If ever there was a year of significant change in San Benito
County, it was 2010. Marked in particular by an array of important
races in local elections, including the heated contest for sheriff,
the year included many important decisions and topics by city,
county, state and federal officials.
If ever there was a year of significant change in San Benito County, it was 2010.
Marked in particular by an array of important races in local elections, including the heated contest for sheriff, the year included many important decisions and topics by city, county, state and federal officials.
For instance, there was the approval of the 399-megawatt solar farm in Panoche Valley, consideration by the U.S. government to permanently close the Clear Creek Management Area, progress made with the 1,100-unit Santana Ranch development, and the weighing of development at the city-owned Leatherback Industries site.
Following is a subjective list of the 10 most impacting stories of 2010 for San Benito County residents, while there were many others that largely affected local residents.
1. New sheriff and the 2010 election
Four candidates initially joined the race to succeed the retiring Sheriff Curtis Hill. Local undersheriff Pat Turturici and Watsonville police Lt. Darren Thompson advanced past the June primary by defeating police Sgt. Ray Wood and soon-to-be former Marshal Robert Scattini.
The final two months of the sheriff’s race doomed Turturici, who had a big lead after the primary. The county deputies’ union, along with two neighboring unions, dropped endorsements for him. The sheriff launched an internal probe of allegations that he threatened jobs over the election, and Hill himself pulled his official support – for the man he hired as undersheriff – shortly before Election Day. Thompson’s campaign was relatively smooth and he pulled off a decisive 15-point victory in November.
Incumbents didn’t fare well in other contested races. Challenger Robert Rivas beat incumbent Pat Loe for District 3 supervisor with about 70 percent of the vote. Jerry Muenzer won the other contested supervisorial race, in District 4, by beating fellow challenger Phil Fortino in November, after both knocked out incumbent Reb Monaco in June by a big margin.
At the city, Scattini beat fellow challenger Sergio Montanez for a second term on the council, while Pauline Valdivia won a fourth term.
2. Solar power in SBC
Perhaps the most contentious topic in 2010 was the proposal, and eventual approval, of Solargen Energy’s plan for a 399-megawatt solar farm in Panoche Valley. Environmental groups and some neighboring residents opposed the project and now are suing to have it halted. The upstart company, meanwhile, has touted the potential job creation from the project and its impact on a dire local economy.
In November, the county board approved the project that will span about 4,885 acres in the Panoche Valley. Also, more than 10,000 acres of additional land will be set aside for conservation.
Despite the lawsuit, Solargen will continue to move forward and work toward receiving its leftover permits and finalize the mitigation plan. Solargen doesn’t expect the lawsuit to hold up the project for long and hopes to start construction by the third quarter of next year. With an approval from the county, the company is in line to receive 30 percent of capital funding, in the $1.2 billion project, from the federal stimulus.
Aside from Solargen, a separate company called ClearSpot contracted with the City of Hollister and the Hollister School District to provide solar power at the city’s sewer plant and at school facilities. In the deal, ClearSpot is set to build a plants for the entities and estimates millions of dollars in savings for each over 30 years.
3. Pentagon shooter from San Benito
It isn’t every day that a national tragedy has a major local tie, as did the Pentagon shooting that occurred in early March when John Patrick Bedell opened fire outside the federal building in Washington, D.C. Bedell, 36, who lived in the Ridgemark gated community outside Hollister, opened fire outside the Pentagon using a 9mm handgun and injured two police officers before being killed from return gunfire.
It is unclear what exactly prompted Bedell to open fire, but there were signs of dissatisfaction with the federal government in Internet postings he had made prior to the event.
His first conviction occurred in June 2006 in Orange County. He pleaded guilty to resisting a peace officer and was sentenced to three years of probation. In October 2007, Bedell pleaded no contest to a charge of exhibiting a weapon other than a firearm at the Palo Alto Courthouse. He was sentenced to 20 days of weekend work and court probation. In early February, in Reno, police arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence of marijuana, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. The newspaper also noted how he had a March 2 arraignment hearing for which he did not appear.
4. Feds threaten to close Clear Creek
For more than two years, Clear Creek Management Area, 70,000 acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management in southern San Benito County and western Fresno County, has been temporarily closed to the public after a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study discovered high concentrations of asbestos in the area due to its 31,000 acre serpentine deposit, the largest in the United States.
All roads in the area stayed closed until April, when the San Benito County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to reopen the county roads near the federal lands, hoping to avoid a lawsuit by landowners within the recreational area. But the rest of the area has stayed closed.
The BLM released a 700-page environmental impact statement late last year and outlined seven alternatives on how to handle the area, ranging from doing nothing to closing it for good. It has not decided on an option.
5. Sluggish economy hurts small businesses
It was another down year for the economy in San Benito County. The jobless rate throughout the first half of the year hovered above the 20-percent mark, while the county has ranked toward the top of the list throughout the state for having the worst jobless rate. That number showed positive signs in the fall but most recent figures point to 17-percent unemployment here. The housing market appeared to hit its low point and showed some signs of recovery, with much fewer foreclosures reported in 2010 than 2009.
Small businesses were hit particularly hard, though. In the downtown area alone, some of the longtime businesses announcing plans to close included Maddux Jewelry, Elegant Touch (which is being replaced by a bakery), Las Palmas Restaurant, French’s Kitchen and Bath and Pancho’s Restaurant.
6. Response to Vagos biker incident
Causing quite a stir in the county was a group’s encounter with biker gang members outside Bolado Park after an event there. They were traveling across the road from the Bolado Park and reported being held at gunpoint by suspected members of the Vagos Motorcycle Club. The response, though, became the biggest part of the story, after a Free Lance records request of the 911 dispatch audio revealed that sheriff’s office authorities declined to immediately send officers to address it.
