San Benito County Local News

Information provided by the office of Assembly Speaker Rober Rivas. Lea este artículo en español aquí.In an effort to help prevent wildfires from devastating communities, families, homes and businesses, Speaker Robert Rivas announces millions of dollars in grant funding for organizations, projects and communities along the Central Coast. The Monterey County Regional Fire District, Fire Safe Santa Cruz County, the City of Greenfield, Santa Lucia Preserve, and the San Benito Fire Safe Council/Community Foundation for San Benito County will receive $2,618,086 in grant money for wildfire prevention projects, thanks to CAL FIRE’s Wildfire Prevention Grants Program.Last week, the program announced $90 million in total funding for 94 wildfire prevention projects across California . More than two-thirds of the projects were allocated to communities that are low-income or disadvantaged. The funding aims to improve public health outcomes and safety by helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, hazardous fuels, and prevent wildfires through planning and education. “Our Central Coast is all too familiar with devastating and destructive wildfires, and this grant funding is critical to organizations committed to prevention, mitigation and keeping our region safe, especially our vulnerable communities,” said Speaker Robert Rivas who represents communities across San Benito, Santa Cruz, Monterey and Santa Clara counties.The Monterey County Regional Fire District, who works closely with the City of Salinas to provide fire and emergency medical services, and responds to structure, wildland, vehicle, and other types of forest that occur in the district, will receive a $1,063,500 grant for a Community Hazardous Fuels Reduction project. “Projects and efforts will be focused on fire apparatus access, roadside clearance for emergency egress, assistance in creating improved defensible space for elderly and disadvantaged residents, funding a district-wide multi-year chipping program, and providing resources for clearing and thinning of vegetation within our Firewise communities,” said David Sargenti, Fire Chief for Monterey County Regional Fire District. “We are excited to be able to provide our residents and businesses with tangible programs that will enhance the resiliency of our communities while setting an example of preparedness. These fuel reduction efforts will not only reduce vegetation in areas of heavy growth, but also help to further educate the community about the needs and importance of adequate defensible space. MCRFD has done the research and outreach to the community to identify the mitigation efforts that will have the most impact on reducing wildfire risk. Better access for firefighters, reduced risk of roadside ignitions, continued and updated education, and minimizing fuel near structures, are all important steps in improving the wildland and urban interface.”The San Benito Fire Safe Council and Community Foundation for San Benito County were first time grantees. The funding will help ensure they continue wildfire prevention and education programs and projects in the San Juan Canyon and Aromas region of the district.“We are very excited to receive this much-needed grant money that will help us keep our homes, roads and communities safer.” said Liz Chandler, Firewise Community Coordinator for the San Benito Fire Safe Council. “There are many people living in our smaller communities within the district who take time out of their busy schedules to make their neighborhoods more resilient to wildfire: from educating and promoting home hardening/defensible space best practices to clearing dead trees and flammable fuels from critical roadways.” She continued, “When we come together to do this work, it makes all of us safer. We appreciate the state recognizing our efforts and helping us take it to the next level. By preparing our roadways and properties, we aren’t just making it safer for residents and first responders. By doing this work, we are making it easier for firefighters to do their jobs with the best chance of a good outcome, should a fire occur.”Other projects that were funded in the Central Coast:Over the last five years, the program has funded over 450 wildfire resilience projects that focus on increasing the protection of people, structures, communities and the environment. The program furthers California’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan that is funded in part through California Climate Investments which put cap-and-trade dollars to work. The post Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announces millions of dollars in new CAL FIRE Grant appeared first on BenitoLink.

After years in development, the first phase of Gavilan College’s new campus in Hollister will finish construction in November. This phase consists of a 35,000-square-foot building designed to support classes, administrative services, a cafe, computer labs and other amenities. 

The Mary Velasco Sellen Senior Center of San Juan Bautista received a program project grant from the Community Foundation for San Benito County.

In November, the citizens of Gilroy will be asked to vote for mayoral and city council candidates who want to represent them. Your vote is important because who you select will be making decisions on your behalf for the next four years.

