What were they thinking?
I’d like to start by congratulating the supporters of Measure T
on their success. Thank you for being naive enough to place funds
in the hands of the City Council with nothing but their promise
that something will be done about gang violence in Hollister. I
guess you just forgot all about the other times our illustrious
council has failed to do anything about a problem. But, I can
consul myself with knowing where the money is going. Wait. What?
There’s no plan in place? How did you people ever think this was a
good idea?!
What were they thinking?
I’d like to start by congratulating the supporters of Measure T on their success. Thank you for being naive enough to place funds in the hands of the City Council with nothing but their promise that something will be done about gang violence in Hollister. I guess you just forgot all about the other times our illustrious council has failed to do anything about a problem. But, I can consul myself with knowing where the money is going. Wait. What? There’s no plan in place? How did you people ever think this was a good idea?!
I’m very glad to see they finally did something about that sheriff’s deputy who is suspected of deciding it was a good idea to kidnap and rape a woman. I thought the cops were supposed to lock up the bad guys, not employ them.
Am I the only one who thinks gas prices are out of control? I understand that higher gas prices are a sign of the times, but what’s the deal with gas stations raising prices daily? I don’t see why stations should be raising prices 4 to 5 cents a day when they don’t have to pay for the gas they’re selling on a daily basis. Seems a lot like price gouging to me, but hey, I’m just a guy using his brain, what do I know? I challenge one independent station to undercut their competitors by 50 cents for a single day and see how many more customers they get.
Bob Valenzuela for President!
Michael Castello II
Hollister
Thanks for Measure T support
My heartfelt thanks go out to the Measure T committee and our community for all your support, encouragement and hard work. It is gratifying that the final tally indicates that there is a shared concern for protecting services too vital to be compromised or eliminated.
During the campaign I met many and talked to those who disagreed. I am proud to say that there was an underlying theme of courtesy and consideration that I personally appreciated. This consideration promoted mutual respect for differing views and led to constructive discourse.
I want to conclude by encouraging our citizens to participate in our local legislative process and help make things better. I believe we all have a common goal in wanting a healthy community and interaction and participation can help make this happen.
David Huboi
Hollister
Suck it up and pay the bill
Mark Paxton needs to think a bit more carefully about what is happening at the Hollister Quality Water store, and other local stores that offer purified water. Yes, the local water that they are treating has high total dissolved solids (TDS). 1000 parts per million is in the ball park. And yes, the water they sell is near zero parts per million TDS. So where are those dissolved solids going? Are they burning them? No. Are they trucking them off site? No. They are going DOWN THE SEWER.
 Saying that “he puts no salt in the waste water” is a clever way of avoiding the issue, but one that Mr. Paxton should be smart enough to see through. If the store sells 600 gallons a day at 40 cents a gallon, it can pay an $842 sewer bill in less than four days. So the sewer bill for this store may be entirely appropriate. Somehow, other local stores seem to be coping with their sewer bills.
Robert Gilchrist Huenemann
Hollister
Thanks from VFW
I would like to thank you for running this year’s VFW announcement for the Patriot’s Pen essay contest. We received 55 entries thanks to your help.
Bob Burnham
Hollister
A sad day for NFL
It has become a very sad and sorry day when one of the finest organizations in the history of the NFL cannot field a winning team. The current San Francisco 49ers are that team. Mike Nolan and his coaches can take their places with other losers such as Ken Meyer, Pat McCully and Dennis Erickson. You can add a few players that “Dog” it too Alex Smith, Arnaz Battle and David Jackson, just to name a couple, and there are more.
It’s been a bummer of a year. Mr. and Mrs. York have spent a ton of money on the club. They have also given away a small fortune to local charities, not counting all the work and cost that are going into obtaining a new park for the team.
And what have Mr. Nolan and his “merry men” done? They have lost games that they should have won. And they made a mockery out of the franchise.
Even if our division is weak regardless of what happens, it is time for a move, not only new coaches, but also some new players.
E. L. Morgan Jr.
Hollister
Global warming a scam?
John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel, recently called global warming “the greatest scam in history.”
Coleman’s field of expertise is meteorology. He says meteorology is a science, not a religion. It is not political, not environmental, just a science.
His conclusions are supported somewhat by an Aug. 29 entry quoting Michael Asher in the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works blog. Asher reported most weather scientist believe the climate is warming. However, a majority do not believe man has a significant impact on the weather. Only 1 of 528 entries thought there would be “catastrophic results” due to global warming. That is far from a consensus.
Governor Schwarzenegger should take note before his Greenhouse Gas Program harms California’s economy. History suggests it may be too late. Once government has taken a freedom or liberty from the people, the government will do not give it back.
Marvin L. Jones
Hollister
A different kind of thanks
Thanksgiving is a time for appreciation, reflection and family. I am thankful for the survival of my indigenous ancestors and for all indigenous people throughout this hemisphere who have survived and have given hope to future generations.
Thanksgiving could be thought of as a moment to reflect on the past for the purpose of creating a better future. Understanding the actual truthful history of the Americas versus sanitized history is much more beneficial to this nation. Some people say its time to get passed it. I agree, so let’s stop spreading old myths and lies.
The thought of nearly 50 million people dying, either through violence or disease since the point of contact between Europeans and indigenous people is haunting. I find it repulsive to have a holiday to celebrate the arrival of settlers who stole land from its inhabitants, then proceeded to engage in a systematic process to annihilate people or displace them from their homes.
One scholar, Charles C. Mann, in his book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, argues that while history scholars agree that European settlers employed brutal force and spread disease to conquer indigenous people, that there is still disagreement about how many millions of people lived in this hemisphere and subsequently how many died. Whether disease was spread intentionally or unintentionally is inconsequential because the numbers of deaths were devastatingly huge. Furthermore, according to Mann, settlers brought large and small animals, from livestock to earthworms, which changed the ecological balance of America and consequently undermined the traditional use of land by indigenous people.
All in all, it was not a pleasant experience for indigenous peoples living in the Americas. The myth of the shared banquet between settlers and Indians has been discredited by some scholars. Another, more plausible theory about the first Thanksgiving dinner is that it was a celebration of the defeat of northeastern Indians.
I will continue to celebrate Thanksgiving in my own way, but will not perpetuate a myth that celebrates genocide and massive destruction of indigenous communities. I will continue to honor my ancestors and give thanks to the indigenous survivors who stubbornly resisted annihilation and extermination; and who have kept their traditions alive. And, of course, I will appreciate spending time with my family.
Joe Navarro
Hollister
