The following events, organizations and people deserve either a
Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down this week:
THUMBS UP: To Calaveras Elementary School teachers and students for giving new meaning to the word “participation.” The students prepared nearly 500 art and craft entries to the San Benito County Fair. Every student chose to participate, doing things like making a locomotive model out of recycled materials, and re-creating the famous San Juan Bautista Mission bell tower in crayon. The classes began working on their entries at the beginning of the school year. Now that’s planning and motivation.
THUMBS DOWN: With obesity a major health problem in America, it should probably come as no surprise that a recent study has found that many people are unable to calculate serving sizes correctly and often overeat because of it. The study by Vanderbilt University found mistakes in calculation across the board – regardless of ethnicity or income level. The study also showed that Americans say they read labels, but still calculate wrong. And when it comes to a box of spaghetti or chocolate chip cookies, these mistakes can pile on the calories.
THUMBS UP: To local wineries for continuing to put San Benito County on the map for high-quality wines. Local businesses like Leal Vineyards and Calera Wine Company have been feted worldwide for producing fine products.
THUMBS DOWN: For further confusion on the E. Coli outbreak as perpetrated by growers, producers and the government. The exact source of the outbreak may never be pinpointed, but this week there was disagreement over particular bags of contaminated spinach and their date of processing. Whether the date is off by a day or two may not be of much import in the grander scheme of the outbreak, but it also might be indicative of the industry and the government’s abilities to regulate and keep close tabs on what is going on.
THUMBS UP: To training funds for San Benito County supervisors. Supervisors can charge up to $1,000 for training and education. What might appear a superfluous expense can actually be invaluable. Supervisors must know about an incredible array of topics, and attending a class or seminar can prove valuable, not only for them, but for the public as well.
THUMBS DOWN: In what has become a weekly feature, we yet again give the thumbs down to pot growers. The latest trend is for growers to construct eleborate indoor facilities in suburban homes. In the past two months, law enforcement officials have raided 40 homes in the Sacramento area. Photos of some of these houses show them to be perfectly manicured, upscale homes in nice neighborhoods. In Hollister this week a backyard growing operation yielded a bust of 129 plants. Fouling our rural environment with the destruction of a growing operation is bad enough; having them move into neighborhoods is not a welcome development.
