Letters to the editor

Courthouse site matters
Editor’s note: Martin G. Richman submitted this letter this week
to the Judicial Council of California and asked that it be
reprinted in this space.
Honorable Members and Staff,
Thank you for taking the time to visit San Benito County. We are
in dire need of the proposed new San Benito County Courthouse and
we hope that your visit will help satisfy that need in the best
possible manner. Due to a previous commitment, I cannot attend your
scheduled meeting; therefore, I’m writing to express my views on
this subject.
The city of Hollister is the county seat and approximately 65
percent of the county’s population lives within the city’s limits.
Although Hollister’s median income is significantly lower than
nearby costal counties, the citizens have worked hard to fulfill
their community responsibilities. Hollister has funded a new $120
million wastewater treatment plant to support many years of future
growth. In other words, the city’s citizens have invested in the
city’s future at great personal cost.
I will not cover the obvious economic benefits of having the
courthouse in the downtown area or the undesirability of a
courthouse location that will encourage large parking lots that
fill and empty several times a day as if they were tidal basins,
others can address both those issues well. However, I do want to
bring another, more important topic, to your attention. That topic
is the critical importance of physically integrating the justice
system into the community.
The justice system has become a key element in the daily lives
of many Californians. Unfortunately, it is often viewed as remote,
complex and arbitrary. To counter this I believe it is vital for
the justice system to be as close as possible to the community it
serves and not be perceived as a remote
”
Palace of Justice.
”
One way to do that is to locate the courthouse in the heart of
the downtown area where ordinary citizens will be encouraged to
visit the courts and see for themselves how the system works in an
open, free and fair society.
Locating the court close to the county jail gives several false
and undesirable impressions; the first it that case outcomes are
predetermined, the second is that court is part of the penal system
and the third is that the courts only do criminal justice. Courts
should be seen by their true function, justice. A respectful, but
necessary, physical separation from the jail will aid in that
essential goal.
Finally and critically, the courts and the entire justice system
need the trust and support of the people they serve. There is no
better way to get that trust and support than to be easily
accessible in the heart of the community. For that purpose even a
few miles from the transportation and commercial hub and the
community’s central meeting ground, makes a critical
difference.
I understand that delaying and/or changing your selection to
allow additional time to determine the suitability of the old
Fremont School site involves some schedule and related financial
risk, but I still encourage you to do so. The realities are that
anyone trying to build anything in the state of California faces
the same potential scheduling and cost problems on a daily basis.
It would be unfortunate if the threat of financial penalties forced
the community to settle for an alternate court site that lacks the
one crucial element for an effective justice system, not pa
rking spaces, but trust as part of community life.
Martin G. Richman
Hollister
Courthouse site matters

Editor’s note: Martin G. Richman submitted this letter this week to the Judicial Council of California and asked that it be reprinted in this space.

Honorable Members and Staff,

Thank you for taking the time to visit San Benito County. We are in dire need of the proposed new San Benito County Courthouse and we hope that your visit will help satisfy that need in the best possible manner. Due to a previous commitment, I cannot attend your scheduled meeting; therefore, I’m writing to express my views on this subject.

  The city of Hollister is the county seat and approximately 65 percent of the county’s population lives within the city’s limits. Although Hollister’s median income is significantly lower than nearby costal counties, the citizens have worked hard to fulfill their community responsibilities. Hollister has funded a new $120 million wastewater treatment plant to support many years of future growth. In other words, the city’s citizens have invested in the city’s future at great personal cost.

  I will not cover the obvious economic benefits of having the courthouse in the downtown area or the undesirability of a courthouse location that will encourage large parking lots that fill and empty several times a day as if they were tidal basins, others can address both those issues well. However, I do want to bring another, more important topic, to your attention. That topic is the critical importance of physically integrating the justice system into the community.

The justice system has become a key element in the daily lives of many Californians. Unfortunately, it is often viewed as remote, complex and arbitrary. To counter this I believe it is vital for the justice system to be as close as possible to the community it serves and not be perceived as a remote “Palace of Justice.” One way to do that is to locate the courthouse in the heart of the downtown area where ordinary citizens will be encouraged to visit the courts and see for themselves how the system works in an open, free and fair society.         

  Locating the court close to the county jail gives several false and undesirable impressions; the first it that case outcomes are predetermined, the second is that court is part of the penal system and the third is that the courts only do criminal justice. Courts should be seen by their true function, justice. A respectful, but necessary, physical separation from the jail will aid in that essential goal.

  Finally and critically, the courts and the entire justice system need the trust and support of the people they serve. There is no better way to get that trust and support than to be easily accessible in the heart of the community. For that purpose even a few miles from the transportation and commercial hub and the community’s central meeting ground, makes a critical difference.

  I understand that delaying and/or changing your selection to allow additional time to determine the suitability of the old Fremont School site involves some schedule and related financial risk, but I still encourage you to do so. The realities are that anyone trying to build anything in the state of California faces the same potential scheduling and cost problems on a daily basis. It would be unfortunate if the threat of financial penalties forced the community to settle for an alternate court site that lacks the one crucial element for an effective justice system, not parking spaces, but trust as part of community life.

Martin G. Richman

Hollister

A list of local disgraces

Bette Grace’s letter to the editor titled “Add it up: airport site works” sure adds it up for her and not the taxpayer. I, too, had some wisdom imparted from my elders. They said “some may say never look a gift horse in the mouth, but if you do and it’s the government, watch you wallet.”

Of course the airport site adds up for Bette, she doesn’t have to wait for surrounding development, perhaps some at her expense to generate revenue. She simply has to wait for the government to make her glass (pockets) more than half full. What a disgrace.