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Sitting in one corner of the Glad Tidings Church office in San Juan Bautista is a machine the size of a filing cabinet that could only be called—compared with current state-of-the-art electronics—a contraption. Installed in 1970, it channeled recordings of carillons to speakers in the steeple, replacing bells deemed too heavy for the structure. It functioned until 2010 when continued maintenance issues silenced it. “We used to load it up on a pickup truck,” said John Amelio, pastor of Glad Tidings since 1979. “There was a fellow in San Jose who would get it going for us again. We’d haul it home, and it would go for another, maybe four or five years. It’d break down, and we’d haul it to him again.” The old carillon machine. Photo by Robert EliasonThe last trip to San Jose with the dysfunctional unit brought terrible news: It was unrepairable. The materials needed to repair the system were no longer available. But now, through the community fundraiser “Bring Back the Bells,” the bells will ring again thanks to help from the Community Foundation for San Benito County, a matching grant from Willis Construction, and a final $600 donation from the Glad Tidings congregation. A new computer-based system from BRG Precision Products was purchased with the proceeds. It is a fraction of the size of the old cassette-driven system and comes with a solid-state drive pre-programmed with more than 2,200 authentic cast-bell recordings.A music cassette used in the old carillon machine. Photo by Robert Eliason.The sounds include hymns, with several versions of popular ones like “Amazing Grace” and “Ave Maria,” secular tunes like “The Star Spangled Banner,” and a wide assortment of chimes, clock strikes, peals and funeral tolls, some based on famous church bells like those at Westminster Cathedral. (BGR’s site offers a 16-minute audio demonstration of selections for various occasions.)A legacy of givingKenneth Beck donated the original bell system to the church in memory of his wife, Hazel. The couple enjoyed traveling, and their nephew, Bill Johnson, remembered riding with them on occasion. “Ken was a civil engineer all of his life in San Luis Obispo,” Johnson said. “He would take us on rides all over San Luis Obispo County and say, ‘I built this road, or ‘I built that bridge.’ They would go on trips to take these wonderful pictures, and he would show us slides of their last trip to Alaska or Yellowstone.” According to Johnson, Hazel died in 1966, soon after the couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Left alone, Ken moved from San Luis Obispo to an assisted care facility in Monterey.“They never had children and there was nobody for him to do anything with,” he said. “Around the time he moved, he donated the bells to the church. He wanted something to remember Hazel by and had money because he was pretty important.”Ken chose San Juan Bautista for the gift, Johnson said, because Hazel was the “daughter of a mucky-muck,“ William Sims Prescott, and she had grown up on his ranch outside the city. Prescott was involved in approving the San Juan Pacific Railway as a county supervisor for District 2. (Carrying on that tradition, Johnson’s daughter is San Benito County Supervisor Mindy Sotelo.)Johnson remembered the bells vividly and said they seemed to be an important part of San Juan’s character.“San Juan got to be known by them,” he said. “It was more than just church bells. Time goes by and people forget about these things. I'm so happy that they're doing something to bring him back.”Amelio said he gets stopped in the street by locals who ask him about the bells.”“A lot of people remember them from when they were in grammar school,” Amelio said. “And folks who came into San Juan for a festival or dinner would always say that they enjoyed hearing the bells.”Shawna Freels, a fundraising committee member, said the project had been inspired by Stephanie Correia, a former San Juan resident who returned to the city three years ago. She began discussing the bells with Shawna’s husband, San Juan Bautista Mayor Scott Freels, who she works with on researching local history.“He told her that George Diaz had tried to raise funds for the bells years before,” Shawna said. “Stephanie reached out to George, and that's how it's started. He did the footwork on finding companies that sell times systems now and connected us with the Community Foundation.”Shawna Freels also contacted Larry Willis of Willis Construction, who pledged $3,000 in matching funds.“The rest has all been through the parish,” Freels said. “The pastor has been promoting it with his parishioners, and we sent letters to local businesses and other potential donors.”A final donation of $600 from parishioners pushed the fundraiser over the top, and the system was ordered. Following its installation, there will be a dedication ceremony and BBQ on Oct 19 and the block of 3rd Street in front of the church, between Muckelemi and Polk Streets, will be closed for the event. Freels said that the church plans to ring the bells hourly from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and, in addition, the system can be used to send emergency alerts to the community.“I think this is just an incredible bonus for us in town,” she said. “The sound can be heard for nine blocks, and I think it will support our community in a pretty phenomenal way.”The pastor, though, is just glad to have the bells back. “People really enjoyed listening to them,” Amelio said. “The bells make you feel good. I guess they just make you feel a little closer to God.”Wanda Guilbert, president of the San Juan Bautista Historical Society, wrote a detailed history of the church and bells for the Aug 2024 issue of Mission Village Voice as part of her long-running “Then and Now” series. The article includes photographs of the church's original location, its appearance over the years, and the reconstruction of the steeple. We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.The post The bells at Glad Tidings Church soon to ring out again appeared first on BenitoLink.

