Politics

A key environmental document for a federal easement program aiming to permanently set aside huge swaths of rangeland notes that San Benito County is excluded from the proposal's preferred alternative.

The San Benito County Grand Jury released its report for 2012-13 that included 11 reports on public agencies.

The Hollister Redevelopment Successor Agency – or city council – has recommend to its oversight board representing local taxing entities that they restructure loans made by the former Hollister RDA to the Honda Powerhouse and Cain/Renz property at 102 San Benito St.

As of late July, the Hollister Redevelopment Agency Successor Agency – or the city – had distributed a total of $12.7 million to taxing entities as a result of the RDA’s dissolution.

As the construction of the new courthouse continues along Fourth Street, with estimated completion by the end of the year, San Benito County supervisors discussed how to allot the space that will be emptied in the existing courthouse.

San Benito County’s general plan update could take up to two years to complete, despite estimates earlier this year that it might be completed this fall.

Hollister resident Aurelio Zuniga was among the speakers at Monday’s public hearing over the proposed spike in water rates over the next five years. Unlike other residents, though, he said he was not there to protest the water rates, which would double over a five-year period to pay for a series of improvement projects.

The Bureau of Land Management will call in a third party to conduct a science and planning review of oil and gas development practices, including hydraulic fracturing, on public lands overseen by the Hollister field office, according to an announcement released Friday.

Staff members from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be making seven stops in California cities to discuss the California Foothills Legacy Area now that the draft environmental assessment is available.

According to the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Side Fund Report, San Benito County owed $3.9 million for public safety unfunded retirement liabilities and the City of Hollister owed $10.8 million for all employee groups as of June 2012.