Lost girl
Mushroom Masters
So captivated by the mushroom, Egyptian pharaohs considered the famous fungi food for royalty and decreed that no commoner should touch them. The Egyptians were not alone in their reverence for the mushroom. Various civilizations in history have placed the mushroom central to [...]
A mom’s farewell
In June 2001, I wrote my first column for this paper. I started writing because I had become a parent and for the first time in my life I had become intimately acquainted with midnight barf-a-thons. There was also this strange, tiny person in the house who told me “no” all [...]
Coe Park’s Steer Ridge
As the Jim Donnelley Trail gently lifted me above Hunting Hollow, I was grateful to the volunteers at Henry Coe State Park who toiled to build it. Every other path up Steer Ridge is a direct assault up the silly steep slopes that enclose the hollow. Warm morning light dappled [...]
Locally labeled
Since the Gilroy co-op Blended, A Winemaker’s Studio opened its doors in October of 2015, Ron Mosley, owner/winemaker of Tass Vineyards and Winery has been working hard to bring in his own wine label. Much to everyone’s delight, Mosley’s winery has finally joined the other [...]
Beyond simple flowers
With only two days left until Mother’s Day, you might be feeling the time crunch to find a perfect gift. Don’t worry, though, because there are a few places around the South Valley that will turn that frantic, last-minute scramble into a fruitful breeze. Maison A, at 17511 [...]
A pillar of strength
Growing up I always found it odd when I heard my friends and their parents say to each other, “I love you.” From the time I was born and through my teenage years, my mom never said those words to me. She didn’t have to. If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s [...]
A mom’s home & garden tour
From original oak floors and pellet stoves to Gothic-style gables and outdoor aviaries, the Gilroy Assistance League has lined up five historic homes in the heart of Gilroy for its 13th annual Impressions: Home & Garden Tour. With the money raised during the 2016 home tour, [...]
Three sibling circus
A charming production of Christopher Durang’s 2013 Tony Award-winning family comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike brings together three siblings and the younger lover of one at South Valley Civic Theatre for a production billed as “three siblings. One hot mess.” [...]
A Japanese cultural celebration
By Laura Barreras Once used to issue military commands and in religious ceremony, Taiko, or the traditional Japanese-style instrument meaning “fat drum,” will take center stage at the 57th annual Haru Matsuri Festival and Taiko Expo in Morgan Hill—one of the South [...]
What Jews believe
If you’ve ever wondered what Jesus has to do with Judaism or what the Jewish concept of sin is, these are the types of questions that will be addressed during the Interfaith Community of South County’s (ICSC) event The Faith of Our Neighbors: Judaism. “The idea is to [...]
Disruption brewing
Mom and pop businesses make up 99.7 percent of employers, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Yet, despite their large numbers, small businesses face tough competition from corporate giants that use volume and online sales to keep prices low, and can eventually [...]
Coe overnight outing
The best thing about Henry Coe State Park is also the most challenging thing. It’s big … really big. Imagine a wild area so vast it could swallow up three San Franciscos. Suppose this huge area had only two year-round entrances that barely pierce its boundary, and there, the [...]
From Gilroy to grandstands
For Bobby and Tucker Baksa a normal day at the office would be the field of dreams for millions of average Joe and Jane sports fans. For the Baksa boys, the path to their field of dreams was forged on the sand lots of Gilroy rec league sports. Bobby and Tucker, sons of longtime [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Joseph and Tari Wortham
As a realty team, what made you decide to join forces? Tari has been very successful at understanding the local market and has been a realtor for almost three years. She enjoys helping clients and was top 10 agent at Intero Gilroy in 2016. I come from the fire service where [...]
Rich soil of Paradise Valley Vineyards
Spicing up their history lessons, the Morgan Hill Historical Society offers wine-tasting along with free presentations by local speakers at the historical home of Hiram Morgan Hill. I recently made a presentation of vintage photos from our wine region’s past and afterward, was [...]
All aflutter with color
Popular home decor trends like white on white kitchens, and barn door sliders, are no longer at the top of interior designers’ lists, so what are the “hot trends” for 2017? Teri Koss of Design Studio in Morgan Hill, began her career 35 years ago and says she doesn’t [...]
