News

California is in the middle of a severe fire season that started early, authorities say.

Supervisors approved reinstating an assistant county administrative officer July 23, with Ray Espinosa set to fill the position when a new county administrative officer is hired. Espinosa has been serving as interim CAO for 10 months.

Garden Railroad Tour: Garden railroaders in the South Santa Clara Valley and Santa Cruz areas will open their homes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 17. Visitors are asked to bring a donation of nonperishable food (or cash, checks or gift cards for Nob Hill or Safeway). Details: (408) 683-4537.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development approved a grant for $133,000 for the San Benito County Homeless Coalition from its emergency solutions grant program.

A party with Tommy Bahama shirts, leis and dancing might sound like a luau straight out of Waikiki, Hawaii, however the festivities were closer to home at the Gilroy Senior Center where members of South County’s disabled community boogied at their annual Adaptive Learning Luau.

The 27th annual Downtown Hollister Street Festival and Car Show was held July 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in downtown Hollister. The Hollister Downtown Association once again offered a slice of free watermelon to guests during the summer festival, with food vendors and local restaurants open during the event. The festival featured the annual car show, along with musical entertainment on two stages. This year, a beer and wine garden was included for the first time. The local American Legion used the event for an annual membership, with the American Legion Auxiliary raffling off a prize gift basket that was full of car cleaning supplies. Many families came out to get a look at classic cars that ranged from pre-1970 Volkswagen beetles to a 1946 Ford Sedan.

After delaying approval of rates for San Benito County’s mosquito abatement district assessment fee July 9, supervisors approved an 8.1 percent increase to bring the assessment to $10.90 per parcel.

San Benito County supervisors expressed their initial concerns about two petitions put forth by a private citizen that could potentially put ballot initiatives on the primary election next June to allow the sale of medical marijuana in the county and create tax revenue from such sales.

BIRTH: Isaac Anthony Aleman: Issac Anthony Aleman was born July 7, 2013 at Saint Louise Regional Hospital to Alicia Kathryn and Marvin Franco Aleman of Gilroy. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces.

County seeks Parks and Rec champions