Morgan Hill publisher and writer Martin Cheek died this week at the age of 57, according to his business partner, Robert Airoldi.

In honor of National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, the Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast hosted a luncheon for local mental health service providers and organizations at Paine’s Restaurant in Hollister on Sept. 6.

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Most Hollister pharmacies are now carrying the COVID-19 vaccines for the 2024-25 COVID season. Speaking about the importance of the new vaccine, San Benito County Public Health pharmacist Mary White told BenitoLink, “The COVID virus can change so it is important to get the most updated vaccine to match the current strain.”The Centers for Disease Control recommend everyone ages six months and older receive an updated vaccine to protect against COVID-19 this autumn and winter regardless of prior vaccinations. “The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is always changing and protection from COVID-19 vaccines declines over time,” the CDC states. “Receiving an updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine can restore and enhance protection against the virus variants currently responsible for most infections and hospitalizations in the United States. COVID-19 vaccination also reduces the chance of suffering the effects of long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and last for an extended duration.”Pharmacies carrying the 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccineRite Aid  831-636-1692. Pfizer and Modera vaccines available; by appointment or walk-in.CVS  (located inside Target), 831-638-4824. Modera available by appointment or walk-in from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. 

Lea este artículo en español aquí.It’s Hoptober and at Swank Farms, the air is filled with the smell of malts and hops. The farm’s third annual Hoptoberfest, a one-day event held on Sept. 14, will feature over 20 brewers and winemakers, live music by Salinas-based One 2 Many Band and pop-up vendors.Hoptoberfest is the opening event of the farm’s fall season, which will pick up again Oct. 4 with the opening of the Corn Maze, the Trail of Lights and the Pumpkin Patch, all part of the Swank Farms Experience.  This is the first year Hoptoberfest is being held as an event separate from the Experience.“Basically, we are going to have a lot of brewers and wineries here,” said Swank Farm owner Dick Swank. “Each will have one or two things to sample and it's going to be a good time for everybody.”For the first time, there are also two ticket options. General admission is $30, which includes eight free pours, unlimited samples and a souvenir glass. The farm offers VIP tickets for $60, which include pours and samples in a larger souvenir glass, free food, access to seating on the second floor of Bonnie’s Barn and a goodie bag filled with Swank Farms produce. Parking for the event is free.That is not the only change at Swank Farms this year: Swank has been getting some help with event planning from his new wife, Satarupa Swank. They met through a mutual friend and were married earlier this year.Dick and Satarupa Swank at the Taj Mahal. Courtesy of Swank Farms.“I was out with a couple of friends at the Tres Pinos Inn,” Dick said, “It was three guys with three bottles of wine and, of course, we started talking about girls. My security guy, Seth, said, ‘I know this girl in India. She is really nice, really sharp—you should talk to her.’”Not long after striking up a long-distance friendship, Dick was on a plane to Singapore, where he met Satarupa in person for the first time.“We went off to Bali,” she said. “We were there for nine days, the longest date in my life.” Satarupa is now head of marketing and has been helping to plan events for the farm. She has invited eight pop-up vendors to join in the Hoptoberfest celebration. The Fall Festival will feature even more pop-ups, with as many as 30 being considered for inclusion. The event will feature tacos and sliders prepared by Swank Farm Chef Valdo, who will also create a farm-to-table spread highlighting produce grown on the farm. “We are going to introduce grilled fresh vegetables,” Dick said, “along with our famous salsa. And we may also break out some of Satarupa’s green cilantro chutney, which everybody loves.”This year, the Hoptoberfest will be open to children for the first time. Even though they obviously cannot participate in the tastings, there is still plenty for kids to do at the farm, including goat fishing (feeding farm animals with stalks of corn), bouncing on the giant inflated jumping pillows, wandering the corn and sunflower fields and riding the giant slide.”We thought if parents are having fun, kids should have fun, too,” Satarupa said. “Nobody has to sacrifice having a good time. We see how excited people are about being on the farm, especially the children—they just don't want to leave.”Satarupa was also responsible for the farm’s first-ever summer camp, held over three days last July. Activities included a competition among the kids to plan this year’s corn maze. “It was a last-minute kind of thing,” she said. “We had Amber Painter, a kindergarten teacher here in Hollister, as director of activities. Every review we got from it was positive. We had 30 kids this year and hope to have 100 next year.”Dick and Satarupa Swank. Photo by Robert Eliason.The full Swank Farm Experience will open on Oct. 4 and attendees who come the first weekend will get a free pumpkin. The and everyone else who comes this year, will also find extra thrills and chills at the Haunted Corn Maze, which Satarupa promises will have even more chainsaw-wielding maniacs hiding in the stalks. “We have six right now and more are coming,” said Dick. “They are kind of like mice—they just like to multiply.”Breweries and wineries at the Hoptoberfest:Alvarado Street Brewery

