County of San Benito Government News

Under pressure from City Manager Don Reynolds and the San Juan Bautista City Council to complete its work, the city’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee voted Oct. 28 to submit the finished draft of its final project, a memorandum of understanding, to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors that would give the city a measure of input into developments on county property near its boundaries.

Measure A, the initiative that would change the way land use decisions are made in San Benito County, is one of the crucial items on the Nov. 5 ballot. BenitoLink reviewed the funding statements that the “Yes” and “No” sides filed with the county’s Election Department.

Ana De Castro Maquiz wasn’t irate over an Oct. 18 article in the Hollister Free Lance that opponents of San Benito County’s Measure A had misreported $189,000 in campaign contributions.The San Jose Mercury News also recently reported that opponents of the measure, which could dramatically impact all commercial development in the county, had raised substantially more than what appeared in a public campaign finance portal for Measure A’s opposition, Neighbors to Preserve San Benito. This is because $189,000 of the group’s $270,000 in donations were filed under its 2022 No on Measure Q campaign.But De Castro Maquiz, who is chief deputy clerk-recorder-elections for the county, told BenitoLink on Oct. 25 that she didn’t believe Measure A’s opposition had been deliberately misleading.

Expanding California’s unprecedented support for local efforts to create long-term solutions to address homelessness, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that 37 regional grantees representing 100 local communities and organizations statewide will receive more than $827 million in new state investments to create new housing, shelter and support for those experiencing homelessness.

After a two-year-long push and pull, the San Benito County Planning Commission denied the 141 single-family-unit project known as Lands of Lee, proposed for Fairview Road in Hollister.

It took the Hollister Fire Department five days to contain the fire that broke out at a local recycling company north of the city last week. For 11 years, the city of Hollister has provided protection from fires like this in unincorporated areas of San Benito County, which contain some of the most fire-prone lands in the state.

The Coalition of Homeless Services Providers, in partnership with local governments, community-based organizations, and volunteers, has completed the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count for 2024, says a press release from the coalition. The results indicate an increase in the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in San Benito County, highlighting the growing challenges faced by the community.

BenitoLink is pleased to announce that the Community Foundation for San Benito County has awarded our nonprofit news organization a $8,750 grant to support the completion and final publication of the Vision San Benito County Listening Session condensed report.

\San Benito County voters are presented with a question on the Nov. 5 ballot—known as Measure X—which seeks voter input on a lease-sale agreement for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital “to nonprofit Insight Health Foundation of California, Inc. (or another qualified buyer).”

On Oct. 21, San Benito County Superior Court Judge Omar Rodriguez denied San Benito High School’s petition to reverse the approval of the San Benito County Polytechnic Academy.

The Planning Commission sent a development agreement regarding the Ag Center project, proposed for the intersection of Highways 101 and 129, to the Board of Supervisors for discussion. 

The San Benito County Elections Department has refurbished a specialized trailer for use in this election to reach voters who might have difficulties registering to vote or getting to the polls or drop-off boxes.

We are excited to announce that the San Benito County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) draft is now available for public comment, and we encourage you to share your thoughts! Your feedback is integral in shaping our community's wildfire protection strategy for the next decade.

Graham Womack is a freelance journalist based in Sacramento. BenitoLink hired him to bring an independent perspective to this controversial initiative.

A San Benito County measure on the November ballot could potentially make significant changes to local development and land use for years to come. But the influx of outside money into the two opposing campaigns shows that there is plenty at stake for out-of-area interests.

In San Benito County, 621 people live on the streets or in homeless shelters. That is 264 more than in 2022 and 339 more than in 2019, aligning with the upward trend of homelessness in California.

Voting Kits for active registered voters in San Benito County began arriving to homes the week of October 7th. The Voting Kit includes a local Voter Information Guide, return envelope, Official Ballot, Sample ballot and an insert with an “I voted” Sticker.

The San Benito County Health & Human Services Agency expects to receive $85,000 to $200,000 over the next 10 years after being part of a nationwide lawsuit against pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies for their distribution of opioid medications.

About a dozen farm tractors drove through downtown Hollister on Oct. 12 to demonstrate farmers' opposition to Measure A on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Though San Benito County Superior Court Judge Omar Rodriguez was 40 miles southeast of his courthouse, he donned his robe and gathered up his blue code book and gavel. Rodriguez was visiting with Panoche Elementary School students Oct. 10 as part of the Judges in the Classroom program, where he spoke about his career.

BenitoLink sat down with San Benito County Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters Francisco Diaz, who shared some lighthearted election day stories—as well as a handful of stories about some voters’ habits.

