Bob’s a local treasure
Whenever I get the weekly Pinnacle, the first thing I read is
Bob Valenzuela’s column.
 If I read nothing else, I read Bob. I can’t believe this
guy:Â he’s crotchety, grouchy, sarcastic and has a terrible sense of
humor. I love the guy! He’s my kind of people.
 His column this week was one of the funniest yet. I laughed
throughout it, from his O.J. theory (a Cuban caddy or Bill Murray
must be the real perpetrator) to Jane Russell
”
shaking her tambourines and driving Oscar Wilde.
”
 You tell ol’ Bob for me that his efforts are much
appreciated. Because of him I even read some more of the paper and
I must tell you, it’s getting better all the time. It makes me glad
I live here.
Gary Waltrip
Hollister
Bob’s a local treasure
Whenever I get the weekly Pinnacle, the first thing I read is Bob Valenzuela’s column. If I read nothing else, I read Bob. I can’t believe this guy: he’s crotchety, grouchy, sarcastic and has a terrible sense of humor. I love the guy! He’s my kind of people.
His column this week was one of the funniest yet. I laughed throughout it, from his O.J. theory (a Cuban caddy or Bill Murray must be the real perpetrator) to Jane Russell “shaking her tambourines and driving Oscar Wilde.”
You tell ol’ Bob for me that his efforts are much appreciated. Because of him I even read some more of the paper and I must tell you, it’s getting better all the time. It makes me glad I live here.
Gary Waltrip
Hollister
Measure T: a worthwhile investment
Looking down from Vista Park Hill, I try to find the rooftop of Saint Luke’s Church were my daughter Carmen was baptized. I feel very fortunate to have been part of her growing up experience in our community. I watched her learn to swim in the city’s youth aquatics program and perform with the Rainbow Theater at Veterans Hall. I fondly remember the countless hours we spent at playgrounds of R.O. Hardin School and Dunne Park where I taught her to ride her bicycle. Vista Park is the perfect place to reflect on those experiences.
When I think about youth and parks, I also look back when I worked as a Recreation Leader when I attended San Jose State University. I coached a flag football team and taught art and crafts to kids of all ages. We had fun sketching, painting, and even making team uniforms out of t-shirts. Many kids came from low income families with both parents holding down jobs. These programs fulfilled a vital need in that they provided opportunities for kids to express themselves and interact with each other under adult supervision. This experience had a very positive effect on my life and I believe the kids’ lives as well.
The value of sustaining youth programs along with maintaining our parks are reasons sufficient for me to whole heartedly support Measure T. I do not believe we can under emphasize the importance of youth programs. Our kids deserve and need these services and facilities. I strongly urge that these programs not be compromised and remain affordable for all families. Unfortunately, without Measure T revenue, I expect youth programs provided by our City Parks and Recreation Department, to rank high on the cut list when compared to other essential services.
We depend on our children as being future contributors to a healthy community. Adequate programs and facilities can help guide them on this journey. We are too far along within the legislative process and our needs are too great to consider other options. Measure T is the solution for protecting and sustaining the programs and facilities that shape the future of our community the future that is our children.
David Huboi
Hollister
Dip me in language
John Blake’s Sept. 14 letter was absolutely correct: Immersion is the way to learn a foreign language fluently. Myself, I have done so three times; and as soon as the Pig lightens up, I’ll be in Iran for Round Four. It is very clear from Joe Navarro’s rantings that his motives are purely political (or just pure ignorance).
Alan Viarengo
Gilroy
Let’s open access to all
I read a recent Free Lance story that stated the Hollister Farmer’s Market was closing earlier than expected. The weekly Pinnacle ran a similar story a few weeks previously. Both were lamenting the declining number of customers attending the local Farmer’s Market and speculated at reasons why the customer base was declining despite several attempts by the organizers to increase business. The most logical culprit in the dwindling crowd issue seemed to be commuting –often a seeming scapegoat in declining Hollister business.
My husband and I attended many of the weekly Farmer’s Markets – when we were commuting – and I was looking forward to being able to go even more often when we retired. However, we are now unable to attend the Farmer’s Market in its current location for the same reason that I suspect many local people do not/cannot attend. Both my husband and I have mobility impairments. Though our mobility issues are different, they make it difficult or impossible for either of us to maneuver safely on grass, or any soft surface, especially while carrying items, such as bags of produce. I know there are many residents who avoid the Farmer’s Market for the same reason. Balance problems often plague people as they get older, so walking on grass is difficult for many of our older residents as well. Even my friends without mobility issues have told me that the grass on which the Farmer’s Market is held is ill cared for with many ruts and holes, which make it difficult to walk. If the Farmer’s Market was moved back to a street, or on a hard, flat surface somewhere, I suspect more people would attend – I know I would. The most popular Farmer’s Markets that I can think of in the general area are held on the streets or in large parking lots.
