurance, Arline & Jason Silva
Bozzo’s Union 76
Cleaning Services
Cottage Floors/Flooring America
Go Kids, Inc.
Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park
Gilroy Garlic Festival Association
Guglielmo Winery
Intero Real Estate Services, Patricia Filice
Kevin P. Courtney, Attorney
Martin Electric, Inc.
Mission Controls Company
Morgan Stanley
Pacific Oak Properties, Inc.
Saint Louise Regional Hospital
Starritt Construction, Inc.
Wafelbakker & Anderson, D.M.D.

20 Years & over
Gilroy Rotary Club
International Paper

10 Years & over
Cintas Corporation
Container Consulting Service, Inc.
Pure Water Bottling Co.
Spectrum Business

5 Years and over
Dezign Boutique Graphics
Guaranteed Rate Affinity
Hampton Inn & Suites
Skylake Tree Company
U.S. Army Recruiting Command Gilroy
Worklight Gilroy/Morgan Hill Chapter

California Homelessness Problem Pits Governor Newsom Against Mayors

By Christine Mai-Duc, Wall Street Journal

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing off with local government officials, many of whom are fellow Democrats, over responsibility for the lack of progress combating homelessness in America’s most populous state.

Mr. Newsom recently put a temporary freeze on $1 billion of state grants for city and county homelessness programs. He also rejected a slate of proposals from local officials outlining how they would spend the money, saying the measures would have reduced homelessness statewide by 2% between 2020 and 2024, which he deemed inadequate.

People who work in state politics say Mr. Newsom’s policy moves and comments echo many Californians’ rising frustration over housing costs and homelessness, and indicate a willingness by the governor, who recently won re-election, to pick fights with local leaders to try to get results in his second term.

Mayors and county officials, meanwhile, have said they need the Newsom administration to provide reliable, recurring revenue streams and a cohesive statewide framework to address the issue. Instead, they said, most state money comes in one-time allocations with little guidance.

Many mayors were also rankled when Mr. Newsom told the Los Angeles Times he froze the homelessness funds because local leaders needed to “deliver damn results,” adding that he would be willing to play “mayor of California” if they didn’t.

Local officials said withholding money they were counting on would only make the problem worse.

“Lives are on the line and we can’t afford for this work to get mired in more politics,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.

Just over a week ago, Mr. Newsom met with more than 100 local leaders and agreed to release the frozen funds—but only to jurisdictions that agreed to submit more ambitious proposals by the end of the month.

A spokesman for Mr. Newsom said 21 jurisdictions have agreed and are expected to receive funds as early as this week. 

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, a Democrat who flew to Sacramento for the meeting, said he and 10 other big-city mayors are asking the governor to dedicate $2 billion annually toward grants for local governments to address homelessness starting next year.

“If this is the biggest priority in the state and you have a budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars. I don’t think that’s out of the question,” Mr. Gloria said.

Conflicts over who should take the lead on homelessness have been simmering for years in California. The state has some of the highest housing costs in the nation and more than 116,000 residents sleeping on the street on any given night, the most in the U.S., according to an analysis of data from local governments by the nonprofit news site CalMatters.

The number of homeless people in California has grown roughly 15% since 2019, even as Mr. Newsom oversaw the largest increase in funding for homeless programs in the state’s history. California has dedicated some $15 billion toward the issue since the start of the pandemic.

The money is largely administered by local governments. Some, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have also raised taxes to fund more homeless services and affordable housing construction.

Problems including bureaucratic slowdowns and community resistance have made it difficult to deliver services, according to advocates. And researchers say even as some people are successfully sheltered, others will keep falling into homelessness until housing becomes more affordable.

Trying to spur progress, Mr. Newsom has also forced cities and counties to adopt more aggressive goals for planning and building housing, taken some local power over land use away, and begun an investigation into why San Francisco has the longest timelines in the state for building housing.

San Francisco Democratic Mayor London Breed welcomed the investigation, which she said was needed, though some city leaders said it was too focused on market-rate housing.

