News/Blog

News and thoughts from our staff

 
Meet the Business Law Enforcement Liaison

Meet the Business Law Enforcement Liaison

By Brittney Sherman

We understand that as a business owner, your main priorities are keeping your business secure and your employees safe. To that effect, we would like to introduce you to Business Law Enforcement Liaison Corporal Mindy Zen, and share some of her safety and security best practices.

#1 USE CITY RESOURCES: Call MHPD Non-Emergency @ 408-779-2101 to report non-emergency crime, nuisance, or blight issues. Contact the Morgan Hill Police Department Business Law Enforcement Liaison @ 669-253-4917 for concerns affecting your business operations.

#2 INSTALL SECURITY CAMERAS: Security cameras deter crime, vandalism, and provide safety for your employees and patrons. Keep all areas visible to cameras and please share your footage with the Morgan Hill Police Department.

#3 KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: Lighting creates a sense of liveliness and an illusion that people are around. Leave the lights on or install motion-activated lighting after hours.

#4 MAINTAIN AND CHECK ON YOUR PROPERTY: Perform regular visits and keep your property free of trash, litter, and junk. Trim or remove tall bushes, trees, and shrubbery. The City of Morgan Hill has a high standard of cleanliness, and we expect business owners to do the same.

#5 PRIVATE PROPERTY SIGNAGE AND AUTHORIZATION: Private property owners may authorize local law enforcement to arrest trespassers under certain provisions. Post "No Trespassing/Private Property" signs on your property and complete MHPD's "Arrest Authorization Form."

#6 USE ONLINE FORMS TO REPORT A CONCERN: If you have a concern about graffiti, illegal dumping, abandoned vehicles, etc., please use our online tool HERE to report it.

Have questions? Contact Corporal Mindy Zen at Mindy.zen@morganhill.ca.gov

 
Affordable Connectivity Program

Affordable Connectivity Program

By Brittney Sherman

On May 9th, the federal government announced that they secured commitments from 20 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to offer at least one high speed internet plan with a minimum of 100 MB download for no more than $30 a month, with the guarantee of no additional fees or data caps, to an estimated 48 million households who qualify for it across the country.  This is known as the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). 

ACP was established through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) of 2021.  It allocated $14.2 billion to the program to extend the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB) that was established through a federal COVID relief package, and amended the program in several ways including adding additional consumer protections, reducing the monthly subsidy amount from $50 to $30, and extending eligibility requirements such that ISPs are required to open all their plans to ACP.  This new commitment ensures that ACP-eligible households, with access to the committed ISPs, will be able to have internet in their homes with no out of pocket costs.

The federal government also announced support for streamlined and simplified ACP enrollment including:

-The launch of a new, streamlined website to enroll in ACP

-A campaign to reach ACP-eligible households through coordinated messaging and outreach through the federal programs they’re already enrolled in (like Social Security)

-Partnerships with state and city governments to conduct outreach

-Collaborations with public interest organizations who provide enrollment support

To learn more about the Affordable Connectivity Program go HERE

To enroll in the program go HERE

Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Matt Mahood at Matt.Mahood@morganhill.ca.gov

 
The Mission Bell Story Continues...........

The Mission Bell Story Continues...........

By Brittney Sherman

Mission Bell Manufacturing was founded in Santa Clara County in 1959. After briefly operating under the parent company USA Millwork, Mission Bell has once again resumed operations as a local, employee-owned business, dedicated to premium quality architectural millwork and casework.

Mission Bell is a 60-year-old millwork manufacturing company based in Morgan Hill.  They provide custom commercial millwork and casework for healthcare, technology, education, office, and hospitality projects throughout the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest regions.

Learn more about Mission Bell HERE

Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Matt Mahood at Matt.Mahood@morganhill.ca.gov

 
Go Green on Butterfield with Optimized Signals

Go Green on Butterfield with Optimized Signals

By Brittney Sherman

“Last week, City staff took measures to optimize and improve traffic flow on the Butterfield Corridor by installing new signal controllers. Signal optimization has been implemented during peak travel times, Monday-Friday between the hours of 6-8 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. Vehicles are advised to “go green” on Butterfield during these times to increase their efficiency of moving from one end of town to the other……”

Read the full Press Release HERE

Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Public Information Officer at pio@morganhill.ca.gov

 
Hospitality Industry Recovery is Underway

Hospitality Industry Recovery is Underway

By Brittney Sherman

A recent press release from Visit Morgan Hill shows that hospitality industry recovery is currently underway.

“Visit California’s newly released report, prepared by Dean Runyan Associates, details the economic impact of state tourism in 2021. Per the report, Santa Clara County’s visitor-generated spending, tax revenue and jobs increased from 2020 to 2021. However, spending remained at 53.5% of 2019 levels. Much like the state and county, Morgan Hill has not yet fully recovered pre-pandemic tourism indicators. However, the Morgan Hill Tourism Business Improvement District (MHTBID) collections saw a 125% increase July through December 2021 over the previous six months of 2021, indicating local tourism uptick and preliminary recovery………………”

Read the full Press Release HERE!

Have questions? Contact Visit Morgan Hill Executive Director Krista Rupp at executivedirector@visitmorganhill.org

 
Translate Our Website to Spanish!

Translate Our Website to Spanish!

By Brittney Sherman

To support our existing Spanish speaking business operators and to attract additional Hispanic owned business investment, the Choose Morgan Hill website has a translation feature.  To convert the entire site to Spanish, simply visit our website, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the drop-down arrow next to “Select a Language.”

Have questions? Contact City of Morgan Hill Economic Development Director Matt Mahood at Matt.Mahood@morganhill.ca.gov

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