San Benito County Local News

This community opinion was contributed by Irma González, President San Benito County LULAC Council 2890. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues.  Lea este artículo en español aquí.Recent discussions hosted by the San Benito County League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) have brought to light a pressing issue affecting the health and safety of local residents: pesticide exposure. At a recent meeting, Yanely Martinez, the Central Coast Organizing Coordinator for Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS), highlighted the coalition's mission to reduce the risks associated with pesticide use in the Monterey Bay region, particularly for school children.(Left) Vice President Dr. Eduardo Cervantes, (center) Yanely Martinez, the Central Coast Organizing Coordinator for Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS), and Irma Gonzalez, with LULAC. Photo provided by Irma Gonzalez. SASS is a coalition of over 50 organizations and individuals dedicated to protecting vulnerable populations from the harmful effects of pesticides. Martinez underscored the serious health risks posed by these chemicals, especially for children and agricultural workers. "Pesticides can lead to conditions such as asthma and developmental delays, which are particularly concerning for our children," she stated.A significant issue discussed was the proximity of schools to agricultural areas where pesticides are frequently applied. Many schools in the region are located within close range, increasing the likelihood of children being exposed to harmful substances. To combat this, SASS advocates for stronger regulations that minimize exposure and protect students during school hours. This includes improved notification systems for pesticide applications and the establishment of buffer zones around school properties.LULAC has expressed its solidarity by actively supporting and advocating for these critical measures. The collaborative efforts of SASS and coalition partners were key to the recent signing of Assembly Bill 1864 (Connolly), a major win for public health. This legislation strengthens regulations on pesticide use within a quarter-mile of schools and improves reporting requirements for applications in sensitive areas. It mandates comprehensive documentation of timing, notification, and methods of application, ensuring communities remain informed and protected.Martinez emphasized the importance of sustainable farming practices, stating that reducing reliance on pesticides is crucial for protecting local ecosystems and promoting biodiversity. "By working together, we can create a healthier environment for our children and communities," she said.As the conversation around pesticide safety continues, LULAC and SASS remain committed to raising awareness and advocating for policies that prioritize the health of our children and the integrity of our environment. With the recent passage of AB 1864, there is renewed hope for a future where schools and agricultural practices coexist safely, safeguarding the wellbeing of our next generation.For more information on SASS and how to get involved, please visit their website at https://www.pesticidereform.org/safe-ag-safe-schools/ or contact your local LULAC chapter at https://www.sbclulac.org/, on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sbclulac . Please visit the official LULAC Council 2890 pages. Together, we can make a difference in our community's health and safety.The post COLUMN: Addressing Pesticide Concerns: Keeping Our Children Safe appeared first on BenitoLink.

Lea este artículo en español aquí.The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in our country and county, in collaboration with VFW Post 9242, proudly announces that nominations for the 2024 Veteran of the Year Award are now open. This prestigious award will be presented during the annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Nov. 11, led by Commander Bernie Ramirez at the Hollister Veterans’ Memorial Building in Hollister. In celebrating the courage, sacrifices, and heroism of our veterans who have bravely defended our nation, LULAC and VFW Post 9242 are excited to recognize those who continue to serve their communities after their military careers. Veterans are the backbone of our freedom, embodying values of bravery and resilience, and it is our honor to highlight their ongoing contributions to society. The recipient of the Veteran of the Year Award will be selected based on the following criteria: 1. Volunteerism or Philanthropy: Candidates must demonstrate a commitment to service in their community through advocacy, community projects, acts of heroism, or other impactful actions. 2. Excellence: Examples of how applicants exude a spirit of excellence in all endeavors are required. 3. Dedication: Applicants must show a genuine dedication to supporting their community, organization, or others in need within San Benito County. Nominees will be recognized during a solemn ceremony starting at 11 a.m. at 649 San Benito Street, Hollister, CA. The public is warmly invited to attend this commemorative event, where lunch will be served courtesy of VFW Post 9242 at a nominal cost. All veterans will be offered a complimentary meal. Following the ceremony, our honoree(s) will ride alongside the Grand Marshal in the annual San Benito County Veterans Parade and will serve as representatives of all veterans at various activities throughout the upcoming year. The deadline for submitting nominations is Oct. 14. Nominations can be made online at https://forms.gle/4MZ3XCkJGjquNEr5A. For any questions or comments, please reach out to us via email at VetNomination@sbclulac.org. Join us in honoring the service and sacrifice of our veterans. Contact: (831) 297-2458 info@sbclulac.orgThe post 2024 LULAC Veteran of the Year Nominations Now Open appeared first on BenitoLink.

