Guest View

I have been thinking a lot lately about measure Q and the importance of slowing growth, protecting both open space and the environment as well as preserving agriculture in our region. I have had the incredible opportunity, over my lifetime, to spend a considerable...

It’s often said the City of Hollister and San Benito County have a history of not getting along. We want to share a shining example of the city and county working together to enhance economic development opportunities while avoiding sprawl in our community.  In early...

San Benito County supervisors have tackled many profound challenges in the past year and a half since I joined the board with other first-term colleagues.  Some of those immense undertakings include boldly responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, assisting businesses and nonprofits through the pandemic with...

California’s severe drought continues, and mandatory water conservation measures are in place. These climate conditions, along with our limited long-term water supplies, mean it is in our best interest to use water as efficiently as possible. Not just when we’re in drought, but ALWAYS! On...

As I noted at the San Benito County Board meeting June 14, the discussion about San Justo Reservoir’s longstanding closure has been one of the worst broken records imaginable for local residents.  That stale melody on repeat among political entities—ranging from the county to Congress—has...

The Western United States is experiencing one of the most extensive and intense droughts on record. January through April were the driest first four months in California’s recorded history, the state’s largest reservoirs are at critically low storage levels, and the state’s snowpack level...

May is Water Awareness Month. It’s also the start of our irrigation season when water use starts to go up dramatically. Over 60% of residential water use is for landscape purposes in the summer.   This is especially important since we are in the grips of...

Special interests are at it again in San Benito County. That said, I want to address the ambiguous signs that showed up throughout the county this past week with my name on them and phrases like Recall, Censure, Unethical and Shameful on them. To be clear,...

Winter storms brought significant snowfall to the Sierra Nevada and other California mountains in December. Snowpack is critical for the state’s spring water outlook because when the snow melts it runs downhill into streams that fill reservoirs that hold about 30% of the state’s...

California’s drought is not over despite a bounty of snowfall and rain over the past month: California’s snowpack—a critical source of water—is 150% of average for early January. But it’s not enough to bring an end to the severe drought and water shortages. California still needs about another...