Greetings, faithful Red Phone readers. The Red Phone was busy
this week, so perhaps a few folks are back from vacation and eager
to send us their complaints. Welcome back! We hope you had a nice
trip. Now, to work:
Greetings, faithful Red Phone readers. The Red Phone was busy this week, so perhaps a few folks are back from vacation and eager to send us their complaints. Welcome back! We hope you had a nice trip. Now, to work:
How this story happened
Occasionally Red Phone finds itself acting in the role of ombudsman, explaining to concerned readers why a certain story came out the way it did and owning up to mistakes where appropriate.
A caller to the Red Phone took issue with a story we ran last Thursday called “Getting Ready for Sandal Season.” The story was about how warm weather brings people’s feet out of their shoes, and that they need to be taken care of.
The thrust of her complaint was that no Hollister businesses were named in the piece, making the story a “poor choice for Hollister.”
With “shops closing all over,” the caller said, “we need people to shop here. Gilroy doesn’t need the advertising. ”
It’s true that no Hollister businesses were mentioned in the article, although neither were any Gilroy businesses. Two Morgan Hill businesses were named: Charisse’s Salon & Day Spa, with a photo of people’s feet being wrapped and cared for, and Majestic Beauty Supply, where a certain skin care product was available.
A quick survey of four day spas in Hollister – Simply Skin, Heavenly Scent, Pallacio, and Renee Katherine’s Skin & Body Care – did not reveal any special program for foot care (not counting pedicures), although all had various skin care, facial, and massage treatments.
There is, though, an outlet for Majestic Beauty Supply in Hollister, at 1760-D Airline Hwy. (637-2993) – mention of which could have been made.
While we are eager to promote Hollister businesses whenever possible, it was not inappropriate for a story like this to mention a business in another community that performed such a specific kind of service, and for a story that was relevant for the season. We hope that helps.
Chamber
membership drive?
A caller to Red Phone was in high dudgeon over an alleged membership drive held by the Hollister Chamber of Commerce in San Juan Bautista – “especially with all the Main (San Benito) Street businesses seeming like they’re closing.”
A little clarification is in order. Technically speaking, there is no “Hollister Chamber of Commerce.” The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce has a listing under “Hollister Chamber” in the phone book only, according to chamber exec Liz Sparling, because many people from out of town don’t know the name of this county and therefore look under that name for the phone number. But the SBC chamber is not exclusive to Hollister; it has county-wide membership. And it did not hold a membership drive in San Juan recently, according to Sparling.
San Juan, unlike Hollister, does have its own chamber of commerce, and it may have held such a drive, although we were unable to get hold of anyone there to confirm that. But obviously, if they did, it would have been entirely appropriate.
On the Road Again
Red Phone has been on a roll lately with road questions, but we have only partial good news this week.
A caller wants to know why Chapel Road has not been fixed yet. “You can’t even drive down the road without your car falling apart. Other roads get fixed that don’t need fixing.”
We went to our go-to guy, city engineer Matt Kelley, who explained the situation this way.
Kelley said the city is in the third year of a five-year program to fix the streets, and it works like this. In 2003 a database was set up that took into account street survey results. It is programmed to prioritize needed road work based on available funds.
Chapel Street is projected to be repaved during the 2005-06 project year, although Kelley said it will likely be in early 2006 before the work is actually performed.
A classic half-glass-full/empty situation. The news could be worse. At least the caller won’t have to wait until summer 2008, like people living on other streets.
Don’t forget to call the Red Phone at 635-9219 with your problems.
