City Council to Continue Budget Talks Monday
City Council to Continue Budget Talks Monday
Hollister – The City Council will meet Monday, Dec. 18, to continue discussing the city’s options in regards to Hollister’s budget deficit and what cuts will be made.
Time will be put aside for questions and comments from the public who want to share ideas as to what the city should do with its $2.7 million budget deficit.
Currently the city is proposing to eliminate 12 full-time positions, reduce services in every city department and increase fees associated with the recreation department to keep the program afloat.
Some of the more dramatic cuts include the loss of a Fire Department ladder truck/rescue company one third of the time, loss of a Fire Administrative Captain and Fire Marshall, the elimination of the police department’s Juvenile Impact program, and a reduction in holding time for lost and stray animals at the city shelter. Currently lost pets and strays are held for up to 15 days, in the future they will have only eight before they are euthanized.
The cuts should take effect on March 1. The proposal includes a budget reduction of $558,000 for fiscal year 2006-2007 and $1.2 million for subsequent years; as well as an additional $152,000 in revenue from increased fees and sponsorships. The proposed second round of cuts would begin in fiscal year 2008-2009 and amount to $765,000 annually.
Citizens are invited to the Dec. 18 meeting at 6:30 at City Hall to share their views and make suggestions.
Wig-wearing Teen Arrested in Local Purse Snatching
Hollister – The Hollister Police Department arrested an incognito 15-year-old boy on suspicion of stealing a woman’s purse outside the Target store Tuesday evening.
The boy, who was wearing a blue U.S. Postal Service uniform and a brown woman’s wig, snatched the purse from a woman’s cart outside of Target at 5:33pm Wednesday, said Officer Rosie Betanio, a police spokeswoman.
The boy was detained by Target employees and others in the parking lot, Betanio said. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of theft and wearing a mask while committing a crime, Betanio said.
The purse snatcher’s use of a wig and government uniform made for strange circumstances, Betanio said.
“Usually the mask comes into play when they are doing a convenience store robbery,” Betanio said. “This one you don’t see too often.”
Ag Against Hunger Gets $50k Grant from Kraft
Salinas – Ag Against Hunger has received a $50,000 grant from Kraft Foods to be used for cooler costs in 2006 and 2007.
The grant was awarded as part of Kraft’s 2006 Community Nutrition Program.
In September, Ag Against Hunger began using coolers in Salinas after many years of using cooler space donated or subsidized by the agriculture industry.
“This grant from Kraft Foods gives Ag Against Hunger the resources it needs to become more self-sufficient during this transition and affords our staff and board an opportunity to focus on finding additional produce donors so that more food can be made available to our local food banks,” said Joe Pezzini, president of the Ag Against Hunger board.
AG Against Hunger is a non-profit agency providing fresh donated produce to food banks in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties. Since 1990, area growers and shippers have donated over 136 million pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to help feed the hungry.
Central Coast Expecting 15-foot Waves this Week
Hollister – A series of intense storm systems is expected to continue to generate large surf along the California coast through the weekend and into next week.
Surf of this magnitude can produce conditions that are deceiving and dangerous, according to Caifornia State Parks officials, who urge beach visitors to stay a safe distance from the waterline. Â
Waves of up to 15 feet are expected along west-facing beaches on the central California coastline through Monday.
“The extreme danger here is that park visitors may be fooled into thinking the waterline is safer than it is due to long lulls between sets of waves,” said Alex Peabody, aquatic safety specialist with California State Parks. Â
He cautioned coastal visitors to avoid exposed beach and rock areas close to the surf line. These areas can seem safe from most breaking waves, Peabody said, but the pattern of breaking waves produces a periodic sequence of large, very strong surges that can wash over rocks and beaches for great distances and take visitors by surprise.
Staff reports.
