Say no to SJB development
A recent Pinnacle editorial approved of housing development in
San Juan Bautista.
Believe me, if they develop San Juan Bautista, traffic down
Third Street and the Alameda will be insufferable; San Juan will
lose its distinctive small-town appeal; and the quality of life
will be greatly diminished.
Please understand this statement
– developers don’t care anything for you, your quality of life
or your town. Their only interest is in making money.
Once you have lost that indefinable something that makes San
Juan Bautista so appealing, you can never get it back.
Paul Shanley
Gilroy
Say no to SJB development
A recent Pinnacle editorial approved of housing development in San Juan Bautista.
Believe me, if they develop San Juan Bautista, traffic down Third Street and the Alameda will be insufferable; San Juan will lose its distinctive small-town appeal; and the quality of life will be greatly diminished.
Please understand this statement – developers don’t care anything for you, your quality of life or your town. Their only interest is in making money.
Once you have lost that indefinable something that makes San Juan Bautista so appealing, you can never get it back.
Paul Shanley
Gilroy
Safeway generous to Pantry
Safeway grocery store is to be commended for its generosity to our community with its donation program.
Safeway has its own bakery and donates its day-old bread to Community Pantry daily so that the store always has fresh bread on hand for its customers. When an egg gets cracked in its carton, Safeway donates that carton to the Pantry. Cans of food that get dented are donated because folks won’t buy dented cans. When Safeway has products with torn covers, Safeway donates those items, too. Who benefits from these donations? Community Pantry clients who need a helping hand with grocery supplements are the beneficiaries.
Too bad other grocery stores in Hollister don’t have a similar donation program. Community Pantry needs this help to provide supplemental food to families in need.
Gordon Byers
Hollister
Look at the possibilities
“Where is the water coming from?” asks Jack O’Donnell in an opinion piece in last week’s Pinnacle. Increased purchases from San Luis Dam (if allowed) seem to be the only answer. That source currently supplies our water augmented by ground water. If Hollister moves ahead with proposed developments this would be the only choice, and if allowed, would be costly.
It seems that Hollister finds itself in a big squeeze. City and county government finds itself in deficit. New developments could provide new taxes. But large developments turn historical city charm into decay. Look at the real culprit in plain sight: front-page sidebar rings up like a cash register display: $146,905,581 cost of Iraq War whisked right out of San Benito County to supply war making. Ask any councilperson or supervisor what they could do with that kind of dough.
Let’s look at other possibilities. Hollister could be a little Portland. Residents currently enjoy country living with clean air and clean water. Let’s not spoil that with pollution. Focus rebuilding within city limits. Increase residential density and downtown living. Subsidize green businesses, support agriculture, drive less, walk and bicycle more, keep Gavilan College downtown, promote Pinnacle National Monument and wine country visits, support downtown and local businesses, roll up your sleeves, think, cooperate and work together for all.
Mary Zanger
Hollister
Rules of war don’t apply
With President Obama’s “Campaign against extremism,” which will order 21,000 more military troops into Afghanistan, and vowing to “disrupt, dismantle and defeat” the terrorist Al-Qaida in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, it brings a question to my mind; by what tactics?
These terrorists have proven they have absolutely no regard for the human life and they follow no rules of war. The videos, made public, of torturing and beheadings of innocent people have more than proven that.
If President Obama thinks he can go into Afghanistan and Pakistan and “play nice,” talk gently and follow the rules, in my opinion, he will have a very rude awakening. It seems that this might just be the thought with the talk of the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These people just don’t play fair; never have and never will.
The rules to the Geneva Convention were set in place with good reason and should be followed by those who agreed to those rules. However, not all countries have done so – included Nazi Germany under Hitler’s rule, for one. We all know what happened there. By the way, it really did happen. How dare anyone think otherwise? Now, it is my thought that considering the terrorists; one have no country; two have no flag; three have no uniform. Therefore they would not fall under the rules of the Geneva convention.
Considering how the terrorists fight “their” war, why can’t we get information just anyway we can if it’s going to save the lives of our brave military people? Joining our great military is now volunteer. Think about it. Our troops are there because they believe in the great country of ours, because they want to be there to protect the “homeland.” Are we trying their hands if they cannot fight on a level playing field? What happened to an eye for an eye? How about advising the troops on the ground to take no prisoners? Maybe that would be better because no torture would occur.
Do people really think that these things have not happened during wars since time began? The difference now, in this day of modern technology, is that the bias media thrives on bringing it into our home every single minute they can. We don’t hear of the good that our brave people are doing, only the bad that some people love to stir up.
God bless our troops and God bless America.
Anthony Vallejo
Hollister
Water and population
Last week’s Pinnacle had an opinion piece commenting on our impending water shortage and the need to conserve. We certainly must do so.
But everyone seems to overlook the underlying cause of our increasing water demand. It is our continued population growth. More people just means more demand for more water. Simple.
Here in the U.S., immigration drives our population growth. Worldwide, high birthrates are the cause. In either case, water is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. And water is just one of many problems driven by rising demand. Global warming, pollution, scarcity of food, fuel use, traffic, urban sprawl – rising population is behind nearly every problem facing us. And it cannot go on! Unless we take action disaster will follow.
Fortunately, we can control immigration if we really decide to do so. And ample experience has shown that most families choose to have fewer children, given the knowledge and the means. Thus we can reduce our numbers, and we know how to do so voluntarily, humanely and affordably. But first we MUST face the need and become concerned – very concerned.
John Blake
Hollister
Entrepreneurial spirit survives
When so much around us reported is negative (unemployment rates, home foreclosures, collapse of the financial markets, greed, business closures), it was refreshing to read the positive article Adam Breen wrote about my start-up, CastCoverz!, in The Weekend Pinnacle on March 27.
I received many encouraging words and “You go, girl!” recognition from your readers. Most commented they love the idea of covering casts with colorful, stretchy fabric and wished they had thought of the idea. But, the overwhelming response was how the article affirmed the spirit of the American entrepreneur. The article briefly reflected how small business, even an emergent start-up like CastCoverz!, can have a positive impact (albeit tiny) on a community. For example, Deb Armstrong, who was involved during the research and development phase, and I purposefully sought out local businesses such as Design Line Granger Printing, Helen’s Photography, PostNet, and VillageShopper Web Design. Even Deborah Wood, of Drapoel, lent an arm, a leg or two and a torso. A community that supports entrepreneurs and small businesses thrives, and doesn’t succomb to external forces and stagnation.
Thank you, Adam, for revealing the essence of self-starters: focused, with a passion capable of altering the(ir) future. Thank you, Nick Lovejoy, for capturing J.T. Nolan’s bright face and the fun, functionality and fashion of CastCoverz! Thank you, Jae, for knowing my joy and being the voice to suggest the story.
I echo my supporters’ sentiment: we all look forward to reading the next encouraging SBC start-up story.
Annette d. Giacomazzi
Hollister
