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$1 • Friday, July 26, 2019 • Vol. 126, No. 30 • morganhilltimes.com • Serving Morgan Hill since 1894
Trustee resigns from MHUSD board FIRST-TERM BOARD MEMBER MOVING OUTSIDE OF TRUSTEE AREA Scott Forstner Reporter
➝ Sutter, 12
Robert Eliason
First-term trustee Vanessa Sutter recently announced her resignation from Morgan Hill Unified School District’s governing body effective Aug. 15 due to her family’s relocation outside of her designated trustee area. “It is with great difficulty that I must resign as trustee from the Morgan Hill Unified School District,” penned Sutter in her July 16 resignation letter to the MHUSD administration and school board. “My family and I will be relocating our residence, and I am unable to complete the term of the office as a governing board member who represents Area 5 on the trustee map.”
PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION Former 49ers lineman Ian Williams watches as a local participant hits a tackling dummy during
the July 19 Pro-Com Athletic League event at Morgan Hill Community Park.
Football for a cause 49ERS SURPRISE LOCAL AT-RISK YOUTH, JUVENILE OFFENDERS Scott Forstner Reporter
One current San Francisco 49er player and two retired Niners surprised
about 50 local at-risk youth and juvenile offenders July 19 at Community Park in Morgan Hill. The professional athletes’ appearance was part of the Probation-Community Athletic League flag football program. The special visit was
made possible by a recent partnership between the Santa Clara County Probation Department and 49ers PREP Youth Flag Football, which provide uniforms and equipment to the Pro-Com’s flag football leagues. An objective for
the Pro-Com Athletic League—which also collaborated with the South County Youth Task Force and Empowering Our Community For Success—is to establish positive interactions between members of law enforcement and those in
socioeconomically disadvantaged communities as well as providing a safe, fun and competitive environment for all. “I was always part of [the 49ers youth program] when I was still ➝ 49ers, 10
Property vs. traffic on bullet route COUNCIL: TOO MANY IMPACTS IN DOWNTOWN MORGAN HILL Michael Moore Editor
The state staff-recommended High Speed Rail alignment through Morgan Hill may be the least invasive for private properties, but city officials remain concerned about the proposed system’s
impact on local vehicle traffic. That was the consensus expressed by Morgan Hill City councilmembers at a July 17 council workshop on a presentation of the preferred route by California High Speed Rail Authority staff. It is also a view that illustrates the state rail authority’s need to accept “tradeoffs” of the many potential impacts of the bullet train on local communities, authority officials told the council.
Specifically, the lack of grade separations along the state staff-recommended “Alternative 4” High-Speed Rail route through central Morgan Hill would cause local east-to-west traffic to suffer, according to council members. But separating the HSR grade from the roadway at key intersections—in order to allow the bullet train and cars to travel their own directions simultaneously, without impeding each
other—would massively impact the private properties surrounding these intersections, explained Boris Lipkin, Northern California regional director for the rail authority. “We are trying to find balance between all those factors,” Lipkin told the council. “Grade separations [are] a big set of impacts. If we came in with Alternative 2 [which calls for grade separations], I’m sure you’d be telling me we’re ripping up half the town.”
The authority announced earlier this summer it is recommending that the state bullet train board adopt the Alternative 4 route alignment through downtown Morgan Hill. The board is scheduled to meet Sept. 17 to approve its preferred route on the High Speed Rail’s “San Jose to Merced” section of tracks. This route would use the existing Caltrain and ➝ High Speed Rail, 12
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