Opinion

The Thanksgiving and Christmas meals put on by the Holte Holiday Dinners group are an institution in San Benito County. The annual dinners not only feed hundreds of needy residents each year, but they also provide a way for others to give back and for parents to teach their children the value of volunteerism.

Do you have a problem with President Obama taking a "selfie" cell phone picture at Nelson Mandela's memorial?

I wanted to thank the community for supporting Hollister Gives Back recent “Holiday Mail for Heroes” campaign.

There appears to be a new attitude at the city under Mayor Ignacio Velazquez, with several examples on display at last week's council meeting.

Panelists answered the following: Do you believe the economy is on the verge of a major upswing?

Words cannot adequately express the feelings of losing a young person whose dreams will never become reality but who had the courage, strength and inspiration to show others that while life can be rough, and illnesses can become burdensome, you cannot give up on hope and the desire to continue a path of dreaming for a better chance at life. I think the loss of someone we love is perhaps the hardest challenge that anyone ever has to face.

Pushing off a county sales tax ballot proposal until at least 2016 is a smart move because it could allow for a cohesive tax policy throughout the community.

Nants Foley: "I support anyone's right to protest peacefully. I personally boycott Black Friday!”

Put a bunch of people in a room and ask them what they want. The list will get long very quickly, especially when the only perspective is what one wants and not how much it will cost. That is no way to lead. Too many times in San Benito County this happens with different groups. If we look at everything that each disparate group wants and asked the people to prioritize what is most important to them, I submit the outcome would be entirely different when the total cost of the lists are tallied up.