Many local leaders have said that in addition to providing regular funding, Mr. Newsom needs to help develop statewide policies to make homelessness programs more effective.

Darrell Steinberg, the Democratic mayor of Sacramento, has called for the state to create a right to housing that would guarantee homeless people access to shelter.

“When something matters, we require it,” he said. “If it doesn’t matter that much, we leave it to the 500-plus cities and 58 counties to do their best.”

Jason Elliott, Mr. Newsom’s top housing adviser, said local officials have long had control over homeless programs, as well as most land-use decisions that could spur more home-building.

“The state’s vision is realized locally,” Mr. Elliott said. “The governor is responsible for setting policy, setting the tone…local governments are responsible for implementing solutions.”

Remember That Budget Surplus? Never Mind

Commentary by Dan Walters, CalMatters 

Six months ago, while proposing a revised state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom bragged about the state’s having a $97.5 billion surplus that would finance some landmark expansions of social and educational services.

“No other state in American history has ever experienced a surplus as large as this,” Newsom told reporters as he unveiled a 2022-23 fiscal year budget that topped $300 billion and, with a few tweaks, was eagerly adopted by the Legislature.

Never mind.

Last week, the Legislature’s budget advisor, Gabe Petek, issued a sobering report on the state’s finances, saying revenues are likely to fall $41 billion short of what Newsom and legislators anticipated, leaving the state with a $25 billion projected deficit for the 2023-24 budget. Moreover, he said, if recession hits, as many economists expect, the gap between income and outgo could be much higher.

If it’s just a $25 billion problem — as large as that number might seem — it could be handled relatively easily with some adjustments, such as throttling back on some of the spending the current budget contains, Petek said.

“It’s not insignificant, but it’s also manageable,” he told reporters. “We don’t think of this as a budget crisis, we just think of it as a notable budget problem.”

However, he cautioned against maintaining spending and using the state’s sizeable emergency reserves to cover the shortfall, because there is a strong chance that the current economic slowdown, being dictated by the Federal Reserve System to counter high inflation, could easily morph into a recession.

“Based on historical experience, should a recession occur soon, revenues could be $30 billion to $50 billion below our revenue outlook in the budget window. As such, we suggest the Legislature begin planning the 2023-24 budget without using general purpose reserves,” Petek said in his report.

Newsom’s budget staff did not dispute Petek’s rather gloomy fiscal forecast. California “is in its best-ever position to manage a downturn, by having built strong reserves and focusing on one-time commitments,” Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said.

That’s true, as far as it goes. Newsom and the Legislature did commit most of the supposed surplus to reserves and limited-time spending and in theory the latter could be cancelled or scaled back. A multi-billion-dollar cash giveaway, now being processed, is the largest example of such one-time expenditures.

However, one-time appropriations, while not legally required to be long-term commitments, raise expectations that the state will continue to finance what it started. The recipients of those funds, therefore, will press the Legislature to honor what they consider to be commitments to their particular programs and projects.

Hints that the state’s roaring economy might be slowing down surfaced within weeks of the current budget’s passage last June and Newsom vetoed dozens of bills for additional off-budget spending, citing economic uncertainty.

Ever since the budget’s enactment, state revenues have been running well below expectations, with virtually all of the shortfall in personal income taxes, which generally account for three-quarters of the state’s general fund revenues.

The vast majority of those taxes come from a relative few high-income taxpayers, whose incomes are intimately sensitive to fluctuations in the economy, particularly stocks and other capital investments. The stock market has taken a beating from the Federal Reserve’s sharp increases in interest rates and Silicon Valley, source of much of the state’s taxable income, is undergoing a retrenchment with massive layoffs of workers.

Petek’s report is another reminder that California’s budget depends on a very narrow and very volatile tax base and it is, therefore, foolish to make long-term financial commitments that assume the golden goose will always lay golden eggs.

