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A New SV Media publication
Friday, October 13, 2017
gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 150, No. 41 • $1
BUSINESS: Company puts a roof over your head P2
Gilroy Prep test scores soar above the district
LOCAL SCENE BIg recognition for local resort In a 2017 survey of global luxury travelers, the Rosewood CordeValle Resort in San Martin, was ranked as one of the Top 10 Resort Hotels in the world. Travel + Leisure’s readers gave the premium golf and tennis resort a score of 98.00 out of 100, which made it tied for No. 10 overall. CordeValle was one of 17 U.S. resorts named to the Top 100 and was the top-ranked California hotel. With its 260-acre golf course, 85-acre winery, miles of hiking trails, and 45 guest rooms with views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it is a truly idyllic Northern California paradise. In July 2016, Rosewood CordeValle hosted the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament, which brought renewed attention to its bucolic environs. Rosewood CordeValle Resort offers special golf, tennis and spa packages throughout the year. To find more information and plan your luxury Gilroy getaway, go to www.VisitGilroy. com. For the complete list of Travel + Leisure’s Top 100 Resort Hotels, go to www.travelandleisure. com/worlds-best/ hotels-top-100-overall.
By Brad Kava Editor
St. Louise Hospital last year hosted 350 community friends for the first community barbecue event to thank the first responders who fought the Loma Fire. That fire burned 4,474 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains in late September and early October. The event was such a special thank-you from the community members to first responders that the hospital has decided to make it an annual tradition. The entire South County community is invited to the St. Louise Regional Hospital campus for an afternoon of food, music, and fun family activities on Saturday Oct. 14 from 11am to 3pm. Emergency personnel and families are guests, with a suggested donation of $5 for community members. Funds exceeding costs will be donated to St. Louise Regional Hospital Foundation. Firefighters, police officers and emergency personnel will be on hand to visit with community members.
OCTOBER 13, 2017
OU T & AB OU T OF NDAR CA LE EN TS EV
➝ Test Scores, 14
130 new jobs coming WATSONVILLE BREAD FACTORY TO MOVE JOBS TO GILROY NEXT YEAR By Brad Kava Editor
The first time Rey Sumano, 49, sampled sourdough bread he hated it. It was...well, sour….and he was expecting it to be sweet, like a French loaf. But after working in bakeries that specialized in the historically artisan bread that takes 24 hours to prepare and bake, he came to love it. It became his favorite bread and a huge breadwinner for what has become a $6.5 million-a-year family business.
THE NEW NIGHTTIME ACTIVITIES ARE FINE FOR YOUNG KIDS AND ENTERTAINING FOR ADULTS
Wine Time Fall harvest at Gilroy’s Satori Cellars
OLIVE FESTIVAL P10 | INDOOR PLANTS P17 | BIKING ABOUT P19
Inside this issue: Local harvest reaps sweet rewards
Brad Kava Editor
REVIEW: Gilroy Gardens new Halloween Nights program faced a tough challenge: how to be entertaining for adults and not too scary for young kids. 58015 02001
➝ Halloween, 12
NO LOAFING Rey Sumano, of Sumano Bakery, plans to bring his 65 employees to Gilroy and double his staff in Gilroy.
Today he makes 3 million loaves of sourdough a year at his Watsonville and Los Angeles bakeries. He said this week he’s about to move his headquarters to GIlroy at 7050 Monterey Road just north of 10th Street, a building that once housed the Farmhouse Brewery and Diamond Doors. At 23,500 square feet, the new site is more than double the size of his current location in Watsonville. Sumano said he spent $2 million on it, planning to double his business, which now has 65 workers. He’ll spend another million dollars getting it up to code for food preparation and adding a retail outlet. “This is what it’s about,” he said. “Creating jobs and opportunities. It’s the American Dream.” He chose Gilroy because it’s
near the freeway and he can reach customers in Silicon Valley. He distributes the bread as far north as Pleasanton and Mountain View, but plans to expand sales to the capital of sourdough, San Francisco. “We are very confident we will do well there. We have a very good product.” His bread uses no preservatives or additives and is delivered fresh to markets daily. His outlets include Safeway, Albertson’s, Lucky’s, Nob Hill and Whole Foods. Gilroy’s Cafe 152 Bread Co. uses it for sandwiches already. If a loaf hasn’t sold, he buys it back and replaces it with a fresh one. He’s also supplied all the bread ➝ Sumano, 10
GG works to boost attendance
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
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year because of the summer heat, and that has recently included adding nighttime exhibits with separate admission. Last year it had the Chinese light program called Lumination. This year it will add a Harvest Festival with food trucks and crafts in November and the Holiday Lights show in December. Some highlights: the colored waterfalls kids could walk through and the Scary Boo Hay Bale Maze,
Test scores at local charter schools soared in the last statewide tests, while the majority of students in local public schools fell below the state standards in math and science. At Gilroy Prep, a charter school, 83 percent of the students in third through seventh grades met state standards in English and 75 percent of them met them in math. At Hollister Prep, part of the same Navigator school chain, 90 percent of the students met standards in English and 75 percent met them in math. Of Hispanic or Latino students at Gilroy Prep, 80 percent met or exceeded standards in English and 70 percent met or exceeded them in math. By comparison, only 48 percent of Gilroy Unified School District students, including elementary, middle school and 11th graders, met or exceeded standards in English and 40 percent in math. The Gilroy numbers for the category of Hispanics or Latinos were significantly lower, with only 40 percent successful in English and 32 percent in math. Statewide, 49 percent of public school students met English standards and 38 percent met them in math. The results for the 60 students at the Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy were even greater, with 99 percent meeting standards in English and 95 percent in math. Those high school students study advanced courses at Gavilan College. The low scores in the large, public schools prompted Glen Webb, Morgan Hill’s Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, to suspect that there were problems with the design of the tests, which he said “weren’t functioning properly” across the country. However, the charter school results offer other evidence, even in the most challenging categories. At Gilroy Prep, 78 percent of economically
Brad Kava
St. Louise celebrates first responders
A section of the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
CHARTER SCHOOLS DEFY THOSE WHO CLAIM TEST HAS FLAWS
The theme park pulled it off with flying colors and lots of them. We spent two hours there last Friday and could have stayed a bit longer without being bored. It got two candy-filled thumbs ups from 2-year-old Parker and based on the reactions from other kids there, it was a hit. “We want to be spooky, not scary,” said marketing assistant Jacob Estrada. We’d say the mix was perfect. The park is doing what it can to bolster attendance, which fell this
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MAKE THIS SCHOOL YEAR
GREATER THAN LAST YEAR!
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