Hollister often seems unaware of ADA issues. While I applaud the recent efforts to convert all the sidewalks to have ramps for wheelchair access, not all handicapped persons are wheelchair-bound. Some of the events in the area are unmindful of mobility impairment issues. Two others that come to mind at this time are the Kinship Center Wine Tasting event – a worthwhile charity event that I attended many times in the past. It has changed location several times over the years and has settled on the current lovely setting – on grass!! And another fun event that has gained attention for our area is the Renaissance Fair, which just started its annual run at Casa de Fruta. I attended the Renaissance Fair many, many times when it was held at Blackpoint. While it was on hard, and sometimes uneven, dirt at that location, it was fairly level. I have never attended the Renaissance Fair at Casa de Fruta, but have been told by my able-bodied friends, and one relative in a power chair, that the hill one must climb to leave the Fair is brutal. My relative in a power chair still had to be assisted with people pushing her because the hill was too steep for her chair to climb by itself. When I telephoned the Renaissance Fair organizers the first year, I was told there were no handicapped provisions at the Hollister location.
Many, though certainly not all, of the local restaurants are difficult for someone in a power chair to get in. There are either steps, curbs without wheelchair access, or narrow entrances that make it so unappealing to those in a chair that they do not attempt to go. There are many places with maneuverable steps, but no handrails, which make it difficult or unsafe for some local residents to climb.
It is a bit surprising, and somewhat disappointing, to me that these issues that affect a great many local residents are rarely recognized.
Cheryl Gray
Hollister
Say no to a tax boondoggle
Measure T is a huge $20 million, 5-year, sales tax increase that is too big and runs too long to be an emergency tax; it’s really a “business as usual” tax applied to a city in terrible economic condition. Doing business as usual is exactly how we ended up in this mess. Why should we keep doing the same thing and expect that the outcome will change? Â
 What Hollister needs is a much smaller tax while the city energetically attacks the structural budget and economic problems. A 0.5 percent sales tax increase for three years that costs $6 million, not the $20 million, five year tax of Measure T, should do the trick. However, to get the lower tax rate, the right rate, you must first vote NO on Measure T.
 The failure of the city to deal effectively with reducing the cost of government services and the lack of economic development has made a small emergency tax increase necessary, but the city is asking for much more than it needs. A bailout the size of Measure T will just encourage the city to continue giving reform and restructuring a low priority.
 If the city were careful, $6 million would be enough to cover the annual shortages and add critical services for three years. Fixes are long overdue, without them, tax increases will have to go on for at decades and probably forever.
 Measure T runs for five years; that’s four years after the sewer plant is finished and four-and-a-half years after the Hwy. 25 bypass opens. Neither the sewer plant, nor the Hwy. 25 bypass, nor housing developments are going to rescue the city’s budget, only cost control can do it.
 Hollister’s annual budget shortage is $1.4 million, but Measure T increases taxes $4 million a year. Boosting the sales tax from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent is a whopping 13.7 percent increase in the tax rate. Actually, 77 percent of California’s localities have tax rates that are lower than 8.25 percent. Measure T leaves an excess of $13 million for the council to spend on anything they like, that’s simply too much.
 The real cost of Measure T is much more than $20 million. Due to other taxes, taxpayers must earn $26 million to break even.  On average, 10,000 families will have to earn $520 more in gross pay every year to pay that tax. Yes, that’s “only pennies a day,” but it will be on top of all those other pennies a day like your sewer bill, and pennies add up to dollars, a concept that does not sink in with everyone.
 We are hoping for reductions in our sewer bills in less than three years, but that may not happen because of the housing crunch. If Measure T passes, we could still be facing the high sewer fees plus the increased sales taxes for many years. Oh by the way, a potential huge school bond issue is lurking just around the corner.
 We cannot tax our way to prosperity. In 2005, the per capita personal income in San Benito County was only $30,862, that is $20,000 less than Santa Clara County, and we are falling further behind. The 2004-2005 personal income growth rate was only 1.6 percent for San Benito County, less than core inflation and less than half of the nearby counties. Our county is number 21 of 58 in population, but only number 40 in total personal income. Our Honorable Mayor is a Fire Captain in Santa Clara County because that’s where the big money is, but the council is asking Hollister residents to pay Santa Clara County tax rates on only a fraction of that income.
 The city is selling our future prosperity for taxes today. We have a $200 million actuarial debt with the state retirement agency. That bill will come due to our children and grandchildren; we should not be running it up. The city has cut services, but layoffs do not cut the cost of government. That’s not cost control and it just proves my point. We are using a larger and larger percentage of our limited resources for fewer and fewer services; that cannot continue.
 Measure T’s Independent Citizens’ Committee is only a fig leaf for the council; the committee has no power and all the funds are mixed. They can only report where the General Fund money went after it was spent. That information is already available to the public by law – just ask for it.
 The city should make significant progress in three years if they get going and get serious. While they are working on it, the voters should limit the sales tax increase to 0.5 percent (to 7.75 percent) for three years. That will generate $2 million a year, $6 million total. It will take care of the annual deficits and still provide an extra $600,000 a year to restore some critical city services.
 Some will argue that a NO vote would waste $50,000 for another election. I must point out that we already had one NO vote on the Measure T tax rate, but the city just came back with the exact same failed proposal. Strangely, they are not at all worried about the cost of elections.
 Vote NO November 6 on Measure T and demand that your council members support a sensible 0.5 percent sales tax increase for three years instead. You will not be wasting $50,000; you will actually be saving $14 million from the cost of the Measure T. As a bonus, this lower tax rate and shorter period might even get some action by the city to keep costs down, budget within their means, and develop a sustainable economic future for Hollister; now that would be a real bargain.
Marty Richman
Hollister