News from the Gilroy Downtown Business Association

GDBA Holiday Parade Poster

November 14, 2022

Gina Lopez Honored as Veteran of the Year

Gina Lopez, owner of Gina Lopez State Farm Insurance Agency and incoming chair of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, was named Veteran of the Year by the League of United Latin American Citizens, American Legion, and the VFW Post 9242. She was recognized on Friday, November 11 at a ceremony at Paine’s Restaurant. The keynote speaker for the event was former Secretary of Defense and Director of the C.I.A., Leon Panetta. Later that morning, Gina was honored in the Veterans’ Day Parade. Gina not only served her country well, but she also serves her community well. Congratulations to Gina Lopez, the 2022 Veteran of the Year.

Cline Sits at Top of Gilroy City Council Race

By: Erik Chalhoub, Gilroy Dispatch

Political newcomer Tom Cline will be joining two familiar faces on the Gilroy City Council, according to the latest election results.

As of 4pm on Nov. 9, Cline led all candidates with 22% of the vote. Carol Marques landed in second with 21.4%, while Dion Bracco garnered 19%.

Jan Bernstein Chargin was a little more than 800 votes outside of the top three, results showed. Joseph Robinson had nearly 12% of the vote, followed by Ronald Robinson Jr. with 10%.

The six candidates are vying for the three open seats on the council.

Cline, the owner of Cline Glass Contractors, is a longtime volunteer with New Hope Community Church and with the Gilroy Garlic Festival.

As the polls closed at 8pm on Nov. 8 and the pile-driving rain let up for a few hours, Cline invited friends and supporters to an election night watch party at his home in central Gilroy.

Guests planted themselves on chairs and couches in the living room, anxiously awaiting the first results to be released at 8pm, which were displayed on a large screen in the corner of the room. As the initial results dropped, Cline landed in first place, only 13 votes ahead of Marques, but his lead increased as updated numbers rolled in.

The following day, Cline said he was enjoying the moment, knowing that he will soon have to step up to the dais and make some often difficult decisions that affect the future of the city.

“It was a unique experience that I’ll never forget, but I’m glad it’s finally over,” he said. “Now, I’m looking forward to having my voice on the council to help move Gilroy forward.”

Cline thanked his supporters, especially his wife of 33 years, Cindy.

“I’ve been really blessed and really feel honored to have a broad base of support throughout Gilroy,” he said.

Marques, a retired Gilroy Unified School District teacher, was elected to the council in 2018 to fill a two-year term. She was appointed in 2020 to fill another two-year term.

With the voters’ decision, Marques will move into her first four-year term, after serving a pair of partial two-year stints.

“I’d like to thank all the citizens of Gilroy who voted for me and have faith in me and my leadership,” she said. “I look forward to another four years to see how many improvements we can make in Gilroy together.”

Bracco, the founder of Bracco’s Towing, was first elected to the council in 2005, and was reelected in 2010, 2014 and 2018.

“Thank you to the voters of Gilroy for their continued confidence in me,” he said.

Bernstein Chargin is a retired Gavilan College administrator who is active in organizations that address homelessness and housing.

She was joined by Joseph Robinson and Ronald Robinson Jr., along with family, friends and Santa Clara County District 1 supervisor candidate Sylvia Arenas for a party at The Neon Exchange in downtown Gilroy.

Before the polls closed, party attendees ate dinner and watched CNN to check out the latest numbers for the Senate and House races throughout the country.

Throughout most of the night, Bernstein Chargin was carrying her “number one supporter,” also known as her 1-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter, Angie, who was stealing the spotlight from the rest of the candidates.

As the numbers kept rolling in, Bracco began pulling away from Bernstein Chargin for the final spot in the top three.

“It has been an honor to run and be considered for a seat on the Gilroy City Council,” she said. “Although the votes have not all been counted, it seems clear that the voters of Gilroy have made their selection. Congratulations to Dion Bracco, Carol Marques and Tom Cline on their election. I wish them success in achieving good things for our city, and remain committed to sharing my concerns and ideas—and being a thorn-in-the-side when needed.”

