Chasing Money Out of Town
The following events, organizations and people deserve either a Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down this week.
THUMBS DOWN: For the Hollister City Council which has failed to find a way to keep the Hollister Independence Rally alive this year. The lack of business sense and creativity to keep the town’s signature event going is truly disappointing. Being a leader means finding a way to make things better in the community where you live. Chasing 100,000 people with money to burn out of town – particularly in our city which is struggling economically – is shortsighted to say the least.
THUMBS UP: For the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, which plans to make the first significant changes to the county’s General Plan in years. The General Plan is a long-range blueprint for growth that can affect everything from preservation of agricultural land to economic development. Growth is an explosive issue in our county and a long-term vision, with ample public input, is exactly what is needed to make progress while preserving the character of the area we love.
THUMBS UP: For the possibility of a Professional Golfers’ Association tour event coming to South Valley. Putting the logistics and secrecy aside for the moment, the possibility is more than intriguing. Consider that the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am raised $4.6 million for charity this year and generated $68 million in business revenues – money that certainly could make it’s way to enterprising San Benito charities and businesses. Consider that the PGA tour generates more charitable dollars in one year than the National Football League does in two years. Businessman John Fry has built an incredibly challenging golf course in Morgan Hill. As Morgan Hill Chamber Director Dan Ehrler said, “We’d certainly be interested in having the details. It could be very beneficial to the region.”
THUMBS DOWN: For the county government, which passed the buck of creating an ethics commission onto residents because officials were worried that their role would somehow taint such a commission. That may be a valid concern once it’s established, but the fact is the county government has the resources and know how to get such a commission up and running. There is no reason it could not create the commission then relinquish the authority and oversight of it to a non-partisan group. The county, however, was good enough to set up a forum to educate residents on how they could do it for themselves. We hope civic-minded folks see this through.
