The proposal to build a casino near Hollister did one good
thing: It highlighted the San Benito County’s desperate need for
local jobs.
The proposal to build a casino near Hollister did one good thing: It highlighted the San Benito County’s desperate need for local jobs.
It’s not surprising that a tribe and its investors would look at our economically-depressed county as easy pickings for a casino. But now that the California Valley Miwok Project is looking elsewhere – it was clear from the beginning the casino was not a good fit for our county – with its purported 2,000 jobs and millions of dollars in infrastructure investments, it’s time for local leaders to treat the root causes that brought it to our doorstep.
San Benito County needs jobs and it needs them soon. We can’t sit on our thumbs waiting for something else to come along; we need to be proactive and bring the jobs to us.
County Supervisor Pat Loe, Sheriff Curtis Hill and Casinos Represent a Poor Solution Chairman Steve Merrell – leaders who galvanized opposition to the casino – should form a committee aimed at stimulating economic development. Such a committee should have a laser-like focus and a short time frame to create concrete proposals to boost the local economy in the short and long term.
We have a few suggestions on where to begin:
n Create an economic inventory of businesses we have and use the information to target compatible industries
n Create an economic incentive program that rewards the Economic Development Corporation for attracting businesses
n Look into economic incentives that will make San Benito County attractive to businesses
We have no doubt that Hill, Loe, Merrell and other leaders had the community’s best interests in mind when they fought off the casino, but now we need them to transform that struggle into a mission to bring jobs and responsible businesses to our county.
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