Cheers for Hazel Hawkins; jeers home prices
THUMBS UP: For Measure L. The Hazel Hawkins Hospital bond measure to raise $31 million will double the size of the cramped hospital and give local health practitioners more tools to diagnose and treat patients in Hollister. You should give it your unqualified support. San Benito County has grown dramatically since the hospital was built in the 1960s and we need to make sure our local healthcare institution is equipped to serve our needs. The mail-in ballot should be in your mailbox by now. Be sure to send it back by the May 3 deadline.
THUMBS DOWN: For home prices breaking apart generations of Hollister families. Last week, reporter Jessica Quandt spoke to several people who grew up here, work here and want to live here but can’t afford a house here. One thing that must be done is for the city and the San Benito County Water District to ask the Regional Water Quality Control Board to lift the building moratorium on commercial growth. Perhaps if Hollister can increase the number of businesses in the area wages will rise and people can earn enough money to live and work in their home town.
THUMBS UP: For the San Benito County Water District and the San Juan Bautista City Council, which reached an agreement this week to ensure the Mission City will get a much-needed $3.8 million grant to improve its dilapidated water delivery system. The opportunity to land the grant could have gone down the toilet if the two groups didn’t reach an agreement by Monday. Thank goodness they hashed out a deal because, as San Juan residents were reminded for the umpteenth time last week, the town’s pipes can burst at any moment. A new water system could mean that residents will be able to junk their water softeners, get better water and get it delivered in a reliable fashion.
THUMBS DOWN: For gas prices. The effects of the spike at the pump are downright depressing and likely to go well beyond the pain people feel at the station. Grocery stores are expecting to have to raise prices of food, local farmers’ profit margins are being squeezed and government budgets are going to feel the pinch. Soon, gas prices will make everything more expensive in an already-expensive state.
THUMBS UP: For the painted ladies flitting about town recently. These butterflies are migrating through the area in abundance because this winter’s wet weather has created a lot of food. The unexpected appearance of a cloud of colorful butterflies is a sight sure to brighten anyone’s day.
