The following people, organizations or events deserve either a
thumbs up or thumbs down this week:
THUMBS UP: The federal government recently awarded a $650,000 grant to the San Benito Health Foundation. This wasn’t merely a boost for a local nonprofit organization, though. The much-needed dollars stand to benefit local residents who are uninsured, as we have no other public health delivery system in San Benito County. And the county as a whole stands to gain from this subsidy as well because it will improve the overall area health care system. Better yet, it came in the form of a continuation grant, which means the feds are likely to continue awarding the grant for years to come. The foundation’s influence is broad – providing medical, dental and mental health insurance for 16,000 patients a year – and this money should help an essential service and many people who simply can’t afford the luxuries many of us have.
THUMBS DOWN: Local environmentalists first breathed a cautious sigh of relief when the state approved a 70-year cleanup plan of mercury heading into the San Francisco bay. It meant there was finally a long-due chance the San Carlos Creek would be cleansed of pollution caused by acid runoff from the New Idria Quicksilver Mine shut down in 1974. But an engineer for the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board – the authority overseeing the cleanup – was quick this week to declare that New Idria probably won’t be included in the plan. It means more years likely will pass before the decontamination occurs because – as Supervisor Reb Monaco pointed out – it’s too isolated, too costly and affects too few people for San Benito County officials to make it a priority.
THUMBS UP: Lacking communication from Hollister wastewater officials to contractors interested in building the sewage pond portion of the new wastewater treatment plant led to a flawed bid the first time around, and it took a protesting competitor’s beef to shine light on the problem. But the city received some good news when the second round of bids resulted in an even less expensive low estimate from a new company pursuing the project. The project is now expected to cost $8.6 million – the low bid last time was $50,000 higher – and should be finished on time. And an added bonus, the lower cost means taxpayers should, ultimately, get a personal reprieve in the form of lower sewer rate bills.
THUMBS UP: With school ready to start Aug. 20, San Benito High School’s new administration is in place, led by a familiar face in new Principal Krystal Lomanto. The former teacher and assistant principal has been with the district for 17 years and she graduated a ‘Baler herself. District officials, teachers, students and parents should be thankful. The district just weeks ago faced the prospect of having to hire an interim principal – while three of four assistant principals would have been new faces, too – for the start of school and the indefinite future. Lomanto knows the school and community, the foundation of what’s necessary to fix its problems.
