$1 • Friday, February 16, 2018 • Vol. 124, No. 7 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
Filing period is now open for primaries on June 5 CONSTANTINE, LIBRERS FILE PAPERWORK FOR NOVEMBER CITY RACES Nicholas Preciado Reporter
➝ Election, 19
A HELPING HAND Volunteer Sruthi Mantri engages in conversation Feb. 12 with Pacific Hills Manor resident Sharon Foster.
Mantri is part of the activities department at the nursing facility and is looking for some more volunteer help.
Helpers offer comfort
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF MORGAN HILL, GILROY & SAN MARTIN
FEBRUARY 16, 2018
OU T & AB OU T CA LE ND EV EN AR OF TS
KINDRED SEEKS VOLUNTEERS FOR ACTIVITIES AT PACIFIC HILLS MANOR
A story of talent and ambition A supplement to the Gilroy Dispatch & Morgan Hill Times
/robert Eliason
If you have ever considered running for local office in Santa Clara County, now is your chance. Monday, Feb. 12 kicked off the nomination period for the June 5, 2018 Statewide Primary Election. The nomination period ends Friday, March 9, but can be extended to Wednesday, March 14 for contests where the eligible incumbent doesn’t file. And while local Morgan Hill offices won’t appear on the ballot until November, City Council incumbent Rich Constantine has signaled he might run for mayor, and former twoterm Councilwoman Marilyn Librers has tossed her hat back into the ring. Santa Clara County
Saintjohn Ward WINE PASSPORT P12 | ALMOST, MAINE P13
Inside this issue: Gilroy’s R&B singer Vashoun Stjon
Scott Forstner Reporter
➝ Volunteers, 19
MY VALENTINE Pacific Hills Manor resident Roseline Mello-Camara makes Valentine’s Day cards Feb. 12 with volunteer Sruthi Mantri, who is looking for some help from community members to share in the memories.
Robert Eliason
Kindred, a local service program, is seeking volunteers who are interested in dedicating time at Pacific Hills Manor, a skilled nursing facility located at 370 Noble Court in Morgan HIll, and “help residents enjoy the local community through group
excursions and indoor activities.” “Kindred is a program which aims to pair residents at Pacific Hills with a volunteer, their ‘companion’ with the goal of providing the residents with the joys—big and small—that come with being a part of the Morgan Hill community, many of which the rest of us often take for granted, from checking out our favorite books from the library to going for a movie or enjoying live music downtown on warm summer
$75 parcel tax a no-go for June ballot 61 PERCENT OF THOSE POLLED SUPPORTED EDUCATION MEASURE Scott Forstner Reporter
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Morgan Hill school officials did not receive encouraging news from a second parcel tax poll conducted
this month, as the results revealed a $75 parcel tax would not pass voter approval on the June ballot. Gene Bregman, of the polling firm Gene Bregman and Associates, broke the unfavorable findings to Morgan Hill Unified School District leaders at the Feb. 6 school board meeting. The survey of 400 likely voters showed that 61 percent would
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vote “yes” on a $75 parcel tax in the June election. This favorability rate does not meet the two-thirds threshold need for a parcel tax to pass “You’re quite some distance away from the $75 at this point. Certainly, I can not recommend it at this point,” said Bregman, whose firm conducted the five-minute, threequestion survey to 403
likely voters with 63 percent contacted on their cell phone. “That was the focused poll that you all asked me to do.” Therefore, the district has opted to not place the $75 tax on the June ballot and will instead wait until at least the November election, which is expected to have a larger voter turnout. “We would recommend
the board not pursue the parcel tax in June but at a later date, possibly November,” said Jim Carrillo, the district’s director of technology. Carrillo was also a member of the district’s community outreach committee tasked with gathering feedback from stakeholders about the district while also informing them ➝ Parcel Poll, 4
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