Bernstein Chargin added that although she has voted in every election since she turned 18, this was the first time she put her name forward for an office.

“I am deeply inspired by our collective faith in our electoral system, and in each other,” she said. “Despite our differences, we still agree on this foundation: we are privileged to live in a place and time where ‘we the people’ can choose our leaders through a free, fair and democratic process.”

She thanked the voters and all of her supporters for encouraging her during the campaign.

“Although we are disappointed, we will continue to work together, to fight for housing at every income level, for our youth, for smart growth, and for a city that values every resident,” Bernstein Chargin said. “We’re not done yet.”

Joseph Robinson worked for 17 years as a special educator. He and his family moved to Gilroy four years ago, where he volunteers at the Gilroy Museum.

Ronald Robinson Jr., whose family roots in Gilroy trace back to his great-grandparents, has been a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 332 for more than a decade.

The results are an apparent victory for Gilroy’s conservatives, who in the weeks leading up to the election have implored residents to vote for the “1-5-6,” a reference to the order in which Bracco, Cline and Marques were placed on the ballot. Bracco and Cline were endorsed by the Santa Clara County Republican Party, while Marques describes herself as a moderate Democrat.

It’s a disappointing outcome for left-leaning voters, who were hoping the three candidates endorsed by the local Democratic party—Bernstein Chargin, Joseph Robinson and Ronald Robinson Jr.—would flip the historically conservative majority on the council.

Some Democrats viewed the election as a way to give Councilmembers Rebeca Armendariz and Zach Hilton some political allies on the non-partisan dais. The two often find themselves at odds with the rest of the council and have difficulty getting the majority to give its thumbs up on proposals they bring forward.

Cline will fill the seat left open by longtime Councilmember Peter Leroe-Muñoz, who decided not to run for a fourth term.

Chamber CEO Becomes Mayor-Elect

Mark Turner, the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce C.E.O. has been successful in his bid to become the mayor of Morgan Hill. With nearly all the votes counted, Mark leads the field by nearly 10 percentage points. Mark began his campaign after speaking with the Chamber Board of Directors in August of last year. Mark will take the oath of office at a special council meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening, December 14, in the Morgan Hill City Council Chambers. In the meantime, the Chamber Board of Directors is in the midst of interviews for the next C.E.O. Mark plans to end his tenure with the Gilroy Chamber at the end of this year, or however long is necessary to onboard the new C.E.O.

49ers Team Up with Operation Freedom Paws

Not only did the San Francisco 49ers improve their standing in their division Sunday evening, they improved their standing in our community by surprising Operation Freedom Paws with a $20,000 donation. At half-time during the 49ers game against the San Diego Chargers, the 49ers and U.S. Bank presented the check to Mary Cortani, President of Operation Freedom Paws.

Founded in January 2010, Operation Freedom Paws is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that matches dogs with individuals who have Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), Complex-Post Traumatic Stress (CPTS) and/or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) symptoms, or other physical, neurological, psychological or mobility needs.

We train the individual to train their own dog, and then certify them together as a service dog team. Most of the dogs come from rescue shelters. Each is then matched to a specific client’s physical and psychological needs. There is no charge – all we ask is a commitment to complete the 48-week training program.

This unique opportunity enables our clients to feel safe and secure, and to manage their day-to-day lives. The very special therapeutic canine-human relationship helps them get back out in their communities and begin to view their future with renewed hope.

After Recent Rains, Where are We Now?

Article by Gerry Diaz and Yoohyun Jung – SF Chronicle

California’s drought situation is looking better this year compared with the same time last year.

In November 2021, more than 80% of California was in extreme or worse drought, compared with about 43% this year, U.S. Drought Monitor data shows. The data is updated weekly and shows drought conditions across the country.

Aside from the San Joaquin Valley, exceptional drought conditions have been stomped out across the majority of the state. This means East Bay and North Bay cities such as Oakland, Napa and Walnut Creek are finally out of this most severe drought designation.