Gilroy resident named to president’s list

The Hollister City Council has two district seats and an at-large mayorship on the ballot this November.

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

Integrity to do what is right

Christopher HS Football (4-1 overall, 1-0 BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division)

Information provided by American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region.  Lea este artículo en español aquí.The American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region is issuing an urgent appeal for volunteers who are willing to travel this fall to support emergency shelters for major national disaster relief efforts. Interested volunteers are urged to sign up today at redcross.org/volunteer. All candidates must complete necessary training and be able to commit to a two-week deployment. Applicants who don’t have disaster experience, but have supervision, management or organization skills; a strong desire to help others; and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, are encouraged to apply.“When disasters upend lives, Red Cross volunteers are on the frontlines providing refuge and comfort to people in their darkest hours,” John Ruiz, Regional Disaster Officer said. “They truly are the heart and soul of the Red Cross — comprising 90% of our workforce — to help ensure families never face a crisis alone.”‘THIS IS SAFE’: HELENE FAMILY SHARES WHAT SHELTER MEANS TO THEM In emergency shelters, Red Cross disaster volunteers provide people with a safe place to stay, necessities like food and water, and critical services like mental health support and basic health services such as replacing lost medications or medical equipment.Over the weekend in Perry, Florida, Amber Barteau and her family sought refuge at a Red Cross shelter after discovering that Hurricane Helene devastated their home — which marked the third time they’ve survived a hurricane in just over a year. “As soon as I pulled up to the shelter, it made me feel good,” Amber said. “I thought to myself, this is safe, and I’m going to be OK.”RED CROSS MOBILIZES MASSIVE RESPONSE TO HELENE As of Monday, more than 900 Red Cross disasters responders, including more than 25 volunteers from the Northern California Coastal Region, are on the ground across 10 states devastated by Hurricane Helene in the Southeast, including hard-hit North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.On Sunday night, more than 2,600 people stayed in 69 emergency shelters supported by the Red Cross and other community organizations. That overnight total jumped by some 600 people in just one day — and as storm-ravaged communities like those in North Carolina become more accessible, the Red Cross expects the need will continue to grow. While disaster assessments are still underway in hard-to-reach areas, emergency officials are planning for shelter operations to last at least several weeks, based on the storm’s initial widespread destruction.CLIMATE CRISIS THREATS CONTINUE Hurricane season is far from over — and the threat of more storms looms now in the Gulf and Atlantic oceans. What’s more, the Southwest and California are forecast to have above-normal wildfire risk this fall. As the climate crisis worsens, disasters are becoming more intense and frequent — leading the Red Cross to respond on a nearly continuous basis.HOW TO HELP Beyond becoming a Red Cross volunteer, people can help in other ways too following Helene:DONATE FINANCIALLY: Financial donations are the quickest and fastest way to get help to people who need it. Visit redcross.org or text the word HELENE to 90999 to make a donation to help people affected by Hurricane Helene. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.GIVE BLOOD: Hurricane Helene has caused more than 1,500 blood donations to go uncollected in the Southeast — yet the need for blood remains constant for patients in need. Those outside the affected areas are encouraged to schedule a blood donation appointment now by visiting RedCrossBlood.org or using the Blood Donor App to help restock the shelves.The post Red Cross urgently needs disaster shelter volunteers appeared first on BenitoLink.

The Hollister City Council has two district seats and an at-large mayorship on the ballot this November.

Hello Gilroy! On your ballots this November will be Measure C, a request for a quarter of a cent sales tax that will generate about $4.5 million annually for Gilroy’s Police and Fire Departments. Why does Gilroy need this added revenue? Because we can’t improve today’s public safety services without it.