The scenario she laid out for the benefit to taxpayers is misleading. The jobs she detailed are low wage jobs and do nothing to bring high wage jobs to Hollister and the surrounding area, thereby guaranteeing further deficit spending. Fees will be only a temporary boost and are constantly used to mislead the public that public finances are in order. Most studies show that this type of spending rarely if ever adds to the public coffers. Agriculture and higher tech business routinely add to the coffers, as these are products that are exportable. Buying lunch while running paperwork errands certainly doesn’t, and, it increases dependence on restaurant revenues, which historically, is an industry with high turnover, witness DiMaggio’s and The Vault.

On a different note, if we want to have our money well spent, we should refuse the bribe money that goes along with the No Child Left Bbehind Act. That way, we can educate our kids how we see fit, and not George Bush and Ted Kennedy. Of course this includes kids learning English with all the help they need at the earliest possible age. Not learning English is not an option. If the state refused federal money for the No Child Left Behind Act, I would actually be in favor of a tax increase of some sort to make up for this, which I know, is a shock to some.

On a further different note, several properties are up for subdivisions. Some of these parcels are zoned for five-acre development, including the property being considered for the college. Even though none of the candidates running are from my district, I would still like to know if they will approve of changing the zoning to a higher density. This will again affect the public coffers, as more housing with still NO business development will only insure higher taxes in the form of bond issues that will show up on property taxes and voted on by non-property owners. At least one candidate will directly benefit from a higher density, as it will ensure a higher base of houses to churn to make the mandatory 6 percent fee, that historically has been shown to be unassailable to reduce, as real estate agents refuse to allow competition in that area.

The more houses we build, the more medicine we take, and 90 percent of them pass through our systems, and end up in the ground water. It’s amazing that pharmaceuticals in ground water is more controversial than building houses, especially houses on quarter-acre lots, which mandates occupants at a certain income level, for which there are no local jobs, and exacerbates the commuting and supposed global warming problems. Typical government, wanting it both ways, and typical public, foisting our problems on our children. Only this time, there won’t be enough Medicare dollars to put in the groundwater.

Mark Dickson

Hollister

Pinnacle part of

the dog problem

I was both glad of the “When Animals Attack” article, and yet saddened by it.

I knew as soon as I saw the title, it was going to be about a pit bull – of which I was right.

What I was expecting – a bashing of the breed – didn’t happen, fortunately.

It included a lot of informative training and handling for dog owners – but I fear that those that really need this article aren’t the ones that read the Pinnacle.

I am writing this letter on behalf of Cash, my American Pit Bull Terrier.

A “pit bull” is not a breed, but a stereotypical title given to dogs of the bully breeds, such as American pit bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, bulldogs and even boxers, due to their muscular frame and wide, square heads.

Some people even mistake mastiffs and Labradors for “pit bulls,” and using the label Pit Bull as a net for any breed that may fall into that category is detrimental to ALL dogs.

But what irks me the most is that my APBT Cash, who is a good and civil dog, will now have even MORE problems socializing.

The article advocates introducing and socializing your dog to people and other dogs. 

How am I supposed to keep him socialized when I can’t even get him NEAR people or other dogs? 

Should I just say “My dog isn’t the one that attacked Dakota!” as they run?

This article only adds fuel to the pit bull fire, and no proper way to extinguish it.

As they say, if you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

And the Pinnacle has now become part of the problem.

Kelli Doyle

Hollister

Thanks for the housekeeping

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Hollister Downtown Association, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to the volunteers and businesses who helped with our annual Spring Clean up of Downtown Hollister.

Specifically, I would like to thank event coordinator, Tiffany Jackson, and volunteers Darick Nordstrom, Rocky Strong, Aaron Hill, Nathan Cromar, Dillon Robertson, Blake Cromar, Shane Lang, Miles Franklin, Madison Wahl, Carli Chatham, Afton Meyer, Taylor Lawrence, Katy Knake, Amanda Hill, Steven Shattuck, Megan Warner, Anna Dickson, T iffany Hill, Kelsi Meyer, Ronnie Cromar, Tim Valenzuela, Bryan Alcorn, Robert Henderson, David Hawks, Melinda Lawrence, Mark Lawrence, Sherry Adams, Jim Adams, Brandon Adams, Kendi Haan, Sara Schatmeier, Lori Lindgren, Lissette Knight, Lauralee Foote, Gary Cameron, Leif Nordstrom, Tammy Scott, Michelle Scott, Julia Scott, Stefani Meyer, Caroline Anderson, Alyssa Russell, Chris Russell, Tristan Russell, Brent Hawks, Doug Harper, Nira Whiteside, Alison Whiteside, Hayley Barker, Marissa Whiteside, Marilyn Hill, Wade Wilson, Amanda Wilson, Noah Wilson, Olivia Wilson, Rori Wilson, Debbie Schatmeier, Ken Farrier, Johnson Merrell, Jeanne Merrell, Steve Merrell, Daniel Dunn, Carson Nichols, Lisa Freund, Scotty Freund, Heidi Freund, Jayme Pulliam, Samantha Pulliam, Deborah Armstrong and Audrey Armstrong for their time and energy.

These volunteers collectively logged about 150 hours in time with their efforts to make our downtown look great.

Many thanks also to The Elegant Touch, DMB- El Rancho San Benito, Nor Cal Waste, Nants Foley and Johnnie’s Bar & Grill for their contributions to this effort.

Brenda Weatherly,

executive director,

Hollister Downtown Association