The California coast has also seen significant improvements this year. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Big Sur coastline dropped from the “extreme” to “severe” category quickly after recent rains. “A wet week for much of the West helped to put a boost into the start of the current water year after a slow start,” the drought monitor’s current summary shows.

In recent years La Niña weather patterns stomped out early season storms approaching California, but this year has been different.

Toward the end of September, the state saw a solid fall showing when a rainstorm drenched the Bay Area and Sierra. October wound up being dominated by fog that replenished the redwoods and other flora along the Santa Cruz Mountains. And November saw a weak atmospheric river churn rain and snow showers into all corners of the Southern Cascades, the Tahoe area along the Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains and the coastal mountains along Highway 1. The Bay Area also saw several rounds of showers just this past week, bringing up to an inch of rain to downtown San Francisco and close to 2 inches of rain in the East Bay hills and North Bay valleys.

Last year’s wet season — the rainier months from fall to spring — began with a bang, with a series of atmospheric rivers inspiring hope for the end of the multi-year drought. However, it ended in disappointment with scant rainfall in the new year.

This year’s sudden improvements were no fluke — they were largely driven by a global weather pattern floating thousands of miles away in the Arctic. This pattern is called the Pacific North American oscillation — or PNA. It’s marked by two phases: positive and negative.

In a positive PNA phase, a high-pressure system stalls off the coast of California and shuts our storm door. Systems that bring rain and snow are booted out and the state stays dry. In a negative phase, a low-pressure system sets up off the coast and keeps the storm door wide open. California sees storm after storm when the pattern is negative, which has been dominating since September.

While better than last year, data released Thursday shows about 38% of the state is still in exceptional drought. Areas in the Central Valley, such as Fresno, that have experienced back-to-back years of severe dry conditions are at risk of experiencing widespread crop losses and water shortages.

The gains seen in the Bay Area and Central Valley from recent storms are expected to carry over into the rest of the winter season. This wet pattern is set to likely continue, according to the Climate Prediction Center, though La Nina conditions could still limit how much precipitation makes it to California.

Virtual Community Meeting: Gourmet & Railroad Alleys

Join the City of Gilroy and provide your input on how we re-think and re-vision the alleyways in downtown Gilroy.

What: Gourmet Alley & Railroad Alley Virtual Community Meeting

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM

Zoom Link: gilroy.city/Gourmet
Webinar ID: 834 9391 7328
Passcode: 043077
Or call in to Zoom by phone: 1 669-900-6833

To request Spanish language interpretation services for this meeting, please contact communications@cityofgilroy.org a minimum of 72 hours prior to the meeting.

The City of Gilroy was awarded a $3.9 million grant through the California Department of Transportation Clean California Grant Program for infrastructure and aesthetic improvements of Gourmet Alley and Railroad Alley to create pedestrian and bicycle-friendly pathways.

Many of the project details are dictated by the terms of the grant. However, there are some areas that have some flexibility for input, such as the aesthetic feel or theme of the alleys. Please join us and provide your feedback as we discuss the project, present exhibits, and answer questions.

For more information or questions about this meeting, please contact Rachelle Bedell at Rachelle.Bedell@cityofgilroy.org or call 408-846-0443.

For more information about the Clean California Grant and project, visit the city’s website at https://www.cityofgilroy.org/859/City-Infrastructure-Projects

November 8, 2022

Visit Gilroy Announces New California Welcome Center Manager, Susan Childers

Visit Gilroy would like to introduce our new California Welcome Center Manager, Susan Childers. She first joined the Welcome Center team as a part-time staff member in July 2021 and moved into the management position October 1, 2022.

Susan most recently worked for twelve years with the Gilroy Unified School District as a paraprofessional. She also has worked in the Gilroy Gardens Welcome Center since 2017. Susan has a B.S. in Business Administration-Marketing and work experience in customer service, retail, marketing, and sales.