BenitoLink hosted a General Election Forum at the Granada Theater in Hollister on Sept. 28. About 120 people were in attendance.

The San Benito County Planning Commission has approved the subdivision of the property where the 30-acre commercial development known as the Betabel Road Project would be located.

Rocks Ranch property owner Ben Bingaman has delivered a letter to the San Benito County Board of Supervisors and county counsel requesting that the county rezone four nodes from commercial regional to commercial thoroughfare. 

BenitoLink’s General Election forum is a couple of days away, and seating is reaching capacity. Remember to RSVP while space is still available.

San Juan Bautista’s Urban Growth Boundary Committee has revised and simplified a memorandum of understanding with the San Benito County Board of Supervisors to be sent to them for review and possible revision.

The San Benito Board of Supervisors approved a contract to repair Shore Road, which connects Highways 25 and 156. The county awarded the contract to Teichert & Sons Inc., a 100-year-old California company with previous experience in the county, which made the lowest bid.

The San Benito Council of Governments , an agency formed by the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista and the San Benito County to deal with regional issues, including transportation needs, approved a study of the best way to improve Hwy 25.

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Two years ago, in his first interview with BenitoLink about his El Guapo Kitchen food truck, Chef Alejandro Ceja talked about changing his menu four times, trying to understand the local tastes in food, dropping dishes like his bao buns and ingredients like black garlic after being told that items like those were “too exotic.”Today, smoked pork belly buns and al pastor laced with black garlic are back on the menu, and Ceja is pushing the boundaries even further with items like his El Grasshopper Taco, served with smashed avocado, corn pico and cilantro lime aioli.Perhaps San Benito County is catching up with Ceja’s tastes...Grasshopper Taco (left) and Al Pastor Negro Taco. Photo by Robert Eliason.“My menus came from what I was taught in my travels,” Ceja said. “I learned from different cultures with different flavors. But there was a difference between what people wanted and what I offered. So I had to step back, bite my tongue, and cater towards my customers.”Relying on more approachable foods, like his extraordinary el pastor, chicken or carne asada tacos, or his salsa fries made with three kinds of cheese, salsa verde and carne asada, Ceja steadily built the trust of his customers.“It was kind of a food culture shock to me,” he said. “People were just familiar with the local taquerias. It was super interesting to me—I felt, ‘My food is really good, why is nobody trying it?’ But I started getting recommendations right and left, and business started booming.”With the increased support from growing ranks of regular customers, Ceja felt he could start reintroducing some of the more exotic elements of his culinary palette.“As more people try my food,” he said, “they see I am not just a regular food truck. I don’t specialize in just one item. It's a two-edged sword, so I must teach my customers that my truck offers restaurant-style quality food, not just traditional tacos.”Smoked Pork Belly Bun. Photo by Robert Eliason.Another factor that helped was the growing acceptance of food trucks in the local scene. The cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista now welcome them, and customers seek out their favorites at food truck-heavy events like the Farmers Market. It is also a plus that the food truck owners have always been supportive of each other.“It is a community,” Ceja said. “We are in communication with each other, like, ‘There’s an event coming up—do you want to join?’ Or if I suddenly need something like napkins, we help each other out. And it is pretty fun trading food with each other. There’s no egos.”Ceja said he relied on that sense of community when he first started and sought advice and assistance from several food truck owners.“Cafe Con Leche helped me out a lot and got my truck up and running,” he said. “Others have helped me when I had issues with my equipment. I love it when people extend a hand to help. And I am happy that I can finally pay it back when people reach out to me.”Chicken and Kale Salad. Photo by Robert Eliason.While acknowledging that food trucks have taken a bite out of brick-and-mortar restaurant sales, Ceja said that there should be room for everyone in a town the size of Hollister.“You could have a coffee shop right next to a Starbucks,” he said. “It depends on the quality of service—if your food is good, people come to you. And if restaurants are upset with us, they might start thinking outside the box and work to get the customers they want."Ceja is successful enough now to easily take on some of the larger venues, which he says can be chaotic and stressful, occasionally making him want to reevaluate his life choices. However, once he is on-site, all of his anxieties disappear.