The realities of the current economy are hitting downtown Morgan Hill in a major way. With 2007 coming to a close, the Morgan Hill Downtown Association has announced that the previously touted downtown holiday ice rink, which was planned to open before Christmas, is no longer a possibility due to rising costs.

“It’s a huge disappointment for this year,” said MHDA Executive Director Jorge A. Briones. “It’s disappointing to the community. It’s disappointing to the board and the office. On a personal level, it’s disappointing to me that it’s not happening. But also, it was designed to be our major fundraiser for this year, and to loose it, that’s scary.”

Instead of shopping at malls and chain stores this holiday season, consider the eclectic gifts offered right here in Morgan Hill. Though times are tight, remember that shopping locally generates funds that go right back into the Morgan Hill community. By buying your presents at independent boutiques and stores, you are helping Morgan Hill keep that unique character that makes our city a special place.

With the autumn grape harvest and wine tasting season in full swing, South Santa Clara County vineyards offer a number of destinations for both wine geeks and newbies to indulge their thirsts. Belonging to the Santa Clara Valley appellation, Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy are home to some of the oldest winegrowing plots on California's central coast. Here are a few of the best wineries to take in the tannins and bouquets of South County.

Alien Technology, a Morgan Hill manufacturer of ultra-high radio frequency ID technology, announced Monday that they have gained $38 million in new venture funding.

Despite the difficult U.S. economy, the once struggling Alien Technology has announced that their overall product revenue this year is expected to go up 50 percent over fiscal 2007.

OF ALL the places to visit in downtown Morgan Hill, the mix of hometown hospitality and quality food is most evident at Poppy's Fish, Poultry & More. A meat and seafood market as well as a restaurant, Poppy's has a very regular, decidedly unpretentious clientele. The place consists of inside and outside patio dining areas, and the décor reflects owners Michael and Jana Castelan's Parrot Head leanings. With a family that has been involved in West Coast commercial fishing since 1895, the Castelans know seafood. Michael Castelan, who with his ponytail and scruffy beard looks like a cross between a Hell's Angel and Mr. Gibbs from Pirates of the Caribbean, treks up to Pier 35 in San Francisco three times a week to pick up fresh seafood for his market.

Though she’s never had children of her own, there is something maternal about Beatriz Hernandez. With an open, kind face and dark curly hair piled on top of her head, she always wears a black smock while on the job. Hernandez is in the business if cutting children’s hair.

As the owner and sole stylist at Mouse Mania Children’s Hair Salon in Morgan Hill, Hernandez gets her fare share of shear-shy kids, from the well-behaved princesses to the criers and tantrum throwers.

As anybody who’s ever tried to get a 2-year-old to sit still for more then five minutes could well imagine, for some, just getting their hair cut can be a trying task.

CHRISTINE Kubogamell's grandparents started farming mushrooms around Morgan Hill in the 1960s, when the land was cheap and the price was sky-high. Running South Valley Mushroom Farm, just off what is now Condit Road, the Kubo family has become one of the oldest names in Morgan Hill's once booming mushroom industry.But after more than 35 years, she and her family have decided to cash in.

Christine Kubogamell remembers when Highway 101 didn't exist, and Morgan Hill's population numbered less then 10,000. Fields, farmland and orchards prevailed, and small, family-owned mushroom growing operations were numerous. Times have changed. With the golden age of Santa Clara County agriculture long over and development slowly creeping up on all sides, it looks like the end for the South Valley Mushroom Farm.

"It's pretty difficult, even in the best of times, just because there's a lot of factors in mushroom growing and competing in the mushroom industry," Kubogamell says. "As a farmer, we all are barely making it as it is, especially with the gas prices going up. Everything that gets shipped into us, everything we have delivered out to customers—that has gone up. Yet, our prices are still fixed by market costs, which are so low. So, we're caught in the middle."