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Friday, February 9, 2018
gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 151, No. 6 • $1
BUSINESS: BBQ 152 offers brews and beer downtown P17
Gilroy will continue permits for alcohol in parks 16 CITATIONS REPORTED SINCE 2015 Nicholas Preciado Reporter
It might not be common knowledge, but you can legally drink alcohol in Gilroy parks. So long as you have a permit. The Gilroy City Council voted Monday night to continue to allow consumption of alcohol in public parks on a permit basis at designated areas. Beer and wine can be consumed at the Oaks and Lakeside picnic areas in Las Animas Park, as well as at East and West Mulberry, Walnut, and Sycamore picnic areas in Christmas Hill Park with a valid reservation through the Gilroy Parks and Recreation Department. ➝ Park Alcohol, 2 Barry Holtzclaw
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
FEBRUARY 9, 2018
STOCKING UP Martin Espinosa checks produce at Gilroy’s Nob Hill Foods, where he has worked for 30 years.
OU T & AB OU T CA LEN DA EVE NT R OF S
Maria Walker is named Educator of the Year
Leadership & Honor A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Inside this issue: Walking the walk with Maria Walker
Big game, big business SUPER BOWL SUNDAY BRINGS A BIG RUSH OF CUSTOMERS Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
For local grocery stores and pizza places, Super Bowl LII isn’t just the big game; it’s big business. At Nob Hill Foods grocery store in Gilroy, Super Bowl weekend means big holiday business even when a local team isn’t playing. There was a steady rush of
customers all last weekend, and managers of other local stores agreed. “It’s not as big as Christmas, but it’s a big shopping day for food and beer,” Nob Hill General Manager Vito Mercado said. “From the moment we open on Sunday, we start to get really busy after the first mass, and up until kickoff we get pretty slammed. When the game starts, we still have some customers, but it won’t be as heavy. Sunday as it is, is one of the busiest days of the week anyway but having
the Super Bowl adds a lot to our business.” Like any other holiday, Mercado scheduled extra help to manage the buying blitz that ranfrom the Saturday before the game right up until kickoff at 3:30pm. “With the great weather we’re having it’s going to drive even more business,” Mercado said. “It’s like summer so we’re going to sell a lot more tri-tip, sausage, hot dogs and beer.” By beer, he means, lots and lots of beer.
“We typically sell several hundred cases of beer like 30 packs of Coors,” Mercado said. “And with all the microbrews that are coming to the area, we’ll sell a lot of craft beers too.” Mercado can expect to sell lots of tortilla chips, salsa, tomatoes, french bread and hundreds of avocados to be part of appetizer platters. As local football fans are aware, the 49ers and Raiders fell woefully short of the playoffs this ➝ Nob Hill Super Bowl, 4
Gavilan athletic fields get major upgrades NEW VENUE FOR BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, BEACH V-BALL Scott Forstner Reporter
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Nearly $7 million in upgrades to the outdoor athletic facilities at Gavilan College are in full swing. The end result will put the
local community college in a league of its own. The multi-faceted project, which provides a complete overhaul of two existing sports facilities and adds a new sport venue to the school’s athletic cache, has three funding sources: Measure E, a local lease revenue bond and the college’s general fund. With the work having started back in July
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17, 2017, the baseball field renovations include two new dugouts for the home and visiting teams as well as a new backstop. The adjacent softball field will be equipped with a large scorekeeper building and an ADA accessible bleacher. Both fields will also undergo drainage improvements. In addition, four new outdoor sand volleyball
courts with new fencing and gates are in the process of being installed. Spectators will be treated to an athletics field plaza and walkways to both fields. Construction, which was approved by Gavilan’s Board of Trustees in June 2017 and slated for completion by March 22, will include a new restroom, locker room buildig and outdoor plaza with
new landscape and concrete walkways. “It’s going to be huge,” Gavilan Athletic Director Ron Hannon said. “There’s no way to underestimate the impact it’s going to have on these programs’ ability to recruit and ability to stay with modern times that so many other schools have enjoyed.” ➝ Construction, 14
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