Susan’s first passion is travel, and she holds an AA degree in Travel Careers. She has been to 33 states and, in addition, has visited Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. Susan first got the travel bug when taking road trips with her family as a child. “I have always enjoyed traveling and meeting new people” Susan said. “Working at the Welcome Center gives me that opportunity to meet people from all over the world.”

In her spare time, Susan enjoys traveling, photography, scrapbooking—both digital and paper—and container gardening with florals, herbs, and garlic.

Holidays in Gilroy

As we turn our attention to the holidays, Visit Gilroy welcomes residents and visitors to celebrate and experience the holidays in Gilroy.

Looking for a one-stop location for holiday shopping? The Gilroy Premium Outlets is the perfect place to find a variety of gifts for family and friends. The Outlets will be offering a Mega-Merry Holiday Guide—a digital holiday guide with special holiday offerings, discounts, and promotions. Keep an eye on their website for this fantastic guide: Gilroy Premium Outlets.

Gilroy Premium Outlets is planning special holiday hours: Black Friday, November 25th, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. and holiday hours starting November 26th:  Monday – Saturday 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

On Saturday, November 26th, a reminder to participate in Small Business Saturday by patronizing our local downtown businesses. Enjoy a meal at a downtown restaurant (and pick up a gift card!) and shop at one of our many unique gift shops.

Don’t forget to attend the special annual Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting Ceremony, sponsored by the Gilroy Downtown Business Association, on Saturday, December 3. For details on this event and others, check out Visit Gilroy’s Events Calendar. Enjoy the holiday season in this wonderful community in which we live, work and play – Gilroy.

Downtown Parking Data Collection: November & December

This month the City kicked off the Downtown Parking Management Plan process. This process, led by RRM Design Group, will include analyzing existing parking conditions, analyzing current and future parking demands, and developing parking management strategies and recommendations for Gilroy’s downtown area.

As part of the data collection process to analyze existing parking conditions downtown, you may see project and data collection team members in the downtown areas during November and December. These team members will be noting parking patterns and will be moving about in the downtown parking areas. They will have a letter from the City to verify that they are part of this parking effort. For questions regarding team members in the downtown, please get in touch with the City’s Public Works Department at 408-846-0223.

If you see someone suspicious or are concerned for your safety, please call 911.

Thank you for your patience as we work through this process.

For more information regarding the Downtown Parking Management Plan, please visit: gilroy.city/DPMP.

Feds Demand Colorado River Water Cutbacks

Commentary by Dan Walters, CalMatters 

One must wade through a thicket of bureaucratic jargon to find it, but on Friday federal officials issued what appears to be a serious warning to California and other states that use water from the highly stressed Colorado River:

If they cannot agree on sharp reductions in diversions of the Colorado’s water, the feds will impose them unilaterally.

It’s the latest wrinkle in decades of interstate squabbling over the river, which has become more heated as the river’s flows continue to decline and conditions in its two major reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, reach the crisis stage.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation wants California, Arizona and Nevada to reduce diversions by at least 2 million acre-feet a year and as much as 4 million, but negotiations have been fruitless. California, which takes the most water from the river, by far, has offered just a 400,000 acre-foot reduction. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons.

With talks stalemated, the bureau said it will begin planning for unilateral action “to address the serious operational realities facing the system…” due to “the likelihood of continued low-runoff conditions across the (Colorado River) basin.” It would implement cuts by reducing releases from the two reservoirs.

“The Interior Department continues to pursue a collaborative and consensus-based approach to addressing the drought crisis afflicting the West. At the same time, we are committed to taking prompt and decisive action necessary to protect the Colorado River system and all those who depend on it,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.

The Bureau of Reclamation is telling the states “that this is kind of their last opportunity for consensus-building, for voluntary action,” Jaime Garcia, a water fellow at the University of Colorado Law School’s Getches-Wilkinson Center, told the Los Angeles Times.

