HOME + GARDEN APRIL 6, 2018
HOME + GARDEN INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE
A SPECIAL EDITION OF SOUTH VALLEY & SAN BENITO MAGAZINES
South Valley Magazine INSIDE THIS ISSUE
THIS WEEK: St. Josephs puts gifts under the tree
San Benito Magazine inside this issue HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, April 6, 2018
sanbenito.com • Vol. 145, No. 14 • $1
Hollister INSIDE THIS ISSUE San Benito Magazine trustees endorse charter school
THIS WEEK: Poppy Jasper screens Luis Valdez’s ‘Ceasar’s Last Fast’
LOCAL BOARD OKS FIVE-YEAR RENEWAL FOR HOLLISTER PREP Scott Forstner Reporter
Barry Holtzclaw
In a unanimous 5-0 vote by the Hollister School District Board of Trustees, Navigator Schools got its second charter renewal approved in less than a week as Hollister Prep’s new five-year contract was granted March 27. The move followed Navigator’s Gilroy Prep— via Gilroy Unified School District Board of Trustees—receiving the same extension term five days earlier. “We are thrilled to have received both renewals as the support of our authorizing districts is incredibly important to us as an organization,” said Kirsten Carr, Navigator’s director of community outreach. “As well, we hope the positive relationship we have with both GUSD and HSD can show Pajaro
STATE OF THE ART Don Ridenhour, general manager of the Sunnyslope Water District, at the West Side Water Treatment Plant.
Plant improves water NEW PIPELINE THIS SUMMER IS IMPORTANT FOR SCHOOL By Barry Holtzclaw Managing Editor
➝ West Hills, 10
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
TURN TO BRIDGE • A8
LOOK FOR IT ON THE WEB
An advocacy organization that re college instructors across Califo symbolically walk out of the clas what they call a significant pay d
TOP-TIER DEGREES THAT FIT YOUR SCHEDULE AND LIFESTYLE. BOSTON | CHARLOTTE | SEATTLE | SILICON VALLEY | TORONTO | ONLINE
• Unshelled and shelled cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds • Unhulled and roasted macademia nuts • Betel nuts, pine nuts • Other fresh or dried nuts • Fresh or dried bananas, plantains, dates, figs, pineapple, avocado • Fresh or dried guava, mango, mangosteen, orange, all other citrus, including clementines, virgin and other
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 announcement this week from China that it intends to impose retaliatory tariffs on 128 U.S. products sent shock waves across U.S. agriculture, especially in California. Among the Chinese targets are some of the biggest money crops
fruit, nuts and wine, with a 15 percent tariff. The second part would cover eight U.S. products worth nearly $2 billion, including pork, with a 25 percent tariff. China said if it fails to reach an agreement with the United States, then it would place tariffs on the first part of the list. The list of Chinese tariff targets includes: • Dried coconut, Coconut without inner shell, Other coconut • Unhulled and shelled Brazilian nuts, chestnuts, pistachio nuts
TURN TO PIZZA • A8
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,”
7
in San Benito County and southern Santa Clara County—fruit, nuts and wine. The Chinese announcement— not unexpected—followed the Trump administration’s decision to impose tariffs on some $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.. In its statement, China did not indicate when the tariffs would go into effect but said it would implement them in two parts. The first part would affect 120 U.S. products valued at $977 million, including fresh fruit, dried
San Juan resident: ‘Like our own
****ECRWSS**** Residential Customer
PAID
HOLLISTER CA. PERMIT #48
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
Further expansion planned for this summer plays an important role in the renovations at San Benito High School. The county Board of Supervisors was expected this week to give the final green light to construction of a new pipeline along the route of a new county road that officials hope will complete a bypass of Nash Road. This will allow the San Benito High School District to close Nash Road during
Cake, anyone?
residents had a year ago, Ridenhour said. He said Hollister residents will not need expensive water softeners if they have higher quality water with fewer minerals. In addition, the city is under pressure from federal water quality regulators to reduce the amount of salt the end up in groundwater. Much of this salt contamination comes from water softeners, he said. The new treatment plant is distributing water to about 4,000 households in western and central Hollister.
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
SPORTS
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
PRODUCERS FEAR BIG IMPACT IF TARIFFS OCCUR Managing Editor
58015 02002
District—which serves southern communities of Ridgemark, Quail Hollow and Fairview Road— the county district, and the City of Hollister Water Department, with loans repaid by fees paid by water consumers and connection fees paid by developers and new homeowners. The new water treatment plant uses compressed air, sand, activated carbon and several chemicals to provide drinking water that is cleaner and “softer” than
Chinese tariffs target local farm products By Barry Holtzclaw
6
Soph surge
When the new $25 million water treatment plant in southwest Hollister went online last August, expectations were high, for improved water quality for thousands of Hollister homes. Don Ridenhour, general manager for the Sunnyslope Water District,
➝ Hollister Prep, 8
which runs the new West Side water treatment plant, said the new plant is exceeding expectations. The state-of-the-art facility on a hilltop overlooking the city contributes water to the interconnected system of treatment plants, pipes and pumping stations to serve Hollister and its growing neighborhoods. The water treatment plant was financed by the San Benito Water District, and represents a partnership between the Sunnyslope Water
➝ Tariffs, 4
ACCELERATE YOUR CAREER THROUGH THE
TAKE THE
NEXT STEP northeastern.edu/pan/experience