Shelter from the storm
After this winter’s storms, local residents realized just how important it is to perform routine checkups on their homes. A key step in ensuring a home’s safety and value is roof maintenance. Tom Sparling, longtime Morgan Hill resident and owner of Calpac Roofing since 1981, [...]
Fitness at home
You don’t need to have a membership to a health club to get fit. This can be done in your own house or apartment complex. Whether it’s a pool, treadmill, elliptical, stair master, rower and strength-training equipment—or all of the above—getting fit within the comforts [...]
California dreamin’
This morning I heard someone at my local coffee shop say that she has lived in San Jose for 10 years and has never seen the hillsides look so green. I’ve lived here just about as long and I’m seeing not only lush hills, but also my backyard fruit trees exploding in bloom, [...]
Top kitchen trends
Celebrity cook and author Rachel Ray, says “Good food and a warm kitchen are what make a house a home.” As the indisputable heart of our homes, the kitchen is where everyone tends to gather. And for good reason—the kitchen is where we find comforting aromas of onions being [...]
Keeping wine at its finest
Maybe this has happened to you. You purchased a great bottle of wine for some future occasion, but when the time finally came to open it, the wine was lackluster, a shadow of what it used to be, and nothing like the flavor profile you had hoped it would mature into. Or worse, [...]
Quality fuel
When it comes to weight loss and optimum health, carbohydrates are not your enemy. Why? Carbs are converted into glucose in the body, giving you energy. Carbs are the preferred fuel source for the brain and body, and they’re vital for exercise-goers, especially long-distance [...]
Cabaret performances
Limelight Actors Theater had a perfect plan for its spring show: Souvenir, a 2006 play by Stephen Temperley that featured the relationship between New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins, who couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, and her accompanist, Cosme McMoon. A movie [...]
Hikers’ training camp
Preparations for this summer’s Snow Valley Peak Challenge are well underway. This will be the fifth summer that local hikers have joined me on a quest to hike to the top of a Sierra peak. On July 15, we will follow a portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail for a 12 mile round trip hike [...]
Blended Bliss
Big mustaches, authentic paella events, vintage cars, and most of all, amazingly good Bordeaux-style wines are elements that describe De Rose Winery located on the Cienega Wine Trail in Hollister. Entering the chilly warehouse we were warmly greeted by the owner, Pat De Rose, [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Martha Lizarraga
What do you enjoy most about being a Realtor? In these past 12 years as a Realtor, I have really enjoyed building close relationships with my clients in helping them in their interest of either buying or selling a home and many have become very close personal friends of mine. [...]
For the love of song
At just 19, a young Gilroy woman had assembled a repertoire of characters that easily rivals those of musical theater veterans, including lead roles in the productions of The Drowsy Chaperone, Singing in the Rain, and The Wizard of Oz. So, who is this Gilroy superstar? She is [...]
Estate Vines
At the tail end of our long rainy season the Santa Clara Wine Trail was covered in acres of bright yellow mustard and verdant green hills. I turned off on Redwood Retreat Road, toward Fernwood Cellars—and enjoyed the beauty of mossy trees and swollen streams rushing by. I [...]
School 2.0
Today, online resources are a routine part of our daily lives, from how we communicate to how we pay our bills. Online technology is behind it all, and for some, that includes the pursuit of higher education. Gilroy resident Dawn Jarvis, 50, returned to school in 2010, and for [...]
Amazing Views on the Trail
Russian Ridge is a crown jewel among the open space preserves strung along Skyline Boulevard atop the San Francisco Peninsula hills. From the preserve parking lot at the top of Page Mill Road, hikers on the Ridge Trail are quickly rewarded with amazing views: the Pacific Ocean, [...]
Red or white
Whether it’s rib-eye steaks off the barbecue, spicy kung pao chicken take-out or an eclectic charcuterie board—it seems there’s a wine paring for everything. For those with a hankering for comfort foods like BBQ ribs or spaghetti with marinara sauce, a zinfandel would be a [...]
Rhône for the Hills
Bucking the long tradition of Bordeaux-style wines in this valley is a growing trend of Rhône-style wines. For many years, the wineries of Santa Clara Valley have produced wines made from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, zinfandel and other Italian varietals such as [...]
