RING went the Red Phone, heralding the approaching weekend, and
the calls keep coming from our loyal readers. Why not you?
Complaint, comment, question on anything related to life, death and
everything in between in the SBC? Call Red Phone: Always listening,
always online, always at 635-9219.
Can’t drink it, but can you afford it?
RING went the Red Phone, heralding the approaching weekend, and the calls keep coming from our loyal readers. Why not you? Complaint, comment, question on anything related to life, death and everything in between in the SBC? Call Red Phone: Always listening, always online, always at 635-9219.
Can’t drink it, but can you afford it?
After hearing the news of potentially rising water and sewer rates, a Red Phone caller throws her drop into the protest bucket.
“I read that water rates are raising 60 percent,” she said. “I just wanted to know why our rates are being increased and, I don’t know about other people, but we can’t even drink our water and they want to raise the rates. I mean – the water tastes awful here.”
Water and sewer rates could increase about $20 to $25 in the near future, but not before residents can bend the ear of City Councilmembers. A recently completed study by Munifinancial showed the current charges do not cover the costs of production, regardless of individual opinions of the quality of water being produced. So to balance the books, City Council members are expected to increase the charges. According to the city’s Public Works department, rates haven’t been adjusted for about 10 years. Rising rates? Maybe, but then again, maybe residents have just been getting a bargain for the last few years. The city will hold a public meeting, yet to be scheduled, before voting on the rate increase. Call the city at 636-4300 to find out when the public hearing will be scheduled or keep reading the Free Lance.
The buzz on West Nile virus
Another Red Phone caller dialed in with concerns over lack of San Benito County resources to battle the bug.
“My beef is West Nile virus is not only hitting surrounding counties, but it’s hitting San Benito County,” she said. “San Benito County is expecting surrounding counties to help out if we have too much of a problem. They (San Benito County) say they don’t have enough money to eradicate it from this county, yet we have a helicopter company right here to do the job, but of course he won’t do it for free. All the surrounding counties will pay him, even though they, as we, are also strapped for cash with monetary problems and budget problems. We are expecting everybody else to help us out. Now, isn’t everybody worried about this? I know a lot of people are and hopefully somebody will come to the rescue. That’s what’s going on now.”
San Benito County does have few resources to stop the spread of West Nile virus and no money to fund a mosquito abatement district – typically created to control areas where mosquitoes breed and funded by taxpayer dollars, according to SBC Health Officer Dr. Elizabeth Falade. And, yes, Falade said they will rely on neighbors, such as Salinas’ mosquito abatement district, for help if a problem develops. Worrisome it may be, however, no cases of West Nile virus have been reported in SBC yet. Numerous counties throughout the state have found evidence of the disease in birds and mosquitoes. Fortunately, less than 1 percent of people infected with the virus will become seriously sick and only 10 to 15 percent of people will show any symptoms at all, according to the state of California’s West Nile Web site. Still, Red Phone is keeping its fingers – lines crossed – hoping the dreaded disease does not make an appearance here.