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Hollister's Benjamin Tolentino has won over 20 gold medals in wrestling tournaments this year and has a 63-9 record in sanctioned matches. He won Grand Champion of the Santa Clara Valley Wrestling Association and took first place at both the California State Freestyle Championships and Rocky Mountain National in Las Vegas.  It’s quite a series of accomplishments, but what Tolentino really wants to talk about is the “Rumble in Reno,” the tournament in which one opponent was a poor enough sport to punch him in the head. He brings it up a lot during his interview with BenitoLink—but, to be fair, he is only eight years old, and things like that tend to stand out at that age.“I don’t know why he did that,” Tolentino said. “He got mad because I was beating him. He went out of bounds and the referee was talking to him. Then he started punching and kicking me in the face. I started to get a little frustrated, but I beat him, and I won a gold medal, which made me happy.”There is a photo of Tolentino jumping with joy next to his defeated opponent that harks back to the famous shot of Muhammad Ali taunting a supine Sonny Liston as he shouts, “Get up and fight, sucker!” The look on Tolentino’s face can only be described as “sweet victory.”Tolentino and the kid who kicked him in the face, Rumble at Reno. Photo by Shae Tolentino.Tolentino first became interested in jiu-jitsu after watching a video of his grandfather, Keith Riddle, competing in the martial art. He started training at four and a half, and his mother, Shae Tolentino, said it immediately became his passion. “Ever since he saw the video, he has been nonstop,” said Shae. “But he couldn’t start competing until he was six years old. The first tournament we put him in was a state championship. He lost two in a row and was immediately eliminated. We thought we had messed up.”Far from being discouraged, Tolentino’s enthusiasm grew. As they drove home from the loss, his grandmother told him, “You don't have to do this anymore.” He replied, “Are you kidding me? This was the best day of my life!”Benjamin Tolentino. Photo by Robert Eliason.Riddle began training with Tolentino at Hollister Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and described his grandson as a natural in both jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Coach Jose Leon, owner of the martial arts school, said Tolentino’s ability to work hard distinguishes him. “Ben has a lot of talent in listening and being coachable,” he said. “Once you get the listening skills down, everything else is easy, and they can start developing motor skills. There's a saying: ‘Embrace the grind. You develop a pattern for them—if they embrace it, they will hopefully carry it on later in life.”Riddle said that they constantly tell Tolentino that it's not his talent but his ability to work harder than the other person because the other person is learning the same moves he’s learning. “So the difference is in how much you put into it,” he said. “Ben seems like he wants to be here and is happy to be here. He applies what he learns, and he just competes very well.”Leon said that Tolentino was quiet and timid when he first started training, but as started getting used to competing, he became less emotional and more comfortable with the sport.“He's just relaxed,” Leon said. “He knows what to do. There are ups and downs because he competes so much, but his consistency makes the difference.”Riddle said he saw Tolentino’s consistency and training on display at a recent tournament in Stockton, where he faced an opponent he had lost to twice before.“He was all over the kid,” Riddle said. “He could have submitted multiple times, but finally, he got the kid on his back and choked him out. The kid never had a dominant position on Ben. I really saw how he had grown in that moment.”The adult-sized trophies he has been winning easily overshadow the 46-pound Tolentino, but he proudly talks about each one: a bear statuette he got from the state championships (“I had some pretty good matches at that one. The last kid scored a couple of points on me, but I won 18-8”), a massive Triple Crown trophy (“I had to win three tournaments to get this one.”) and a belt that will take him at least a decade to grow into from Rumble in Reno (”That’s the one where the kid kicked me in the face.”). Triple Crown Champion. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Maddox Laffen. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Jesse Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.Jesse "Baby Yoda"Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Jesse Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Maddox Laffen. Photo by Robert Eliason.Rocky Mountain National. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Jesse Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Maddox Laffen. Photo by Robert Eliason.SCVWA Grand Champion. Photo by Robert Eliason.Benjamin Tolentino and Jesse Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.State Championships. Photo by Shae Tolentino.Benjamin Tolentino and Jesse Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.D-Day on Broadway, August 2024. Photo by Shae Tolentino.Benjamin Tolentino and Maddox Laffen. Photo by Robert Eliason.Tolentino and the kid who kicked him in the face, Rumble at Reno. Photo by Shae Tolentino.Benjamin Tolentino and the belt from the infamous Rumble in Reno. Photo by Robert Eliason.Like any star athlete, Tolentino already has a younger competitor nipping at his heels: six-year-old Jesse “Baby Yoda” Santiago, who started training when he was four. Santiago has participated in 17 tournaments so far this year and recently won the Kid’s Pan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Championship in Florida, the biggest tournament in the world for his age group. Jesse "Baby Yoda"Santiago. Photo by Robert Eliason.“He wants to go to every tournament he hears about,” said his father, Rich Santiago. “If he thinks he's not signed up, he gets angry. It has been three months since he started competing, and since then, it has been nonstop.”Leon gave Santiago his nickname because at first, he would come into the studio and sit cross-legged, pretending to meditate. Since then, he said, Santiago has become perhaps the strongest six-year-old in the world at the gray belt level.“I think he has a bright future,” Leon said. You don’t have to coach him very much and he understands grappling on his own. He’s just a natural at it.”Santiago said he defeated his four competitors at the Pan Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu championship with a “body triangle,” a maneuver in which he throws his leg over his opponent and squeezes them like a boa constrictor. “I was proud of myself and excited,” he said. “I liked pinning the kids and getting the points. In my next tournament, I am going to get rid of all the kids one by one.”Santiago and Tolentino spar frequently, and they share the same dream: to compete at the Olympics someday.“I loved watching the track running,” Tolentino said. “And then I watched the freestyle wrestling and I learned a lot of stuff. I want to keep wrestling and go to Fresno State one day.”Until then, he will keep up an exhaustive schedule of practices, including twice-weekly trips to UFC fighter Daniel Cormier’s gym in Fresno and signing up for as many tournaments as he can, all with the encouragement of his family.“The sky’s the limit,” said Shae. “I'm the Uber, just taking him to accomplish his dreams. His dad and I tell him, ‘If you give 110% on the mats, we'll give 200% to get you where you want to go.”Follow Tolentino’s tournaments on the Hollister Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s Instagram page.We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. It is expensive to produce local news and community support is what keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service, nonprofit news.The post Eight-year-old Benjamin Tolentino making a name for himself in wrestling appeared first on BenitoLink.

