Letters to the Editor

Sun City saved Lincoln
I was raised in the Sacramento area and remember when Lincoln
was a speed trap on your way to Marysville, a no-growth area much
like San Benito County. Sun City has made Lincoln a great area to
live.
The area has come alive and no longer looks like a town with no
hope.
Brad Pike is the only one on our city council who understands
what a great chance this is for Hollister to have some planned
growth.
Please vote yes on S.
John Lemos
Hollister
Sun City saved Lincoln

I was raised in the Sacramento area and remember when Lincoln was a speed trap on your way to Marysville, a no-growth area much like San Benito County. Sun City has made Lincoln a great area to live.

The area has come alive and no longer looks like a town with no hope.

Brad Pike is the only one on our city council who understands what a great chance this is for Hollister to have some planned growth.

Please vote yes on S.

John Lemos

Hollister

Umbrage at Sun City criticism

While the author of Notebook (9-22-06) warns of slick ads for the Sun City Hollister project, he neglects to mention his own slick verbiage against the project. It is insulting to attribute Mr. Foley’s endorsement to his wife’s occupation, as if Mr. Foley could not make up his own mind, and whether Sheriff Hill is not in or out of uniform (maybe he should have stripped for the photo), he certainly has the right to his own opinion. His uniform does not own him.

And, yes, while my name is Gimelli, my opinions are my own. Short-sighted antigrowth detractors can only focus on the negative impacts of growth, but reasonable people can see that there are also positive impacts as well. An active senior population already exists in our community, and while I’m not old enough to become a Sun City Hollister resident, I look forward to the day I can live in a well-planned, aesthetically-pleasing and safe neighborhood, while contributing to my community, my own town and my family.

Hollister deserves more than defeatist attitudes and scare tactics – we deserve hope and an end to moratorium-induced inflated real estate prices; death begins with stagnation and inaction, but progress begins with an open mind and a willingness to look forward with optimism.

Now that’s slick!

Renee Gimelli

Hollister

Your courtesy is misdirected

This message is addressed to the very courteous woman in the brand new bronze/gold color Nissan Altima (from Gilroy Nissan) that was driving south on Hwy. 101 and exited Hwy. 25 on Monday afternoon. I applaud your notion of courtesy, because there is just not enough of it in the world we live in today, especially anywhere on Hwy. 25.

However, I must point out that when you stopped before the left hand turn on to eastbound 25 to allow westbound  25 entering southbound 101, you are now endangering the lives of many of us behind you that are lined up on the shoulder of southbound 101 waiting to enter on to eastbound  25.  I’m sure you are aware that there is no stop sign at this intersection for eastbound 25 traffic?  If you not aware of the non-existent stop sign or any other traffic control device for this direction of travel, maybe you should know why the cars behind you are blowing their horns at you.

Stopping for vehicles making a left from westbound 25 on to southbound 101 is: 

1.    Dangerous

2.    Possibly illegal 

3.    Could be setting you up civil action for causing an accident on southbound 101.

I believe the reason there is no traffic control at this intersection is because of this problem.  Until Caltrans makes major changes to this intersection, vehicles traveling west on 25 to southbound 101 must wait for traffic entering eastbound 25 to clear. It’s not that I’m not sympathetic to traffic trying to get on southbound 101 because I am, and I know how frustrating it can be waiting for traffic to clear so you can make this turn but they have a stop sign and the other direction does not so they must wait. It is just the way it is, so this is one place where courtesy is dangerous.

Please do not stop when you exit southbound 101 entering eastbound Hwy. 25.   Thank you!  

Richard Schuppe 

Hollister    

It’s for the kids

Property tax revenues have increased from 11% of $16 million in 1989-1990 to $58 million in 2004-2005.  if we build another 2000 homes, perhaps SBC will generate another $10 million. Again 89 percent goes to the state.  With another $1 million (50 percent goes to schools) in the till to”help children,” this is still insufficient to cover the budget for schools.

Perhaps the politicians in SBC could stop suing each other and sue, beg, demand California for a higher percentage of property tax revenues rather than trying to solve a $2-3 million budget shortfall by encouraging growth of senior citizen homes, since they have no children who will be going to school soon, but will be generating tax revenue. Additionally, if we build more homes with kids in them, we will be in even more debt.

Face it, Hollister and San Benito has done more than their fair share of growth for the state than ANY other county, yet we beg the state for everything.  We beg them not to fine us for our sewage woes, we beg them to get involved in our politics, all the while we are going bankrupt.  How do we get the state to give us our fair share for our kids?

I don’t know, but perhaps the greatest benefactor of increasing the number of homes in SBC, is the author of the last section in the paper.  But it’s for the kids, right? Isn’t every election issue this year?

Perhaps a symbolic, and yes economic gesture would be to reduce the salary of school superintendents from $129,753 per annum to something more reasonable like $80,000 and remove the allowance for cars.  Do this across the board. After all, it’s for the kids, right?

Mark C. Dickson

Palo Alto

Don’t pin it on Bush

Frank Crosby has every right to his opinion (Bush: a terrorist’s best friend), but to write that President Bush permitted terrorists to fly airliners into the World Trade Center on 9/11, is beyond ludicrous. I don’t know where Crosby was on 9/11, but I happened to be watching television that morning and saw the reports happening live after the first plane hit. As I watched, the second plane crashed into the other building and even though the broadcasters were wondering what just happened before their eyes, I saw the plane fly into the building and recognized it for what it was. The entire event happened in minutes. Just when should the president have ordered the military to start shooting down planes?

Nothing like 9/11 had happened to this country since Dec. 7, 1941. It makes as much sense to say President Bush was somehow behind 9/11 as it is for conspiracy nuts to say President Roosevelt was behind the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

John Chadwell

Hollister

Thanks to local artists, volunteers

For the last 5 years, I have been the chairman of the Fine Arts Department at the San Benito County Fair and have truly enjoyed seeing the  artwork that comes in and meeting all the artist. There is so much talent in this county from the young and young at heart.

We have had many positive changes and it’s only getting better every  year. I appreciate the positive comments and always welcome new ideas. A big thank you to all the wonderful artists who enter every year and all the new artists to our fair. Without your entries there wouldn’t be a showing.

I would also like to thank all my wonderful volunteers for your constant and loyal help. I truly appreciate you all!  Thanks go to: Juanita Ramirez, Lupe Ortiz, John Amaya, Lawrence Garcia, Mikael Labuguen, Christine Albright and Aaron Cardenas. Without you, it would be an impossible task.

I encourage all students at SBHS and Anzar High School and all other schools in San Benito to participate in the fair in any category next year. You do not need a teacher to enter in the fair. This is a community event for ALL to enter and enjoy. If you want to get on the mailing list to receive a premium book for 2007, just call the fair office at 628-3421 and be ready to enter your artwork or ceramics or woodwork or whatever else you’re into next year.

I hope everyone had a great time at the fair this year and thanks to everyone who participated.

See you next year!

Rose Ortiz

SBHS fine arts chairperson