Letters

While I am not a resident of San Benito County, I am concerned about the potential for fracking in your area. My friend lives in a very seismically stable area in Oklahoma that rarely experienced earthquakes. Since fracking began in her region, they routinely get quakes in the 3 - 4 range, and sometimes into the 5's. Her concrete kitchen floor has cracked so badly from all the earth movement that it must be replaced. I can't image how fracking would impact an already seismically unstable area. Do you really want injection wells lubricating your fault system?

Measure J on the current November ballot will prohibit “enhanced oil production” in San Benito County. In effect it will essentially stop oil production and future oil exploration in San Benito County. The impact will be marginal to most residents – a marginal, albeit very marginal, price increase in gasoline – but significant impact on those that currently own and operate oil production facilities since they will be out of business. However, San Benito County Taxpayers might have to reimburse them for their losses if Measure J does pass. The real intent of Measure J is to ban oil by outlawing the use of hydraulic fracturing or “Fracking” here as well as the rest of California. A win here by the anti-fracking, anti-oil group, is part of their strategy to eliminate petroleum as an energy source. The best way to do that is to make oil so expensive that no one other than the major backers of Measure J can afford to drive from their homes in Silicon Valley to their ranches in South County. To accomplish this, they have to ban fracking. The simple reason is that without fracking, gasoline would be probably double what we are paying today. Measure J states that banning fracking will protect their way of life-which is exactly opposite of the truth. How would residents of San Benito County “protect their way of life” who essentially rely 100% on the automobile for transportation with gasoline at $8.00/gallon?

Sick fact! Those who take oil deep in the soil are exempt from the clean water act! Meaning anything goes, deadly chemicals they don't have to expose, no wonder why several nearby had a serious bloody nose and ignited fire out of the hose!  Trillions of gallons have been used and abused of not just hot water, prepare for a great slaughter.  

I strongly oppose Measure J because it is a bait and switch initiative based on junk science and it’s bad public policy that could open the county to millions of dollars in lawsuits and payments.

Measure J , the controversial anti-petroleum production initiative on the county-wide November ballot, is based on fear, ignorance, hatred, elitism and egregious, counterproductive land-use planning principles.

The “NO on J Campaign” has tossed around a lot of misconceptions during this campaign cycle.

I am still laughing over that hideously bad No on J ad that recently made the local TV circuit. It is difficult for me to describe it to you because I can barely type…I am still cracking up. Okay, here goes. I've written it out in film screenplay style. My “asides” are in brackets.

As I drive through our fine city I’m reminded of all the promises our fine politicians have made in the past and all of the promises they are making now. Who do we vote for and what do we vote for? Decisions, decisions. But at this point one race that will be my focus point will be the mayor’s race. In one hand I have Ignacio Velazquez who has been part of Hollister as well as a supporter of my youth programs for some years. But after having a meeting with our mayor and chief of police about two months ago I was reminded of how politics work. Ignacio’s constant reminder of his five-year plan for the city and how it would be good for the community was just not what I wanted to hear. Sorry, I don’t have five years to sit around and watch more of our kids in our community die of gang-related B.S. or young girls becoming young mothers or your youth getting addicted to drugs for a lack of things to do. You may say there are things to do for our kids but do they have the money to pay for those things to do? And is the solution extending a skateboard park where the chief himself has said to have caught drug dealers there? Or building more houses to bring yet more crime to our community? And in the other hand we have Keith Snow who is also a part of our community as well as a supporter of our youth programs, after asking Ignacio for a solution for all the dumpings that are going on at the Bull Dog Boxing Gym and not having one. Keith has put together a solution that has been working at no cost to our program or the city. Keith has also continued to support all the programs we have in place as well as being a part of any meetings our programs may have. I believe Keith has the right plans as well as the time to dedicate to our growing little city of Hollister. So as you drive around and notice all the signs and think about who or what to vote for, remember that as our city grows and changes so too does our city need a change for the betterment of our community. My support will be for Keith Snow for mayor.