HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, February 9, 2018
sanbenito.com • Vol. 145, No. 6 • $1
The county eyes vote on higher sales tax APPROVAL FOR 1 PERCENT COULD RESULT IN $490 MILLION OVER NEXT 30 YEARS Nicholas Preciado Reporter
Barry Holtzclaw
San Benito County voters may to be asked again this fall to vote on a countywide sales tax, a one-cent levy that would fund road repairs, maintenance and transportation projects. Voters rejected a sales tax measure in 2016. The Council of San Benito County Governments, the county’s regional transportation agency, is currently working on a ballot measure that would go before voters in November 2018. The sales tax would generate approximately $490 million over a 30-year period, according to agency staff. “We are currently working on preparing an expenditure plan which would actually identify SEEING RED Kathina Szeto, owner of San Benito Bene gift shop in Hollister, sets up her Valentine’s Day display.
➝ Sales Tax, 14
Won’t you bee mine?
THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
FEBRUARY 9, 2018
OU T & AB OU T OF NDAR CA LE EN TS EV
By Debra Eskinazi
Ice cream shop named 2018 Business of the Year
Features Editor
Margot’s scoops up award A section of the Hollister Free Lance
said Jim Brumfield, whose 14-acre horse ranch on San Juan Highway is a short walk from the site of the planned bridge. The riverbed crossing will be funded completely with federal money from the Federal Highway Administration's Toll Credit Highway Bridge Program, with construction slated for the spring of 2017. “The key to a better transportation
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An advocacy organization that r college instructors across Califo symbolically walk out of the cla what they call a significant pay
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of non-medical cannabis in the City of Hollister. The 45-day lifespan of the urgency ordinance gave city staff enough time to come up with a list of recreational changes that include compliance with the State of California for non-medical, personal cultivation and no outdoor cultivation permitted. Additionally, all locally-made cannabis products must be
identified with an A for adult-use and an M for medical. “I don’t have much of an issue with where the industry has gone,” Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez said at the Feb. 5 meeting. “I understand cultivators and manufacturers have to compete in the market.” Up until now, the City of Hollister has only
make his pizzas. In starting the business, he is also bringing a taste of his family’s home country to his family’s hometown in Hollister. The Felice family is from the Calabria part of Italy and has deep roots in San Benito County as well. With the opening of Forno, meanwhile, Hollister will once again
The Hollister City Council unanimously voted Monday night to allow recreational cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and testing businesses to operate within city limits.
permitted only within the zoning districts currently approved for medical facilities,” said Maria Mendez with the city’s development services department. “Retail sales for adult-use are prohibited throughout the city.” Last December, council members previously approved an urgency ordinance that prohibited cultivation, processing, manufacturing, distribution, testing, and sale
TURN TO PIZZA • A8
San Juan resident: ‘Like our ow
7
Recreational, or adultuse, dispensaries and retail sales are still prohibited, but medical cannabis will be available from two dispensaries— Purple Cross Rx at 1785 San Felipe Road and Monterey Bay Alternative Medicine at 773 San Felipe Road—when they open for operation later this year. “Adult-use cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and distribution are
Project planned for Y Road
KATIE HELLAND •REPORTER khelland@freelancenews.com
HOLLISTER
A $16 million bridge stretching 900 feet across the San Benito River is planned to connect Y Road and San Juan Bautista. But in this rural area, the number of people it will serve is small. “It's like our own bridge to nowhere,”
RECREATIONAL DISPENSARIES ARE STILL PROHIBITED
Cake, anyone?
The San Benito County chapter of the national nonprofit organization Birthday Cakes 4 Free started last spring and group members have been bringing cakes, cupcakes and muffins to low-income seniors and children ever since then. Since the group started in June, its members have delivered about five cakes a month to the Emmaus House, Chamberlain's Children Center and the assisted living facility Whispering Pines Inn. Now they're looking to expand to individual homes in the county. A2
Solar revisions
The company vying to build a 247-megawatt solar farm in Panoche submitted a draft supplemental environmental impact report addressing plans to examine impacts under a revised, reduced proposal. PV2 Energy filed the supplemental draft EIR on Dec. 23. The prior company overseeing the project, Solargen Energy, had an initial EIR approved by the county board in late 2010. A5 Barry Holtzclaw
Council OKs cannabis manufacturing Reporter
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SPORTS
HEARTY GREETING Trish Hunt of the DeBrito Chocolate Factory in Hollister.
Nicholas Preciado
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Soph surge
A year ago, Brad Sparrer was the No. 5 player in the lineup on San Benito High’s golf team. But entering the 2015 season—practice starts on Feb. 1—the 5-foot-8, 140pound sophomore will likely be the Haybalers’ No. 1 player. Sparrer’s meteoric rise came the good old-fashioned way: hard work. B1
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Inside this issue: Margot’s earns a sweet spot
Candy hearts, chocolate kisses, the obligatory paper Valentine coveted by many a grade school student—when Valentine’s Day rolls around on Feb. 14 few can escape its clutches— ahem, tender embrace. With only five days left to make those reservations or order that gift, the curious lover may be scrambling to find a way to prove their affection. Responsible for guaranteeing the sweetness of honey, people may be interested to know that St. Valentine is also the ing. So if you struggle to show your beloved their significance to you— perhaps a simple jar of honey will do.
➝ Cannabis Adults, 10
ACCELERATE YOUR CAREER THROUGH THE
TAKE THE
NEXT STEP northeastern.edu/pan/experience