Opinion

Panelists answered the following: Do you support Gavilan College moving to district elections even if it means San Benito County voters would have less influence on the board?

One of the first things I did when I started my tenure as health officer last July was to get information about our county. I read everything I could find about San Benito. I grilled everyone who would entertain my questions. What are our demographics? What makes us sick? Where do we get health care? And, because we now know that social and economic factors play critical roles in determining health outcomes: What is our unemployment rate? How many of our youth go on to higher education? Do families have support networks to tap into during difficult times? I was trying to create a cohesive picture in my mind of who we are and what problems we face, a picture which would then lead to prioritizing the work ahead.

Ann Ross: The question of whether we should establish a Motorcycle Noise Ordinance should be viewed strictly from a financial or cost-benefit evaluation. Is the lost sales tax income to the county worth it to impose noise ordinances, which will reduce the number of bikers coming into the county? If imposed, bikers will eventually go elsewhere. Period. The Harley-Davidson Forum (hdforum.com) keeps a close eye on counties that levy fines to keep the noise down. 

On Tuesday, May 5, our community will come together for Silicon Valley Gives, and we need YOU to join us. It’s your chance make a real difference, right here in San Benito County.

Students, parents, teachers, and local community leaders joined forces on April 18 to remove illegally dumped trash from the San Benito River channel near the old Hospital Road crossing. What was the occasion? Earth Day, of course, a good excuse for a thorough spring cleaning.

Hollister’s $5 million fire department budget supported by an add-on 1 percent Measure E sales tax should include putting out non-negligent fires and handling non-negligent traffic accidents at no costs to residents; that’s what the fire department is budgeted for and the employees paid to do. Unfortunately, the never-ending grasp for more public monies has convinced a majority of the council that they can strong-arm the taxpayers for expensive fees just to get the staff and equipment out of their multimillion-dollar firehouses and actually come douse a fire or pry you out of a wreck. When they come, you should be prepared to pay through the nose—either directly or indirectly.

Panelists answered the following: Should Hollister charge fees for fire department responses involving negligence such as vehicle accidents, fires or water incidents?

In November 2014, the voters in the Hollister School District approved Measure M, a $28.5 million bond measure. Measure M was a “Proposition 39” bond measure. Proposition 39 allows for bond measures to gain voter approval with 55% of the voters in the district in favor of the measure. Unlike most other bond measures in California, which require 66% voter approval, Proposition 39 bonds allow a lower voter threshold for approval, with some conditions.

Panelists answered the following: Would you support a sales tax to fund road improvements in San Benito County?