Morgan Hill Times

As foundations are poured for the first six Habitat for Humanity homes in Morgan Hill, four downtown restaurants are participating in a fundraising effort for the nonprofit. Ricatoni's Delicatessen, Ragoots, Sinaloa Cafe and Rosy's at the Beach will each donate a percent of sales to Habitat during a lunch or dinner next week. Ricatoni's will participate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday by donating ... Full Story »

Photo by: File Photo Morgan Hill Police arrests DUI n Melisio Hernandez, 24, 12:15 a.m. Nov. 7, on the 14400 block of Monterey Road. Ryan C. Rosen, 24, 2:17 a.m. Nov. 9, at Peak Avenue and Noble Court. Justin J. Merrick, 21, 11:59 p.m. Nov. 12, at Tilton and Dougherty avenues. Erin M. Southland, 21, 2:27 a.m. Nov. 13, at Del Monte and Cosmo avenues. Saul Gonzalez, 24, 2:01 a.m. Nov. 14, at ... Full Story »

The Midget squad Photo by: Special to The Times The three Raider Cheer squads that competed at Pop Warner's Pacific Northwest Regional Cheer Competition Nov. 27 at Santa Clara University took first place. The Pee Wee (9- to 12-year-olds), Jr. Midget (10- to 13-year-olds) and Midget (12- to 15-year-olds) intermediate squads each took home a first place trophy and with it the chance to compete at ... Full Story »

It is hard to imagine anything more guaranteed to make an American's heart swell and eyes mist over than our noble tradition of open, free, and relatively fair elections. It is the essence of everything we think we stand for, the first thing we mention when lecturing the world on our manifold virtues, the ideal we proudly show off like grandparents with baby pictures. In the commerce of ... Full Story »

"Somebody recently complained about the re-timing of the light at East Main Avenue and Condit Road. But I don't think the problem was really stated. The fact of the matter is that, outside of school hours (I understand the need for a longer light on E. Main at that time), Condit Road has nearly as much traffic as E. Main. The way the light is currently set, the light is green for all E. Main ... Full Story »

Local boy comes home to rest Dear Editor, Curtis Lawyer, 87, returned from Palm Desert recently to his home in Morgan Hill where he was raised on the farm of his parents, Tom and Laura Lawler. He graduated from Live Oak High School in 1939, where he served as president of the Future Farmers of America. He went on to become a manager for United Airlines at the SFO maintenance base. He then ... Full Story »

Judge's ruling underscores issues that need to be dealt with The Santa Clara Valley Water District has been caught with its hand in the ratepayer's cookie jar. That's essentially the ruling that came down from a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge who ordered the district to pay a $4.6 million refund to the Great Oaks Water Co. And that's just the money owed for one year. Great Oaks has ... Full Story »

Morgan Hill police arrest a man outside a home on Pine Way Friday morning. Photo by: Staff Police recovered an unknown amount of methamphetamine and arrested seven people on suspicion of a variety of charges at an east Morgan Hill residence this morning. Two Morgan Hill officers initially responded to the house on the 17100 block of Pine Way about 9 a.m., after receiving a call that someone was ... Full Story »

Live Oak's Cesar Lustre had an assist Wednesday. Photo by: Lora Schraft MORGAN HILL -- There were no catchy one-liners in Tony Goble's postgame speech Wednesday; no hackneyed hyperbole, booming mantras or intricate breakdown to his soccer team's season-opening 2-2 tie with Homestead. He gave his Acorns a verbal pat on the back and sent them into the darkness at Live Oak High. Goble has a feeling ... Full Story »

Sobrato's Scott Henningsen, left, keeps the ball out of reach of Jason Periera during Wednesday's practice at Sobrato High. Photo by: Lora Schraft MORGAN HILL -- No soccer coach has ever sounded more optimistic after a season-opening 5-0 loss than Ricardo Martinez. Sobrato's sixth-year coach admits his Bulldogs have plenty of work to do but he didn't have to tell them that Tuesday, following ... Full Story »

Police investigate the scene where Donna House was found. A devoted husband's frantic, two-day search for his missing wife ended with the discovery that she took her own life in a Morgan Hill strip mall parking lot. Jim House will remember his 44-year-old wife, Madonna House - who went by Donna - as a beautiful mother, wife and best friend. "She was under a tremendous amount of stress," Jim ... Full Story »

It's raises versus layoffs again for city workers. So far, most signs point to layoffs, and even the thin police department could see a reduction in force. March renegotiations with the city's three labor unions saved the city $400,000. At the time, the move was heralded as a testament to the good relations between the city and its workers. But the economy tanked further, and the city is again ... Full Story »

Photo by: File Photo A long-stalled project that would permanently solve Morgan Hill's flooding problem won't be completed in time, but the city and local businesses are preparing to minimize the possible damage of an incoming storm that could drown the downtown area next week. As of now, the National Weather Service is expecting slightly more than an inch of rain to fall steadily Monday through ... Full Story »

