Politics

Perhaps the most recent turn of events in a countywide fracking debate that involves ranchers, politicians and businessmen is that the teachers are taking sides.

The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau is hosting an election forum Monday in San Juan Bautista.

Both sides of the Measure J campaign are reporting signs that were damaged or stolen.

For Victoria Montoya, it wasn't “a natural thing” for her to run for the District 2 city council seat, but others encouraged her to go for it. For Mickie Solorio Luna, a career in city finance and leadership with the League of United Latin American Citizens prepared her for the role.

Two positions on the Gavilan College Board of Trustees are open for San Benito County residents and three candidates have stepped forward to fill the spots.

Residents represented by former District Attorney John Sarsfield’s law firm sued the San Benito Health Care District pursuing district elections to prevent “vote dilution” of the Latino population, according to the document filed this week at the San Benito County Courthouse.

San Juan Bautista has a vacancy for the city clerk position, according to an announcement from the city.

Local resident Larry Rebecchi recalled when Measure J supporters started gathering signatures last summer in their effort to ban hydraulic fracturing and other enhanced forms of extraction practices used by the oil industry to unlock shale deposits, particularly those in the massive Monterey Shale formation.

A top official with the California Department of Conservation addressed the county board Tuesday about enhanced oil recovery practices – in light of Measure J on the coming ballot – while noting about half of state oil production is from extraction methods targeted in the proposed ban but that smaller petroleum companies are slow in reporting required well data.