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gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 152, No. 17 • $1
The Gilroy Foundation disburses new grants $850,000 GIVEN TO STUDENTS, NON-PROFITS Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
➝ Gilroy Foundation, 4
Robert Eliason
The Gilroy Foundation announced approximately $850,000 in grants and scholarships at its April 17 annual meeting. The announcements include nearly $336,000 in grants to schools, charities and non-profit community organizations. More than a $510,000 in individual scholarships to local high school, college and vocational school students will be announced in May. The Gilroy Foundation, founded in 1980, raises and disburses money to help meet the needs of the community in the specific areas of health, education, recreation, technology, culture and civic services. The Gilroy Foundation currently has assets of over $12 million. Since 1982, the Gilroy Foundation has awarded over $14 million in grants and scholarships. Topping this year’s grant winners were the Gilroy Youth Alliance, which was awarded the 2019 Julie Hayes “Rising Star” Performing Arts Grant of
DOG LEADS THE WAY Labrador retriever Maverick leads the way for Gary Mingus April 20 as the buddies enjoy part of Gilroy’s expanded bicycle path system, near Christmas Hill Park.
Path draws cyclists CITY’S EXPANDED NETWORK OF BIKE PATHS AND LANES IS POPULAR Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
The weather has finally turned sunny and warm, and miles of new bike paths in Gilroy beckon cyclists of all ages. Steady improvements and
growth in the number of bike lanes and paths, with more to come this year, should make bicycling more safe, according to city officials. Over 10 miles of bicycle infrastructure will be added in 2019. The northern end of one trail— connecting the Gilroy Sports Park at the south end of the city with new housing developments along Hecker Pass—is scheduled to be completed this year. The Hecker Pass bike/
pedestrian trails will wrap around the new housing and come back down along Hecker Pass Road to Santa Teresa. The Glen Loma bike/pedestrian trail will run along Santa Teresa from Thomas Road to the bridge at Third and Santa Teresa. The Glen Loma and Hecker Pass paths will be entirely funded by local real estate developers. The city also will be adding three bicycle “fix-it” stations
along the way, for flat tire emergencies, bringing the city’s total to six stations. Last weekend, the trail along Christmas Hill Park saw a variety of uses, including strollers, dog walkers, joggers, scooters and bicyclists. Bicycle safety is a big concern of traffic planners in Gilroy, and when CalTrans repaves First Street later this year—after new ➝ Bike Path, 9
Homeless college students sleep in cars NEW BILL COULD OK OVERNIGHT SLEEPING IN GAVILAN LOTS Scott Forstner Reporter
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College students may soon be allowed to sleep in their vehicles overnight on campuses across the state, if a new bill being reviewed by the State Assembly becomes a law. The parking proposal
measure—proposed by a Palo Alto assembly member to help address a component of the larger homelessness epidemic— would kick in July 1, 2020. The State Assembly’s higher education committee reviewed the bill at a recent session. “We are aware of this bill. It has not yet been passed into law, but If it does, it will apply to all California community colleges, including Gavilan,” said Gavilan spokesperson Jan Bernstein-Chargin.
Overnight parking is not currently allowed on the Gavilan campus, Bernstein-Chargin noted. According to multiple news reports, a survey conducted by the Hope Center concluded that nearly 20 percent of California community college students surveyed reported experiencing homelessness within the past year. “Existing law requires a community college campus that has shower facilities for student use to grant access, as specified, to those facilities to any homeless
student who is enrolled in coursework, has paid enrollment fees and is in good standing with the community college district, and requires the community college to determine a plan of action to implement this requirement,” according to the legislative digest for AB302. The new bill would apply to the same group of students “for the purpose of sleeping in the student’s vehicle overnight.” Each college’s governing ➝ Homeless Bill, 4