ESTABLISHED 1868
A New SV Media publication
Friday, July 26, 2019
gilroydispatch.com • Vol. 152, No. 30 • $1
GARLIC FESTIVAL
MAP • FOOD • WINE • BEER • ENTERTAINMENT JULY 26, 2019
Community Activity Guide INSIDE
GARLIC FESTIVAL GUIDE INSIDE NEW CONCERTS AND CELEBRITIES TOP THIS WEEKEND
Clove and Happiness
Staff report
Barry Holtzclaw
VOLUNTEERS FLYING HIGH Lindsey Buessing, a Sacramento State student from Gilroy, and Christian Davis,
a San Jose State student also from Gilroy, prepare to go aloft at Christmas Hill Park to help raise the canopy over what will be the main cook-off stage at the Gilroy Garlic Festival.
The largest, and spiciest, festival of the year returns for its 41st year this weekend. The Gilroy Garlic Festival, presented this year by St. Louise Regional Hospital, returns to Christmas Hill Park July 26-28, featuring three days of garlicky treats and entertainment. More than 4,000 volunteers, two tons of garlic, 70 vendors, 44 artist and 170 local non-profits combine for this year’s successful Garlic Festival recipe. Road closures are in place throughout the festival. Miller Road from Santa Teresa Boulevard to Uvas Parkway will be shut down through Aug. 2. Limited access will be allowed to Miller Avenue from Santa Teresa Boulevard for residents making the right turn at Luchessa Avenue. Through July 28, 10th Street and Miller Road will be closed between Uvas Parkway and Princevalle Street, and Wren Avenue will be closed between Uvas Park Drive and Sixth Street. For a map and complete festival information, see the Gilroy Garlic Festival Guide inside today’s Gilroy Dispatch.
Gilroy homeless census steady COUNTY TOTALS SOAR, AS HOUSING COSTS RISE AND INCOMES LAG Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
The numbers of Gilroy residents without homes has changed little, while Santa Clara County’s homeless population increased over the
past two years, according to a county report released July 18. The 2019 “Homeless Census and Survey” conducted countrywide in January and February showed a 2 percent decrease in the number of people without shelter in GIlroy, from 722 to 704. In the county as a whole, the number of homeless residents soared to 9,706, from 7,394 in the last census,
taken in 2017, the highest in over a decade. Soaring housing costs were cited as a major factor in the increase. The biennial homeless surveys are required of all jurisdictions receiving federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide services for the homeless. The significant change in the Gilroy numbers were the number
of homeless people without adequate shelter. While the number of “unsheltered” Gilroy residents in 2017 was 295, that number grew to 345 in the most recent survey. There was a corresponding drop in the number of “sheltered” homeless people, from 427 in 2017, to 359 in 2019. ➝ Homeless, 2
Downtown retrofits are making strides Erik Chalhoub Business Editor
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Drivers and pedestrians traversing Monterey Street downtown likely notice construction walls and
various boarded-up buildings scattered throughout the area. Those who look beyond the shabby exteriors will see a significant amount of investment that could change the face of downtown Gilroy. Downtown building and property owners, in conjunction with ➝ Tour, 8
Erik Chalhoub
OWNERS LEAD TOUR OF MONTEREY STREET BUILDING REPAIRS
STURDY CONSTRUCTION Mark Garrison of MG Constructors
and Engineers demonstrates how reinforced concrete columns would take the brunt of a major earthquake.
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