Opinion

As a longtime advocate for open government access in San Benito County, though, I can say with certainty that allowing virtual access to public meetings—along with allowing traditional in-person involvement—would improve the level of openness in local government.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an extremely trying situation for essential businesses, which have stepped up in amazing and heroic ways to provide the goods and services that Californians rely on daily.

As worrisome as those aspects of one-party rule may be, we have now entered still another political phase in California—one-man rule.

Latino inclusion begins with growing and harvesting our food going back at least to my childhood in World War Two. At that time, our mother brought us children to pick string beans in a San Jose field near the soon-to-be Hawaiian Gardens.

It would be wonderful to be able to look only in front of you and not look down at the ground that is littered with garbage such as plastic bottles, metal cans, paper coffee cups, plastic bags and so on.

California’s Latino community is experiencing the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact. About 50 percent of the state’s more than 62,000 cases, and 33 percent of its total deaths are Latino, more than any other racial or ethnic group in California.

This new reality will impact San Benito and Monterey counties’ ability to deliver critical services as we will not have the spike in tourism to Pinnacles National Park nor the Los Padres National Forest this year, which will reduce vital revenues on which we rely upon.

PORC has been relentlessly trying to convince people to direct their anti-growth anger towards Betabel. They've used lies and scare tactics and seem to have no conscience, or respect for the community they're lying to.

The prospect of endless litigation, in turn, is generating new political fights over whether limits should be placed on civil liability during the pandemic/recession crisis.

Although we at the police department wholeheartedly appreciate the gesture, we know there are individuals in our community that have not been able to work and are making difficult decisions about purchasing food or paying for other essential items.