This column was provided by San Benito resident and amateur astronomer David Baumgartner as part of a local series on astronomy. Lea este artículo en español aquí.For most people it can be very difficult to locate and pin down the location of the planets in the night sky. The brighter ones like Venus and Jupiter can be somewhat easier to find, if you know where to look, mainly because of their movement and overwhelming brilliance compared to the stars around them.But how do you think you would fare trying to find these two beauties in the daytime? Yes, I did say the daytime. Venus will be up in our day sky for almost 13 hours this month. That should give you plenty of time to find our sister planet. A good time to try this is the morning of the 5th as the sun comes up, the moon will be 3° north of Venus. At this time Venus will be easy to find, but much harder to keep track of as time goes by. (Another great song from back in the forties, which has absolutely nothing to do with this article).But trying to find them may be somewhat less than difficult. Now I must admit that I have found them in the daytime, but with the aid of my go-to telescope. As long as my scope is aligned properly, all I have to do is punch in the co-ordinance of each planet and it will search them out. It is almost like cheating. Sure the view is not as spectacular as it is at night, but that is not what you are looking for here anyway. What you are looking for is just knowing you are able to find them in the daytime.One way to locate our wondering friends is to catch the planets at day brake when they are still easy to find. Then continue to follow the planet as the sun rises, and see how long you can track them. But once you take your eye off of the planet and try to go back and find it again you are almost certain to lose it.Another way is to position the planet near a landmark like a tree or some other terrestrial point for reference just in case you temporarily lose sight of the planet as the sky begins to brighten. You can go a long ways with this method, if you have the patience. But this month we have an extra aid in the sky to help us not only locate but also to keep track of our targets— the moon. On October 21st around sunrise the moon will break its way through the morning horizon followed by the planet Jupiter just 6° south.The moon gives us an extra aid with finding the daytime planets. For one thing, the moon is much easier to find in the sky because of its large appearance. So on that morning first you need to spot the moon/Jupiter, center the planet in your eyepiece and off you go. Now see how long you can keep it in sight. If you happen to have a telescope that has the capability of tracking you will have it made. Look at it all day if you want.Very important: "Be careful not to accidentally look directly at the sun with your scope, spotting scope, or binoculars without a solar filter protecting your vision. Even a second of exposure may damage your retina for life."To give you an idea of the size of Venus versus the size of the sun, take a look at the picture I took, above, of a Venus Transit a couple of years ago up on Quien Sabe Rd. just east of Hollister. Given Venus is almost identical in size to our Earth, this picture gives you an idea just how small and insignificant we are. Note that the moon is four hundred times smaller than the Earth. Not that I planned it, but just as I snapped this photo along comes this upside down Boeing 707 with 188 passengers aboard. If you look carefully you can count the heads in the windows. I may be a little off with the count. It's odd that I have been trying to get a shot like this for over fifty years, and it turns out to be an accident. But the main thing here is; I got the picture.Now that you have found the two giants in the sky, think to yourself, how many people have ever seen this wondrous event in the Day Time? Not many I’ll tell you. Might just be the two of us….If that’s not enough to keep you busy, then how about a meteor shower? From the 2nd of October through the 7th of November and peaking on the 21st of October we have the Orionids shower. Best time to view them would be around 3 a.m. They will be radiant from the constellation Orion. You will catch a few sightings before midnight, but at somewhat limited amounts.Saturn makes its way back into our sky in October and will be up the entire night. Jupiter will be up as well. Two of the most beautiful sights in our night sky. Well, if you had nothing to do the month of October, now you do. There is always something up in our night skies (or as we just found out, day skies as well) that we find interesting to look at. It never ceases to amaze or amuse me. Clear skies.What’s up this monthOct. 02: New MoonOct. 02: Moon is at apogee (252,597 miles from Earth)Oct. 05: Moon passes 3° south of VenusOct. 07: Moon passes 0.2° south of AntaresOct. 10: First Quarter MoonOct. 14: Moon passes 0.1° north of SaturnOct. 15: Moon passes 0.6° north of NeptuneOct. 16: Moon is at perigee (221,939 miles from EarthOct. 17: Full MoonOct. 19: Moon passes 4° north of UranusOct. 21: Orionids meteor shower peaksOct. 21: Mars passes 6° south of PolluxOct. 21: Moon passes 6° north of JupiterOct. 23: Moon passes 4° north of MarsOct. 24: Last quarter MoonOct. 25: Venus passes 3° north of AntaresOct. 29: Moon is at apogee (252,377 miles from Earth)The post Searching the Sky: During the day appeared first on BenitoLink.