The audio from a series of phone calls to 911 about the Labor Day Weekend incident revealed that the outside visitor asked dispatchers to send deputies to the area at least seven times. A dispatcher tried to gather information from the woman throughout the five-minute conversation before that dispatcher eventually closed the phone call by having her confirm she didn’t want contact. The caller, though, did ask again for a response from authorities. A sheriff’s office spokesman called it a misunderstanding and noted how authorities were aware of the Vagos and checking on them throughout that weekend.
7. Fire destroys New Idria
One of the fire season’s victims included the historic ghost town of New Idria. The July fire ravaged through 24 acres of the old mining town, destroying 13 structures. The fire burned through most of the buildings on the north side of New Idria Road, which divides the town in half. The town was home to a mercury mine from 1854 until its closing in 1972. Since then the town has become abandoned and was never preserved. The origin of the fire is still unknown as firefighters continue to investigate.
During World War I the mine was one of the top supplier of mercury for the U.S. Department of Defense and it was an economic centerpiece for the county. The town is located in the southern portion of the Panoche Valley, nearly 65 miles south of Hollister. Despite its remote location, the town was a spot for travelers through the area.
8. Eagle Recycling fire
A fire started Aug. 3 at the Eagle Recycling plant along San Juan Road and was caused by a small tractor’s exhaust. It destroyed three-fourths of the building on site and started more than 20 spot fires in the area. The fire took six days before firefighters got the blaze 100 percent contained.
The Eagle Recycling plant received complaints by community members in the months leading up to the fire, but the owner didn’t receive any code violations from Calfire because the state agency contended it didn’t have the ability to enforce the county’s code. Calfire couldn’t enforce the code because the county didn’t appoint it to do so – instead, it could give only recommendations.
9. Schools hammered by cuts
With a failing economy, the two largest school districts were again hit hard by cuts that included teacher layoffs and elimination of music and sport programs. The Hollister School District was perhaps hit the hardest, as the state loomed large over the district because of its dire financial status. The school was asked to make cuts to avoid a project $5.5 million deficit expected in June 2013. In December the district’s board of trustees agreed to eliminate 11.3 full-time equivalent positions and the elementary music program. The cuts are projected to save an estimated $277,000 this year and $1.79 million in each of the next two years. In October, the district announced plants to cut all middle school sports, saving $56,000 annually. All of the cuts came after eliminating $6.5 million before the current school year. The cuts included eliminating 71 teachers within the district.
San Benito High School also suffered from a cut of $1.8 million handed down in February. The school cut $100,000 from the athletic department before the current year, but the school’s Athletic Director Tod Thatcher has announced that all freshmen sports will be eliminated. The $1.8 million cuts included the elimination of 18 positions. The cuts were felt mostly in the classroom, where classrooms were filled to its capacity with nearly 40 students per room.
10. Changes at the top
Beside the many successions at an array of key elected roles, there was plenty of change otherwise throughout the county and city.
For San Benito County, County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson retired, as did head planner Art Henriques. County leaders appointed former Assistant CAO Rich Inman to the top management position, while Gary Armstrong was hired from the private sector as the new head of planning and building.
Over in the city, there will be a change at the police chief role as well. Chief Jeff Miller officially retired, but the city has contracted with him in the interim while it decides on a future for the position – and whether a considered law enforcement consolidation with the county is feasible.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS 2010:
Some of the major events from the year
January
Fallen Gilroy soldier’s body lands at Hollister airport
Pot dispensary announced it will open in Hollister
Hospital board member Ernest Rivas accused of molesting girl
City OK’s solar partnership for sewer plant
Police allege 2 students had explosive powder at SBHS
February
Candidates announce intentions to run for sheriff, supervisor
Idea for Leatherback announced to include Gav classes, YMCA
State board OK’s new courthouse design
March
County resident John P. Bedell opens fire at Pentagon
Hollister’s jobless rate exceeds 23 percent
County re-opens roads near BLM’s Clear Creek
About two-thirds of locals return census form
April
CAO Susan Thompson announces retirement
City proposes ordinance to force fixing for two dog breeds
Hollister School District OK’s layoff notices to 71 teachers
Tiffany Ford celebrates 100 years
May
Rivas agrees to plea deal, labeled sex offender
Leal Vineyards challenged by neighbor on code rules
June
County and city leaders agree to study law enforcement consolidation
Rivas wins supervisor seat; Turturici, Thompson move ahead for sheriff
Gavilan College decides to move aviation program from Hollister airport
Pot dispensary agrees to leave downtown
July
Murder-suicide occurs on Diablo Drive
Parking enforcement revenues up, but no officer found yet
County appoints new planning director
August
YMCA gets settled at new location
New Idria ravaged by fire
Biker event supporters rally at council meeting
Eagle Recycling damaged by fire
Elimination of undersheriff role announced
September
McKinnon Lumber celebrates 100 years
Elegant Touch announces closure
Group confronted by biker gang members outside Bolado
October
FAA OK’s key access for airport
Sheriff hires investigator on undersheriff
City approves revised rules for dog breeds
November
Darren Thompson wins sheriff seat on Election Day
Australian killed in crash after takeoff from Hollister
Mongols leader found guilty of raping a minor
City OK’s contracting with Chief Miller after he retires
Board gives final approval to Santana Ranch development
December
Hazel Hawkins Hospital opens its new emergency room
County says goodbye to longtime officials
Casino plans on the map for Sargent Ranch
Health officer retires