“The fundamental issue is, whatever solution people come up with is going to hurt,” Garcia said. “The river is overallocated. It’s drying up. And we have to find a way to sort of spread out the pain evenly.”

Because California is the largest user of Colorado River water, cutbacks — either voluntary or imposed — would have their greatest impact on the state. However, while the Colorado is a major source of water for Southern California’s more than 20 million residents, the region has other sources for municipal users.

Rather, about two-thirds of the Colorado’s water diverted into California goes to farming, particularly the Imperial Irrigation District in Imperial County. The district takes more water from the river, at least 2.5 million acre-feet a year, than Nevada and Arizona combined. Therefore, if there are major cutbacks, as the feds demand, the Imperial Irrigation District would have to give up the most.

Imperial gets the most because it was the first entity to tap the Colorado more than a century ago, thus establishing its senior water rights. The Imperial Dam and All-American Canal allow the Imperial Valley to have a 12-month growing season, making it a major producer of winter produce as well as a source of alfalfa to feed cattle and milk cows.

The Interior Department has $4 billion from the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act to compensate those who would lose water by flow reductions. But the money and the latest warning may not produce agreement among the affected states.

If the Bureau of Reclamation acts unilaterally to reduce diversions, it will likely result in high-stakes litigation that tests Imperial district’s water rights. In a sense what’s happening along the Colorado could be a forerunner of legal showdowns over water rights in other regions of the state, if drought conditions continue.

Virtual Community Meeting: Gourmet & Railroad Alleys

Join the City of Gilroy and provide your input on how we re-think and re-vision the alleyways in downtown Gilroy.

What: Gourmet Alley & Railroad Alley Virtual Community Meeting

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM

Zoom Link: gilroy.city/Gourmet
Webinar ID: 834 9391 7328
Passcode: 043077
Or call in to Zoom by phone: 1 669-900-6833

To request Spanish language interpretation services for this meeting, please contact communications@cityofgilroy.org a minimum of 72 hours prior to the meeting.

The City of Gilroy was awarded a $3.9 million grant through the California Department of Transportation Clean California Grant Program for infrastructure and aesthetic improvements of Gourmet Alley and Railroad Alley to create pedestrian and bicycle-friendly pathways.

Many of the project details are dictated by the terms of the grant. However, there are some areas that have some flexibility for input, such as the aesthetic feel or theme of the alleys. Please join us and provide your feedback as we discuss the project, present exhibits, and answer questions.

For more information or questions about this meeting, please contact Rachelle Bedell at Rachelle.Bedell@cityofgilroy.org or call 408-846-0443.

For more information about the Clean California Grant and project, visit the city’s website at https://www.cityofgilroy.org/859/City-Infrastructure-Projects

November 1, 2022

Rock the Mock, Rocks

By Mark Turner, President/CEO – Gilroy Chamber of Commerce

Members of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, Gilroy Unified School District, volunteers from the business community and educators alike will come together on November 17 and 18 to conduct job interview training workshops for over 200 high school students. The event, called, “Rock the Mock,” is designed to allow students the opportunity to experience real life interviews with bankers, small business owners, HR personnel, general managers and others.

Giving students this opportunity allows them insight to what a job interview might be like. This event helps students to see there’s more to the interview process than simply sitting down with a prospective employer and having a conversation. Students will learn they need to be properly prepared long before the interview occurs.

Rock the Mock consists of a series of workshops which last approximately 30 minutes each and provide helpful hints from properly greeting someone to researching the company where a student is hoping to be hired. In the workshop, “How to Prepare for the Interview,” students learn about researching a company, important information to include on a resume, how hiring managers research potential candidates and why caution should be applied when posting information on social media platforms.

In the workshop, “Dress for Success,” students are instructed on topics such as professional clothing styles, how too much bling can ruin a good thing and not overdoing colognes and perfumes to name a few.

In the workshop, “What Social Media Says About You,” students are shown how posting inappropriate information on social media can come back to haunt you when you apply for a job. Employers do extensive background checks and information posted on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and other platforms. What’s posted says a lot about an individual.

