THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
JANUARY 25, 2019
Morgan Hill’s Taco-Oh! delivers Mexican fare Mighty Molly
SOUTH VALLEY MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Morgan Hill restaurateur’s newest nibble
COYOTE RIDGE P7 | WINE WINNERS P12
MORATORIUM ON APARTMENTS P4 | GRAND JURORS SOUGHT P8 | SHUTDOWN STRAINS P16
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
JANUARY 25, 2019
ESTABLISHED 1868
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
Hollister farm flourishes as herby enterprise A New SV Media publication Friday, January 25, 2019
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 152, No. 4 • $1
Fields of Purple Hollister’s fragrant Foxhollow Farms COYOTE RIDGE P7 | WINE WINNERS P12
Attorney General spurns county’s hospital appeal COUNTY IS HOPEFUL COURT WILL OK SALE OF TWO HOSPITALS Barry Holtzclaw
Managing Editor
Barry Holtzclaw
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has rejected a personal appeal from Santa Clara County officials to keep two hospitals open, after they had attempted to head off a Jan. 30 court showdown. The county had proposed a memorandum of understanding that would commit the county to the highest levels of medical care at the two hospitals it seeks to buy from Verity Health System, according to Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith. Smith and several staff
RISING WATERS Jeff MacPhail and daughter Sophia check out swirling waters of Uvas Creek at Christmas Hill Park.
City creeks rise CITY ISSUES FLOOD WARNING JAN. 17 Jaqueline McCool
➝ County, 8
Reporter
The city of Gilroy sent out email alerts early last week warning residents to get prepared for the storm that was about to hit Northern California. According to the National Weather Service, Gilroy saw 2.21 inches of rain from Tuesday, Jan.
15 and Thursday, Jan. 17. The city opened up to designated stations for residents to pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding. The city sent a list of tips to prepare recommending flashlights in case of power outages, not driving through standing water, taking extra precautions while driving and developing a family emergency preparedness plan. Rachelle Bledell, Gilroy’s
community engagement coordinator, told the Dispatch a major point of flooding in the city is Uvas creek, but that the city is typically protected from flooding by the creek’s levee. However, Bledell said there are still points in Gilroy that are at higher risk of localized floods. Last week’s storm closed down Silva’s crossing, at the intersection of Miller Avenue and Uvas Parkway, to resident’s for less than a day. The area is
seen by the city as a point in the city that frequently floods due to increased rain. The Santa Clara Valley Water District monitors rising water levels in the district’s creeks during heavy rainfall. According to the district data, Uvas Creek rose to nearly 6 feet during last week’s storm. Because of the frequency and power of the 2017 storms many ➝ Rain, 2
Uesugi Farms is going out of business HUGE SALE OF ITS FARMING EQUIPMENT IS UNDERWAY Barry Holtzclaw Managing editor
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Pete Aiello of Hollister, general manager of Gilroy-based Uesugi Farms, declined to comment. He has been general manager since 2002. His father, Joe Aiello, of Morgan Hill, bought Uesugi Farms from the original owners in 1979. “Uesugi’s priority is to maximize the value of its assets and implement plans to work with customers, vendors, lenders, employees and others to obtain the best outcome possible for all its stakeholders,” FAMILY BUSINESS Pete Aiello, left, ➝Uesugi, 11 with father Joe at Uesugi Farms.
OPEN HOUSE Saturday, January 26 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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Uesugi Farms has harvested its last crops and sold its last pumpkin. The large, well-known, family-owned vegetable producer with operations in California—Santa Clara,
Contra Costa, San Benito and other counties—and Mexico, is selling off all of its equipment and “winding down” its operations. There will be no spring planting of its Napa cabbage, pepper, corn, squash and pumpkin crops. “Due to market conditions and factors outside of its control, Uesugi Farms has made the difficult decision to wind down its operations at the conclusion of the 2018 fall harvest season,” the family said in a web posting this winter.