Letters

The Hollister City Council has scheduled Sept. 19 for a decision on Hollister’s medical marijuana ordinance, but acting before the upcoming election results doesn’t make sense. The primary reason for waiting is to get the Nov. 8 local vote view on Proposition 64, the closely related proposal for recreational marijuana.

Poor transportation planning and lack of coordination, especially by San Benito County, will soon overwhelm a critical portion of the local road network.

But the Hollister City Council must take a hard look at putting in restrictions to bar dispensaries from downtown, other areas where children congregate.

As a result of the strong and passionate voices we have heard from the community, I would like to provide you with more insight on how we got to where we are today in planning for a new Philanthropic Center for San Benito County, a lasting home for the Community Foundation, as well as a hub for charitable collaboration—convening diverse voices to address local issues and opportunities.

Inspirational nurses providing quality healthcare transforms a building into a hospital. This metamorphosis portrays the exact vision of our founding father, T. S. Hawkins. His astounding gift compensated his broken heart by providing unimagined compassion to our small community. The untimely death of his darling granddaughter who had no hospital care moved him to unknown generosity. She was his Shirley Temple. She loved helping the sick and the poor. This observation can be confirmed by looking at her sweet photo hanging next to Madelyn’s Gifts as the aroma of food reaches from the “Little Sunshine café”. Her grandfather nick named this precious sparkle of a child, “Little Sunshine”.

With the coming of summer, families of sixth-graders are looking forward to a fun-filled season that also includes the mandatory tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap) vaccination for seventh-grade entry. This middle-school rite of passage is frequently left to the precious last days of summer vacation. This quirk of human nature causes a late-summer “Tdap tsunami” at local pharmacies, healthcare providers’ offices, and here at Public Health Services.

Whine and complain, moan and groan, it appears that’s all your “Community ‘Insight’ board” can do. Throwing slings and arrows out and never once offering a solution to the problem. I do not even intend to argue about the “intentional deceit” of your editorial.

Why are the teachers of the Hollister School District (HSD) demanding the board approve raises when their earnings and pay schedules show that they are very well paid compared to local workers, families, or even the teachers at the much wealthier Gilroy Unified School District (GUSD) and others? The demands appear so unjustified one must wonder if they are serious or is this just a stress test or bow shot for the new Superintendent.