Cheers for the Balers; jeers for the lawsuits
THUMBS UP: For the Hollister Haybalers who, though they lost the Central Coast Section crown to Oak Grove last weekend, played an entire season like champions. The Balers, with their tenacious defense and high-flying offense, were a lot of fun to watch. And the young men on the team made the entire community proud with the spirit and class they displayed on the field.
THUMBS DOWN: For the timing of the most recent charges against supervisor-elect Jaime De La Cruz. This week, nine months after the election, District Attorney John Sarsfield filed four counts of fraud and perjury against De La Cruz for signing off on signatures he didn’t gather when trying to get on the March ballot. We’ve been harping on the DA for months to get on with the legal challenge to the election, but we were hoping it would happen earlier to avoid exactly this situation. Now, De La Cruz is slated to be sworn in on Jan. 4 and to appear in court on Jan. 13. This is a terrible way to start a new term for the Board of Supervisors and this matter should have been settled months ago.
THUMBS DOWN: For the plethora of lawsuits filed against San Benito County. De La Cruz and his campaign adviser Ignacio De La Cruz have filed a $5 million suit against the county and the Board of Supervisors. But that’s just the latest in a long list, which includes a harassment suit against the district attorney, a police brutality suit involving a sheriff’s deputy and a sexual harassment suit against the Council of Government’s manager among others. The people who really lose in these suits are the taxpayers who see their hard-earned money siphoned from public services into lawyers’ pockets.
THUMBS UP: For Supervisor Pat Loe who got the Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution calling for a regional planning forum to look into environmental and economic impacts of the proposed casino on Highway 25. If all the surrounding towns and counties join us to speak as one voice we are sure to be heard at a federal level on this important issue. We have little political power in the state, that’s why we need to work within the region. It’s encouraging to see San Benito County take a leadership role and look beyond its borders to address this issue.
THUMBS UP: For the Emmaus House, a battered women’s shelter, which has been built but still needs funding to get up and running. It’s obvious that a lot of care went into constructing the shelter. The rooms, which are individually decorated and furnished, are very comfortable and have plenty of personal touches. The foundation working on the Emmaus House, which will provide nine rooms for women and their families, is holding a series of fundraisers to collect the money to get the program operational. There will be a New Year’s Eve dinner and dance at the Elk’s Lodge. Consider helping out a good cause while ringing in the New Year. For more information, call Emmaus at 637-4350.