Nothing, not even a trip to the emergency room, will stop local filmmaker in Morgan Hill resident Grant Richards from Saturday night's premiere of "Spyware", his latest romantic thriller. Inspired in part by real life and the writer's dreams, "Spyware" follows the story of a Silicon Valley computer programmer who suspects she's the target of a tech-savvy Internet predator. In the film, the ... Full Story »

Morgan Hill police examine the car where they found a body Wednesday afternoon. Photo by: Staff The husband of a missing woman confirmed this morning that she took her own life in a car in Morgan Hill. Morgan Hill Police found the body inside a gray Honda Accord Wednesday afternoon. The car closely matched the description of the vehicle driven by a Gilroy woman - Madonna House - who has been ... Full Story »

Morgan Hill police investigate the scene surrounding a body found in a strip mall parking lot Wednesday. Photo by: Staff Morgan Hill Police confirmed they found a dead body inside a gray Honda Accord this afternoon. The car closely matched the description of the vehicle driven by a Gilroy woman who has been missing since Monday. "It's very preliminary in the investigation," Cmdr. David Swing ... Full Story »

Opponents of Gilroy's medical marijuana dispensary are gathering signatures to present to the City Council next week, while MediLeaf claims it has nearly 500 Gilroy members. Meanwhile, police have taken a few reports during the last few weeks of medical cannabis being found around youths, although none have been tied to MediLeaf. It is still unknown whether Judge Mary Jo Levinger will grant the ... Full Story »

Morgan Hill police investigate the scene surrounding a body found in a strip mall parking lot Wednesday. Photo by: Staff A body was found inside a late model sedan in the parking lot of a strip mall in south Morgan Hill. Authorities released few details about the death that was reported to Morgan Hill police Wednesday afternoon, according to Cmdr. David Swing. Police did not release the gender ... Full Story »

Live Oak's Cody Gallizioli drives towards the basket on a breakaway as Scotts Valley's Corey Reitsma goes for the block during the third quarter of their game Tuesday. Photo by: Lora Schraft MORGAN HILL -- It was not the outcome Brett Paolucci was hoping for to jump-start his second coaching stint with the Live Oak boys basketball team, but he could live with Tuesday's one-point loss in overtime ... Full Story »

A flier that Donna House's family has posted around Gilroy. Photo by: Special to The Times A Gilroy family is searching for their mother, wife and relative after she went missing on her way to the San Jose Airport. Donna House, 44, said goodbye to her husband, told him she loved him, and set off to the airport at 5 a.m. Monday, said Amanda Wilborn, House's relative by marriage. House said she ... Full Story »

Photo by: File Photo Morgan Hill Police arrests Driving without a valid license Benjamin G. Naranjo, 26, 9:22 p.m. Nov. 6, at U.S. 101 and Tennant Avenue. Sebastian E. Sanchez, 38, 1:20 a.m. Nov. 8, at Monterey Road and Tilton Avenue. Warrant Deborah L. Stiers, 42, 10:20 p.m. Nov. 6, on the 16500 block of Condit Road. Thomas P. Archibeque, 42, 11:07 p.m. Nov. 6, at Tennant Avenue and Monterey ... Full Story »

Sheriff's arrests Driving on the wrong side of the road Jose Aaron Ferreyra-Calder, 18, of Watsonville, 6:15 a.m. Nov. 20, near Hecker Pass Highway and Burchell Road for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and driving on the wrong side of the road. Under the influence of a controlled substance Johnny Morales Jr., 27, of Gilroy, 10:01 p.m. Sunday, near First Street and Wayland Avenue ... Full Story »

Vincent Cardinalli Sr., left, and Paul Greer, in photos from about three years ago. The judge has not allowed cameras into the courtroom on recent requests, but has not specified why. Photo by: File Photo After stumbling through a preliminary hearing without an attorney, a man accused of manipulating local courts to turn a profit heeded the advice of judges and lawyers and secured his own ... Full Story »

Joel Barnes, 39 Photo by: File Photo Prosecutors do not expect a plea anytime soon from a Morgan Hill man who allegedly drove a truck at sheriff's deputies en route to evading them three times this past summer. Joel Barnes, 39, faces a litany of charges ranging from misdemeanor battery to felony assault on a police officer and various weapons charges, including possession of a machine gun ... Full Story »

Atop Pine Ridge, Eric's Bench is one of Times outdoors columnist Ron Erskine's favorite places in Henry Coe State Park. (PHOTO BY RON ERSKINE.) Photo by: Staff I am sitting on Eric's Bench atop Pine Ridge, one of my favorite places in Henry Coe State Park. This quiet spot, barely a half mile from the visitor center, is set among an unlikely stand of ponderosa pines and enjoys a sweeping view for ... Full Story »