Students also learn the proper way to shake someone’s hand and introduce themselves in the “Handshake” workshop that occurs just before the interviews.

The “Interview” workshop places students squarely in front of adult volunteers who ask various behavioral style questions causing students to think beyond “yes” and “no” answers. In some cases, a single student may interview with two volunteers experiencing a type of interview panel.

The Business and Education Committee of the Chamber of Commerce first implemented this program in 2014. Members of the Committee wanted to provide an interactive experience for students that would help them learn the skills necessary to be prepared for all aspects of a job interview.

If you are available either November 17 and/ or 18, and would like to participate, please complete this Google form: https://forms.gle/7F4eyZqZF1vTxjxx8 as soon as possible, and return the required information through the Google form or to me via email, fax, or drop it off at the Chamber office.

 

Wreaths Across America

While more than 200,000 wreaths are being placed on Veterans’ graves in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, more than 1,200 wreaths will be placed on Veterans’ graves here in South County. Saturday, December 17 marks National Wreaths Across America Day, a movement to cover all Veteran’s graves with a Christmas wreath.

This is the 9th Annual Wreaths Across America Day in South County. Volunteers will gather at Gavilan Hills and St. Mary’s Cemeteries in Gilroy and Mt. Hope Cemetery in Morgan Hill to take part in the wreath laying ceremony.

Mark Turner, President/CEO of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce and organizer of the local Wreaths Across America effort, said, “Heroes are not the ones who hit home runs, throw touchdowns and sink 3 pointers, instead, they are like the WWII Veteran buried in St. Mary Cemetery who came home after the war to raise a family and build a community.”

To learn more about how to sponsor a wreath, click on this link https://gilroy.org/wreaths/

Successful Ribbon Cutting

Gilroy Chamber of Commerce members, Board members, Mayor Blankley, and members of the Morgan Hill Chamber came together for a ribbon cutting at Floors Direct Carpet One located in Gilroy. Floors Direct Carpet One recently joined both chambers of commerce and celebrated with wine, food, and fun.

As a cooperative with 1,000 stores worldwide, Floors Direct Carpet One not only have enormous buying power, but they have partners in all of the major brands, mills and manufacturers. They’ve done the research for you. Just tell them your needs, and they’ll satisfy them beyond your expectations. With one of the largest selections of carpet, hardwood, laminate, ceramic tile, vinyl, area rugs and more — and you’ll always find the best products and great savings … every day.

Visit them at 8585 Monterey Rd. or their website https://www.floorsdirectcarpetonegilroy.com/

Virtual Community Meeting: Gourmet & Railroad Alleys

Join the City of Gilroy and provide your input on how we re-think and re-vision the alleyways in downtown Gilroy.

What: Gourmet Alley & Railroad Alley Virtual Community Meeting

When: Tuesday, November 15, 2022 from 6:00 – 7:00 PM

Zoom Link: gilroy.city/Gourmet
Webinar ID: 834 9391 7328
Passcode: 043077
Or call in to Zoom by phone: 1 669-900-6833

To request Spanish language interpretation services for this meeting, please contact communications@cityofgilroy.org a minimum of 72 hours prior to the meeting.

The City of Gilroy was awarded a $3.9 million grant through the California Department of Transportation Clean California Grant Program for infrastructure and aesthetic improvements of Gourmet Alley and Railroad Alley to create pedestrian and bicycle-friendly pathways.

Many of the project details are dictated by the terms of the grant. However, there are some areas that have some flexibility for input, such as the aesthetic feel or theme of the alleys. Please join us and provide your feedback as we discuss the project, present exhibits, and answer questions.

For more information or questions about this meeting, please contact Rachelle Bedell at Rachelle.Bedell@cityofgilroy.org or call 408-846-0443.

For more information about the Clean California Grant and project, visit the city’s website at https://www.cityofgilroy.org/859/City-Infrastructure-Projects