Flower power
Since 1983 the Wildflower Run has been fundraising to support the education of women. Former director Elizabeth Mandel is in charge of publicity this year and says she’s been living and breathing this event every winter for the past seven. “We raise close to $50,000 a year [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Charlene King
What led to your Real Estate Career? My father was a licensed Realtor and encouraged his three children to do the same right out of high school—believing it would be a great side job or backup. Now, my two brothers and I have successful careers in this wonderful line of work. [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Dan Gluhaich
What is your experience with vineyards in real estate? I’ve been in real estate for 40 years and I came out of the agricultural business. I have a vineyard of my own and I understand the business and I understand ag land and selling ag land. I’ve done several transactions of [...]
Dogs on skateboards
Look just about anywhere in the South Valley and everyone has some sort of display for the arts. Rarely though do we pay tribute to children in the arts. Running through the end of March, the dental offices of Dr. Jernell Escobar will be holding an exhibit for siblings Aksel and [...]
Best of Out & About, March 10, 2017
Wine Weekend Visit historic wineries, see spectacular views and meet the winemakers at the Santa Clara Valley Passport Weekend. Passport holders are entitled to attend all three days of fun beginning on Friday, March 17 at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, 17000 [...]
Spring vs. Sprawl
Rene Spring has the kind of paternal love for Morgan Hill typical of folks born and living into adulthood in hometowns that dot the American landscape. From Maine to Miami, Seattle to San Diego and throughout the heartland, the phrase born and raised is spoken with [...]
Chasing Wildflowers
Each winter, outdoor lovers hope the season will bring enough rain to light up fields and hillsides with color. And when conditions align just right, the spring flower show can pop like a bicentennial fireworks display. My crystal ball is no clearer than any other, but a look at [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Dave Clink
What are the bright spots in the market right now? There are a lot of bright spots in the market right now. For sellers, the lack of inventory is continuing to drive prices higher and there are multiple offers on many properties. This trend should continue throughout the year. [...]
EmmaLily Vineyards
Specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, EmmaLily Vineyards is tucked away in the rolling hills of the Uvas Valley. Owned by Steve and Laura Petersen, it is a family-run boutique winery named after their two daughters and sits on two acres where pigs, horses and dogs roam freely. As [...]
Dancing Feet
My experience with community theater musicals is that the top of the cast list is pretty strong, and diminishes once you’re past the leads. Not so with the South Valley Civic Theatre (SVCT) production of ‘Footloose, the Musical,’ Dean Pitchford and Walter Bobbie’s [...]
State of mind
When I started working here at Live Oak Adult Day Services, I was in my 30s, and I was often the youngest person in the room. When I would melodramatically lament that I was about to turn 38 or 40 years old, the seniors here would laugh and say, “You’re so young. You’re [...]
Realtor’s Corner: Lisa Faria
What are the bright spots in the market right now? Interest rates are still at an all time low and in South County, although inventory has not been plentiful we have amazing new home developments as well. Another bright spot is there are several fantastic lending products to [...]
Best of Out & About, Feb. 24, 2017.
Breathe For Caley Be apart of something amazing at the annual Bet On BFC Casino Night presented by Breathe For Caley Foundation. Help raise funds to grant wishes and provide financial support to families with children who are fighting medical battles. Enjoy an evening of music, [...]
Voices of Black History
Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in the 1980s, Louise Shields was one in a handful of African-American kids in her predominantly Latino high school. “It was a very small rural community,” says Shields. “We had very few African Americans in my school—I think five.” [...]
Historic vineyard
Solis Winery, one of Santa Clara Valley’s oldest wineries, is always a pleasure to visit. A small house, built in the 1900s and adorned with abalone shells that sparkle in the sun, greets visitors upon entering the driveway. Entering the tasting room, guests are treated to a [...]
Best of Out & About, Feb. 17, 2017
Counting Birds The phrase “strictly for the birds” is not a bad thing when talking about The Great Backyard Bird Count. Counting the birds is done around the world in February and helps give a snapshot of the distribution of birds before the spring migration ramps up. You [...]
Passion for popera
When he showed up to study voice at San Jose State University, dragging a thick accent from the streets of Naples, Italy, Pasquale Esposito didn’t make much of an impression on his professors. He’d eked out a living crooning partisan-pleasing Italian standards such as “O [...]
