THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
DECEMBER 14, 2018
A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
Casa de Fruta offers fun holiday outing
SOUTH VALLEY MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Gourmet Gifts Casa de Fruta delights for more than 70 years
TEXTILE ARTS P8 | SWEET PEA ANTIQUES P12 | HOLIDAY WINES P15
DUI CHECKPOINT DEC. 14 P2 | WHAT IS E.COLI SOURCE? P4 | RATING THE SCHOOLS P12
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
DECEMBER 14, 2018
ESTABLISHED 1868
Casa de FrutaFriday, offers fun holiday outing A New SV Media publication December 14, 2018 A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 151, No. 50 • $1
Gourmet Gifts Casa de Fruta delights for more than 70 years
TEXTILE ARTS P8 | SWEET PEA ANTIQUES P12 | HOLIDAY WINES P15
Catholic high school denied again LAFCO REJECTS ANNEXATION PLAN FOR SITE
COUNTY WILL BUY SAINT LOUISE GILROY HOSPITAL AND O’CONNOR HOSPITAL IN SAN JOSE TO BECOME PUBLIC IN FEB. Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
Santa Clara County emerged this month as the sole bidder for O’Connor and Saint Louise hospitals,
clearing the way for the county to buy the two private hospitals for $235 million, County Executive Jeff Smith disclosed Monday. “We are really excited, and we’re ready to go,” Smith told the Gilroy Dispatch Monday. “There is nothing that can derail it.” In an interview with the Gilroy Dispatch Monday, Smith said the county, anticipating this month’s news, has been laying the groundwork for its expanded
healthcare system for weeks and now will be on a fast track, which Smith hopes will ensure a smooth transition to a three-hospital system in less than three months. Once the deal closes, the 129-year-old O’Connor Hospital in San Jose and the 29-year-old Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy will join the 142-year-old Valley Medical Center in a significantly expanded publicly owned and managed healthcare system.
The new hospital system will increase the number of hospital beds by nearly 80 percent, increase medical staff by 70 percent and boost total employees by nearly 40 percent in the new three-hospital system, according to the county. Smith said the county has already created more than 2,000 new positions, ready to ➝ Saint Louise, 11
Jaqueline McCool Reporter
➝ Catholic, 8
Robert Eliason
A Catholic high school has been talked about in the South County for nearly a decade, but the Diocese of San Jose has run into a series of setbacks getting its 40 acres of land—their preferred site of the future school—annexed to southeast Morgan Hill. The latest of these hurdles was the denial of an annexation proposal Dec. 5 by the county commission charged with authorizing city boundary line extensions. The school site sits outside of Morgan Hill’s Urban Services Area, so it must be annexed in order to receive city services like water, sewer and public safety. The area the city attempted to annex sits north of Tennant Avenue and east of Condit Road. Plans to annex the high school site were submitted by the City of Morgan Hill to the Local Agency Formation Committee (LAFCO) for a second time, resulting in the ruling at the Dec. 5 committee meeting. Committee staff had recommended in their report that LAFCO commissioners deny the city’s request, because staff believed the plans did not comply with committee standards. The annexation proposal failed in a 5-2 vote, with Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman and Santa Clara Valley Water District Director John L. Varela voting to approve the city’s request. The failure of the
AIRPORT MUSEUM The San Martin Airport is home to an aviation history museum, which features a full-scale replica
of the Wright Brothers historic plane (with dummy pilot), shown here with museum docent Ed Ferner.
Big plans for airport SUPERVISORS SET IN MOTION PLAN TO EXPAND SAN MARTIN AIRPORT AND CLOSE REID-HILLVIEW Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
Over the next decade, the skies above San Martin are likely to see steady and dramatic increases in light-plane traffic. A 3-2 decision by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Dec. 4 authorized a long-term plan to close the Reid-Hillview Airport in east San Jose and make substantial investments in upgrading and expanding the San Martin Airport, 24 miles south. Mike Wasserman, the supervisor who represents San Martin and the South County, including Morgan Hill and Gilroy, joined Board President Joe Simitian, who represents northwest Santa Clara County, in voting against the proposal. Supervisors Dave 6
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Cortese, Cindy Chavez and Ken Yeager all voted for the airport consolidation plan. The supervisors’ decision begins a long process “to determine the futures of both airports, the health and safety of residents in the surrounding areas and the use of federal and local funds,” according to the county statement. The Reid-Hillview Airport would continue to operate until at least 2031, when federal grants expire, freeing up the 180 acres of land for non-aviation uses. The plan also would begin exploring a shift of San Jose State University’s aviation program from Reid-Hillview to San Martin. The board directed county staff to develop detailed plans for improving and expanding the San Martin Airport while negotiating leases at Reid-Hillview Airport to make land available for future commercial development. “The potential revenue for the county in considering alternative uses for Reid-Hillview is too significant to ignore,” said Supervisor Dave Cortese. “But with this option,
operations can continue at ReidHillview as we look at ways to improve the San Martin Airport.” One impact of the airport consolidation plan, in addition to upgrades to physical facilities and runways, would be a significant increase in air traffic of the mosty small, privately owned pistonpropellor planes and helicopters. Airnav.com reported an average of 91 flights per day in and out of San Martin in 2017-2018. The website reported that ReidHillview had 452 average daily flights per day in the same period. San Martin has two runways, Reid Hillview, four, according to the website. The county reported that general aviation trends show pistonpropeller aircraft use to be on the decline in general, and at ReidHillview in particular. In 2006, Reid-Hillview housed 687 aircraft, compared to 478 today. In that same period, aircraft at the San Martin Airport has grown from 115 to 150. The supervisors’ decision directed staff to: Approve a policy statement
that the county will not apply for Airport Improvement Program grants for Reid-Hillview Airport and will make improvements funded by the general fund that are required to operate ReidHillview safely Direct the county executive to accept $1 million in FAA entitlement funding related to the airfield repaving project at San Martin Airport Direct the county executive to apply for property releases at ReidHillview Airport from the FAA Invite the City of San Jose to engage within the next two years in joint planning for both Reid-Hillview and the Eastridge areas, including alternative uses of Reid-Hillview after 2031 Begin a transparent community engagement process that considers consolidation of aviation operations and the 2006 master plan for the San Martin Airport Develop a plan to implement improvements to ensure adequate traffic flow and safety on East San Martin Avenue and ➝ Airport, 2