“I love what I do,” he said. “I love meeting the customers and watching them eat my food. And they smile, or when they come back and give us a compliment, that’s what I love—that they are enjoying my food and maybe trying something new.”Fish Taco. Photo by Robert Eliason.Select items from the El Guapo Kitchen Menu:Blackened Salmon Rice Bowl: Blackened salmon is served with sushi sticky rice, sauteed seasonal vegetables, cucumber salad and kale, highlighted with a kimchi-gochujang sauce. "I love gochujang," Ceja said. "Think of it as a being like a spicy chamoy, and it goes super well with the kimchi sauce. It is perfectly balanced and one of our healthier items." Ceja will happily substitute any of his proteins for the salmon: I switched the salmon for chicken, and garlic butter shrimp is another option. It can also be prepared as a strictly vegetarian dish by swapping more produce. The kimchi might sound a little daunting on the menu, but Ceja has held the flavoring down to just the essence, providing a nice sour and tangy taste to the sauce without overwhelming the dish. It particularly compliments the grilled vegetables and even makes the kale palatable. This makes for a very well-rounded—and filling—lunch and will make your doctor proud of you.Beer-battered Fish Tacos – Battered wild cod, served with shredded cabbage and carrots, is topped with cilantro lime aioli and pico de gallo. "The fish tacos were an experiment I did last summer," Ceja said. "They are super simple, but they have become super popular." The dish comes with Tortilla Factory flour tortillas, but Ceja also stocks gluten-free corn tortillas. "I do get many people who want gluten-free," Ceja said. "They really appreciate that we have them." The batter is nicely light and crispy and is complemented by the fresh veggies. The fish has a fresh, sweet flavor and the aioli gives just the right touch of citrus and binds everything together. This was my favorite, an elegantly perfect finger food.Smoked Pork Belly Bun – Ceja introduced these puffy buns at the Hollister Farmers Market last year. "This is a Taiwanese-Korean-style bun, like a little sandwich," Ceja said. The pork belly is done French-style, so it is cooked for 14 hours and then smoked for two hours." The bun is topped with kale and cucumber slaw and drizzled with Ceja's kimchi-gochujang sauce, which cuts through the fat and gives the whole thing an Asian barbecue twist. They make for an enjoyable snack while wandering the Farmers' Market.Spam Musubi Bowl – "This reminds me of when I was in college," Ceja said. "I used to make it in the dorm and sell it for five bucks to make a little quick money." The sliced spam comes with sticky rice and a sunny-side-up egg and is topped with "spam sauce" and sriracha. I am not sure if I have had spam since my time in the Boy Scouts decades ago, but I guarantee that whatever way we prepared it back then—and I am pretty sure we just fried the hell out of it and doused it with ketchup—it was nothing compared to Ceja's dish. The two sauces that Ceja uses to elevate the canned pork make it a filling and satisfying dish.Al Pastor Negro Tacos – Similar style to the Yucatan style, this was one of the items Ceja tried offering when he first opened his truck. "This is very different than the traditional red pastor," he said. "The difference is that we take the chilies we use for the pastor rojo, and we over-roast them without burning them. We end up with a maillard effect, which brings out the sugar in the chilies." There is also some residual sweetness from the pork marinated in pineapple juice, giving the meat a citrusy edge. I have enjoyed Ceja's red al pastor, rich with achiote, cinnamon, chilies, and garlic, and I loved this version, with a deeper, huskier taste balanced by the sweetness of the chilies. It is a hard call between the fish tacos and the al pastor negro tacos, but I think this is my must-try this time around. El Grasshopper Tacos – "I brought this out as a joke for Halloween," Ceja said, "and it kind of picked up. It got out of control, so I took it off the menu for a while, but now they are back." About seven toasted grasshoppers come with each taco, and they are served with smashed avocado, roasted corn pico and cilantro-lime aioli. "I had one customer order four of them," Ceja said. "He was on this third one, and he noticed one of the legs sticking up. He came over and said, ‘I wasn't expecting real grasshoppers, but I love them. Can I order some more?' It's a fun dish for me to make." How do they taste? Faithful readers, gracious readers, I leave that bold adventure to you.El Guapo Kitchen is at the Hollister Farmers' Market every Wednesday. Scheduled events are also posted to Instagram and Facebook. Ceja can be reached by email at elguapokitchen@gmail.com or by phone at 831-524-1142. Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.BenitoLink thanks our underwriters, Hollister Super and Windmill Market, for helping to expand the Eat, Drink, Savor series and give our readers the stories that interest them. Hollister Super (two stores in Hollister) and Windmill Market (in San Juan Bautista) support reporting on the inspired and creative people behind the many delicious food and drink products made in San Benito County. All editorial decisions are made by BenitoLink.The post Eat, Drink, Savor: El Guapo Kitchen surprises with grasshoppers and regional dishes appeared first on BenitoLink.

Two years after it was conceived, the plan for the 141 single-family unit project known as Lands of Lee, proposed to be built on Fairview Road in Hollister, has yet to be approved.