Traversing the Headlands
From Sweeney Ridge in San Mateo County, where Gaspar de Portolà first saw San Francisco Bay in 1769, to windswept Tomales Point at the very northern tip of Marin County, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) spans a vast distance and a staggering variety of [...]
Best of Out & About, Feb. 10, 2017.
Valentine’s Night Make plans to spend an evening out with a special friend and enjoy a great meal, dancing, comedy and live music at many local restaurants. Check out the new Granada Theatre in Morgan Hill for a black tie event on Saturday, Feb. 11, or Gilroy’s newest venue, [...]
Outlandish in the Ozarks
Farce is one of the theatrical forms well suited to the community theater, what with its over-the-top characters, zany plots and wild action. Gilroy’s Pintello Comedy Theater is making the most of its six-play collaboration with playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and [...]
Winning wines of South Valley
Congratulations to our eight local wineries that earned a combined 47 medals at the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Martin Ranch Winery led the way with 12 medals, and Kirigin Cellars garnered 11 medals, with both winning in the Best of Class category. Other [...]
Black Heroines
Black History Month began more than 90 years ago in 1926, when historian Carter G. Woodson dedicated the second week of February to honoring the contributions of African Americans. Now observed during the entire month of February, South Valley spoke with Lani Yoshimura, head [...]
Lotions & potions
Some will choose flowers, others candy, but for those ready to cross the line from traditional gifts this Valentine’s Day, the Black Label Jack Rabbit personal massager, a sleek black apparatus offering three pleasure points of sensation—is the gift that keeps on giving, and [...]
Longing for stardom
A theatrical family plus some wish-they-were-famous folks get together for a summer theater festival in Massachusetts a year after a key family member’s death with the expected range of emotional responses in Donald Margulies’ comic drama The Country House. The [...]
Evolution of an Artist
The mood went from dawn to dusk, a collection of contemporary paintings spanning the brilliance of an entire day in Monterey. “I call the series ‘Toward Tranquility,’ says artist and avid runner Richard Young, whose work is now being displayed at the Gilroy Center for the [...]
Following the Wine Trail to Kirigin Cellars
By Bev Stenehjem On a recent Sunday afternoon, a group of us followed the Wine Trail of Santa Clara Valley and stopped in at Kirigin Cellars, which has been making wine on the property since 1916. There are so many things to love about Kirigin Cellars: to start with, [...]
Thinning fruit trees in the garden
One of the best things about gardening in Santa Clara County is that, no matter how big your garden or how long you’ve been doing it, you get the sense that we’re all in it together. A heat wave can wilt a single patio garden tomato as easily a 100-foot row of lettuce. [...]
Fresh dish at Cafe Thyme
Dining at Cafe Thyme has been a weekly affair for Patty Lemon of Gilroy, who has been eating at the restaurant since its opening in July. “The food is incredible. It’s my fourth time,” says Lemon. “The quality of the food is distinctive.” Lemon says the one time she [...]
Sushi roll en español
Aaron Rodriguez was selling sushi out of his house while he was still in high school. He was building a clientele before most kids even entertain the thought of culinary school. Rodriguez, 20, says it was the support of his clients that encouraged him to pursue being a chef. [...]
Fences to Furniture
Amid the din of electric tools, chatter and loud music, the Terra Amico woodshop brims with creativity and bustles with energy. A thick layer of dust coats every item in sight, and sunlight beams through large open doors—catching sawdust particles in their wake. Just six years [...]
Granada Theatre reopens
Frank Leal’s vision came to life December 31 with an new year’s eve bash at the newly restored Granada Theatre in Morgan Hill. Leal purchased the historic building from the city of Morgan Hill in October 2015 and spent two years restoring the building for use as a [...]
The Firefighter
By Amy McElroy In the wake of two local wildfires’ recent destruction—which together claimed 136,000 acres of land and nearly 70 homes—Santa Clara County’s battalion chief for support services a firefighting career. After 28 years on the job, Debbie Pardue Stocksick is [...]
Real Ramen in Gilroy
Maria and Ricardo Hernandez moved to Gilroy from Cupertino, a town with noodle restaurants aplenty. Luckily for them and other lovers of ramen, they have a new place with authentic Japanese fare that satisfies their cravings. “It’s hard to find a good ramen place and this [...]
