THUMBS UP: The San Benito County Chamber of Commerce’s yearly tradition of handing out honors to citizens and businesses of the year turned out another great crop of honorees for 2008, and they’re worth noting again. Cilly Fisher and Ed Stephenson won woman and man of the year. McKinnon Lumber won retail business of the year. Bianchi, Kasavan & Pope won service business of the year. Flapjack’s Country Cafe won hospitality business of the year. And Earthbound Farm/Natural Selection Foods won agriculture business of the year. The chamber did another excellent job of choosing winners who represent the positive side of San Benito County. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks for the contributions you’ve made to San Benito County.
THUMBS DOWN: San Benito County Superior Court Judge Harry Tobias deserves credit for reconsidering his allowance of claims to move forward from vexatious litigants Vincent Cardinalli Sr. and his son Paul Greer. But he should’ve recognized the potential problem earlier and done his homework before these local cases proceeded. Tobias said he recently was informed that the corporate status of the respective companies A&R Associates and B&C Towing had been suspended due to an earlier Santa Clara Court ruling. The two are being prosecuted for filing an abundance of cases to collect on what they claim have been unpaid towing and storage fees. The fact is, the case against these two well-known, local residents has been highly publicized for so long that it’s hard to believe Tobias couldn’t have seen this coming. The good news from the recent episode, though, is that Greer said after the proceedings he would likely dismiss those San Benito County claims.
THUMBS UP: The Hollister Vikings Junior Pee-Wee team did us all proud and brought home the national championship from their visit to Orlando late last week, and a rally was held Wednesday for the team at the Veterans Memorial Building. The team accomplished the greatest honor at their level of football by beating a team from Connecticut 18-6 last Friday. With a 15-0 record, including the playoffs, the team left no doubt they’re the best group at their age in the country. It also leaves no doubt that ‘Baler football has a talented group of youngsters coming their way in another five or so years.
THUMBS UP: Perhaps it’s just a tease, but the local housing market saw a slight boost in sales in November, with 20 homes sold, three more than October and four more than September. Let’s hope it’s a sign that experts’ predictions of a year or more until a recovery are off and that this slump ends sooner than later.