Information provided by Bureau of Land Management. Lea este artículo en español aquí.The Bureau of Land Management Central Coast Field Office is issuing an emergency closure of the Condon Peak Recreation Area and Campground in Fresno County, due to wildland fire danger from the nearby Boone Fire and existing evacuation orders. This temporary closure is effective immediately, until further notice.The Boone Fire started Tuesday, Sept. 3, and has burned more than 17,000 acres of brush and grass fuels as well as burning in the area previously affected by the 2020 Mineral Fire. Clear Creek Managemnt Area, which is approximately 63,000 acres of BLM-managed public land located in the San Benito Mountain Range in San Benito, Fresno, and Monterey counties. This closure order includes the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), Oak Flat Campground, Jade Mill Campground, Condon Peak Recreation Area and Campground, and all roads included within the Clear Creek Management Area.The area is closed to all forms of public access to provide for public and firefighter safety in relation to the Boone Fire and management of that fire. For specific questions related to the closure, please contact the Central Coast Field Office at 831-582-2200. For information about the Boone Fire, please email Andy.VanSciver@ventura.org, or call 559-356-5041The post Clear Creek Management Area closed due to Boone Fire danger appeared first on BenitoLink.

A new strategic partnership between Hollister High School and AI company Conectado is bringing high-tech boot camps to the school as part of its Career Technical Education curriculum.

Here’s a guide for San Benito County voters with key information on elections and the voting process. It’s separated into three categories: registering to vote, ballot information, and in-person voting. Each category includes general information and answers to frequently asked questions.

As Halloween approaches we see an unusual disguise displayed in an elegant royal costume concealing a sinister underneath. I am thinking of ballot Measure X concerning our hospital. This measure cloaked in kingly attire withers in confusing and misleading language tatters.

The Gilroy Firefighters Association’s endorsement of Rebeca Armendariz for reelection to the city council shows a lack of sincerity in honoring the firefighters’ code of ethics. Namely:

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.“Mercury at its best”, that sounds like it could be astronomically exciting to one who searches the skies at night. But when it pertains to the little planet mercury you don’t get too excited. Let’s just say we all give the little planet no respect. Maybe because Mercury is too small, or maybe because it just looks too much like our own moon. Whatever the reason is, little, plain Mercury rarely receives much of the limelight, certainly no respect. Just ask Rodney. So by now you are wondering who is Rodney. Well, it really isn’t your fault you are not aware of Rodney. Let’s blame your parents for having you so late in life. If you had been born earlier, say the forties, you would know exactly who Rodney is. He was only one of the best standup comedians of all time. Example of his work: “My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want second opinion. He said okay, you’re ugly too” Who ever knew you could have fun mixing Comedy and Astronomy together. I tried to work them together all my life, and as you can see; it really hasn’t worked out that well for me.Aside from the planet Pluto, Mercury is the least studied and most likely the least appreciated planet in the solar system. Mercury rarely tops the “Best of” list when it comes to the planets we know. Alright, I’m aware that Pluto is no longer listed as a rock planet such as the inner planets. Scientists have to excuse Sister St. John, my 8th grade teacher, and I that we happen to disagree. I would like to see these scientists convince Sister otherwise. Even though Mercury is the closest to our sun, it is not the hottest. That award goes to its neighbor Venus. It’s not even the smallest planet around. Pluto wins that contest. I guess the only reason why Mercury even makes it into the top ten lists of planets in our solar system is because there are only nine planets to begin with. Just no respect.A very pleasing sight on the early September mornings, should you decide to get up before sunrise, is the wonderful crescent moon adjacent to Mercury. They are well above the eastern horizon an hour before sunrise. Mercury shines at magnitude 0.5 just over 4° to the lower right (south) of the moon. I know my clock will be set. Now is a good time to give Mercury its due respect.This month is the time you want to view both Saturn and Jupiter. Saturn rises at sunset and is up all night, while Jupiter rises around midnight. I still don’t know which one of these two wonders I enjoy looking at the most. The rings of Saturn or the ever changing moons of Jupiter. They both are spectacular sights, and very hard to pull your telescope away from. I often wonder what Galileo would say if he had the chance to press his eyes against the eyepiece of my telescope? Probably much the same as I would looking through the eyepiece of the new Web Space Telescope. The other morning while observing I kept going back and forth between the two and forgetting the rest of the sky. Oh yes, at the same time the other great favorite of mine, the great Orion Nebula in the constellation Orion, popped his head up. Between those three you can spend the whole night giving it all the respect they deserve.Take the time, take a friend and take some warm clothing and enjoy the wonders of the stars. It is very relaxing.Happy stargazing.Sep. 01: Moon passes 5° North of MercurySep. 02: New MoonSep. 05: Moon passes 1.2° south of VenusSep. 05: Moon is at apogee (252,408 miles from EarthSep. 06: Moon passes 0.5° north of SpicaSep. 08: Saturn is at oppositionSep. 09: Mercury passes 0.5° of RegulusSep. 10: Moon passes 0.1° south of AntaresSep. 11: First Quarter MoonSep. 17: Moon passes 0.3° north of SaturnSep. 17: Venus passes 3° north of SpicaSep. 17: Full MoonSep. 18: Moon passes 0.7° north of NeptuneSep. 18: Moon is at perigee (222,007 MILES FROM “Earth)Sep. 22: Moon passes 5° north of UranusSep. 22: Autumnal Equinox occursSep. 23: Moon passes 6° north of JupiterSep. 24: Last Quarter MoonSep. 25: Moon passes 5° north of MarsThe post Searching the Sky: Mercury, the Rodney Dangerfield of planets appeared first on BenitoLink.

‘Bloody Mary’ coming to Gilroy

Hollister SD supe on medical leave

Lea este artículo en español aquí.Former San Benito County Free Library employee Mary Alvarez pleaded not guilty on Sept. 4 to charges of conspiracy to commit a crime in an ongoing embezzlement case. The following day Erin Baxter appeared in court and her preliminary trial was continued. Baxter pleaded not guilty in July.Both are represented by public defender Harry Damkar. On July 10, Deputy District Attorney Toby Hasler announced his office and Baxter’s lawyer were in discussions regarding a settlement. Alvarez is scheduled back in court Oct. 29 and Baxter on Oct. 31.With regards to Baxter’s case, Damkar said he requested the continuance because of the “extensive financial information” he has to review. Baxter is charged with three felony counts involving an alleged embezzlement scheme, including forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime with public funds.According to court documents, Baxter allegedly spent between $100,000 and $500,000 of the library’s money between July 2022 and April 2023 on merchandise. San Benito County Sheriff Eric Taylor previously told BenitoLink that the merchandise, including camping equipment and electronics, was found at Baxter’s home. He also said Baxter, whose name was not released at the time, opened up a number of accounts that allowed her to order merchandise. No actual cash had been taken, he said.According to court documents, Alvarez allegedly “took past-due invoices, forwarded to another to be altered, passed or uttered altered invoices to auditor controller for payment.”San Benito County District Attorney Joel Buckingham previously told BenitoLink the invoices were from contractors that had performed services for the library. If she is found guilty, she will face up to three years in jail. The library has been in the spotlight since May 2023 when the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department began investigating a criminal complaint. That investigation, led by the FBI, resulted in embezzlement charges for Baxter, the former supervising librarian. She had been a county employee since January 2017.BenitoLink related articles:

Over three weeks ago, Gandolfi Investments—which has proposed a 501-unit project at 315 Las Animas Ave—sued the City of Gilroy and City Council for violating California law.