Hollister HS Football (4-1 overall, 1-0 PCAL Gabilan Division)

Another major milestone will be reached on the State Route 156 Improvement Project as Caltrans will be shifting all SR 156 traffic onto the newly constructed expressway lanes, just south of the existing SR 156 on the night of October 10. The anticipated date for the traffic shift is weather permitting.On the morning of October 11, drivers traveling on eastbound SR 156 will be shifted to the new expressway lanes just east of The Alameda in San Juan Bautista. Drivers traveling on westbound SR 156 will be shifted to the new expressway lanes just west of Business 156/4th Street in Hollister.

Hollister resident Peter Hernandez is running against incumbent Zoe Lofgren for the 18th Congressional District seat in the Nov. 5 election.

The Gilroy Business Political Action Committee or (GILPAC) Committee, a legislative arm of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce announces the following endorsements for 2024 local City of Gilroy positions:

Re: Legislator’s unwritten rule, Free Lance, Sept. 27, 2024

Gilroy Foundation’s 2025 competitive grant cycle started Oct. 1, with a goal of “empowering and enhancing the Gilroy community through philanthropy,” according to the local nonprofit.

Lea este artículo en español aquí.“Jump, The Ultimate Dog Show,” trained dogs that have become staples of Las Vegas extravaganzas, sporting events, and half-time shows, is bringing non-stop action to all three days of the San Benito County Fair. Billed as the “X-Games for dogs,” perhaps the most remarkable thing about these performers is their origin story: almost all have been rescued from lonely lives in animal shelters and now perform for audiences across the United States and around the globe. Jump, The Ultimate Dog Show. Photo courtesy of Cool Dog Productions.Lou “Mack” McCammon, the owner of Cool Dog Productions, has been working with trained dogs since 1982 after giving up a full-time job as a framing contractor. “I saw a Frisbee dog competition in Davis, California,” he said. “There were about 50,000 people there, and it looked pretty cool. I thought I would get a dog and try it.”The winning dog was Feet, an Australian shepherd. McCammon decided that was the breed he needed to find if he was going to be successful. After a lengthy search, he settled on a puppy he found in Sacramento.“As he was growing up,” he said, “he had this insane drive for chasing, tugging, night and day, 24/7. He was obsessed. I named him ‘Scooter, the Wonder Dog,' and as he got older, he started looking like that dog that won the competition.”McCammon began an intense training routine at 4 a.m., with his truck’s headlights as the only light until the sun rose. When he entered Scooter in his first competition, Feet was also there.“I told his owner, you’re by inspiration,” he said. “And Scooter won hands-down. He was only about six or seven months old, and suddenly, he was the talk of the competition.”McCammon entered Scooter in the Ashley Whippet Invitationals, one of the sport's major competitions, and took first place there as well. That led to a chance to do a halftime show for the (then) San Diego Chargers.“I was hooked,” he said. “I was getting all these calls and making more money than working full-time as a framer.”McCammon and Scooter won a regional championship next but fell short of the world championship. But he remained popular on the circuit.“I started traveling in a big dog show as a variety act,” he said, “and we did a lot of fairs. The next year, we won the world championship and did it again the year after that.”His next stop was a two-year residency in Las Vegas as the open act for the Tournament of Kings Medieval joust at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. He picked up Kirby, another Australian shepherd, and formed a tandem act with Scooter. McCammon began working with Purina on a marketing program called the Incredible Dog Challenge and soon was responsible for seven other teams.

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.