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The Many Roads to Gilroy A Historical Journey through Gilroy’s Past
With beautiful rolling hills and verdant valleys, redwoods and oak trees, streams and hot springs, and proximity to both mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Gilroy has been an essential crossroads [...]
San Benito County Historical Society
Listed under: History
How the California mental health crisis emerged out of the state’s history of deinstitutionalization and laws designed to protect the mentally ill, as well as the communities around them.
Heat pumps, an energy-efficient way to both heat and cool homes, are a necessary element of California's climate goal of net zero carbon emissions. Here's what they are, how they work, and how to get one.
The Williamson Act, passed in 1965, now keeps more than 16 million acres of farmland out of the hands of developers. Here's how the law puts the brakes on the development of California agricultural properties.
The California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, is both the state’s signature environmental legislation, and is also often named as the villain in the state’s housing shortage. But the story may not be that simple.
How California’s 10 state conservancies buy up open land and shield it from developers to preserve the natural environment for public use.
Long-duration energy storage is essential if renewables are to become the basis for a future, carbon-neutral power grid. Here's how California is leading the race to store energy from solar, wind, and other clean sources for use whenever it's needed.
Democracy is a 2,500-year-old system of government still looked on today as the best system, because under a democratic system, the people govern themselves. But is that all there is to it? What is democracy? And how does it work …
What is the California Coastal Commission? How one of the state’s most powerful agency protects public access to the state’s scenic coast from Mexico to Oregon.
This year, a series of extreme events in California and around the country have wreaked havoc, driven by climate change. How prepared are we for things to get worse?
Since the Gold Rush era, land reclamation projects have helped to build California, but they are also damaging the state’s environment for people, plants and animals by eliminating essential wetlands.
California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.
Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …
The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.
California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?
Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.
The history of transportation in California has shaped the state, from the railroads to today’s highways, making the need for planning increasingly urgent. Here’s how it all happened, and where we stand today.
Thousands of miles of railroad track, including some in Santa Cruz County, now sit idle. The fate of those largely abandoned tracks has become a burning controversy.
California keeps on taking legislative steps that will keep it ranked in the top 10 of voter-friendly states.
Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.
The pesky mosquito can be deadly as well as annoying. Here’s how local governments in California have been waging war on mosquitoes for more than a century.
What do resource conservation districts protect? Pretty much everything that’s worth saving.
Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.
Since long before the COVID-19 pandemic, states have possessed broad authority to protect public health, even to suspend laws and commandeer private property. Here’s why, and how it works.
How California's extensive public school system is organized and managed, explained.
From Benito Link...
County board passes an advisory measure seeking public input on the hospital.
On July 23, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on a 4-1 vote accepted the certification of the Empower Voters to Make Land Use Decisions Initiative and placed it on the ballot for the Nov. 5 election.
Two supervisors and proponents question the credibility of the 9111 fiscal report.
San Benito County corrections commander says the move is in response to a staffing shortage.
From Gilroy Dispatch...
In an ongoing legal dispute about the use and interpretation of a state housing law, the developer of a 501-unit project proposed on Las Animas Avenue now says the City of Gilroy must allow the residential complex to proceed.
From CalMatters...
The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors on July 9 held off on a decision regarding an ordinance that would prohibit homeless encampments along waterways in the water district’s jurisdiction.
From SanBenitocom...
The San Benito County Supervisors on June 18 unanimously approved a low impact camping ordinance—a move that proponents say will allow rural landowners the chance to host small-scale camping on their properties.
Driven by increasing residential values and despite a “troubled” commercial real estate market, Santa Clara County’s overall property assessment roll grew by $35.6 billion, or 5.4% in the last year, according to Assessor Larry Stone’s office.
Foreman says unprofessional behavior extends beyond the well documented battles in the Hollister City Council.
After years of frustration, changes to San Benito County land use regulations will help owners of rangeland and other rural businesses prosper.
A federal committee last week approved about $63 million in funding for the improvement and expansion of infrastructure. The funds include more than $15 million in upgrades in San Juan Bautista and Hollister, according to U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren’s office.
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