THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
JULY 6, 2018
Girls have a new den
The changing face of Boy Scouts of America
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Salute to Equality SPOKING MY MIND P8 | MARTIN RANCH P12 | TIME TRAVEL P16
HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, July 6, 2018
sanbenito.com • Vol. 145, No. 27 • $1
County work follows pot vote CONSULTANT WOULD BE FIRST STEP TO ALLOWING CANNABIS CULTIVATION By Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
Robert Eliason
Now that voters have approved Measure C, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors will soon decide whether to allow commercial cannabis manufacturing or cultivation in the unincorporated county. On July 24 the supervisors will hear a proposal from HDL Companies, a Diamond City, Calif. political consulting firm, to help guide the county toward writing an ordinance that would officially open the door for commercial cannabis manufacturing and cultivation in unincorporated San Benito County. On June 5, about 58 percent of voters in unincorporated San Benito County approved Measure C, which passed a tax structure that would collect revenue from recreational cannabis manufacturing or cultivation. “We just had a meeting with them,” San Benito County Supervisor Anthony Botelho said June 29, referring to HDL Companies. “After the board decides to contract with a consultant, they are going to survey the interest for cannabis in the county, and this way we can do a financial analysis over fees and taxes.” The plan imposed by the passage of Measure
RED RIDE Jamie Pyle and her dog admire a brght red ‘56 Chevy truck at Los Padrinos Car Show in San Juan Bautista.
Classics help kids LOS PADRINOS HOLDS ITS 11TH ANNUAL CAR SHOW By Debra Eskinazi
➝ Cannabis, 8
Magazine and Features Editor
Lowriders, hot rods and rat rods lined the streets of downtown San Juan Bautista Saturday, June 30, for the 11th annual car show with the Los Padrinos Car and Truck Club. The club’s president,
Ralph Duarte, who took over after his father Pete Duarte passed away two years ago, said they had many entries this year and drew perhaps 3,000 attendees from all over the region. “We had 120 entries this year,” said Duarte. “It went from low riders, hot rods, rat rods. We take in any car. We make the classes the day of the show, and we try to make it so everyone has a class that brings car out.”
The event included vendors selling purses, hats, shirts and auto detailing, as well as a taco truck and a fish-andchips booth. Duarte says the club wants people to patronize local businesses, and he’s grateful for its local sponsors. “Dona Esthers and Daisy’s are some of our main sponsors and have been helping us out since this beginning, maybe 11
years,” he said. “We actually got a sponsor that we are in discussion with and will be talking with the city about expanding the event.” Proceeds from the event benefit Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the VFW of San Juan Bautista, as well as other smaller charities. Duarte said Los Padrinos, which received its nonprofit status four years ago, works
throughout the year making contributions to the community, such as feeding the homeless and participating in other community events, including Gilroy’s Tamale Festival, which takes place Oct. 7. As the car club’s relationship with the community evolves, Duarte is excited to help realize his father’s dream. “Hopefully, it will be even better,” Duarte said.
Arizona water was source of lettuce E.coli CDC REPORT CONCLUDES THAT TAINTED YUMA WATER WAS FOUND IN ROMAINE CROP Staff report
The recent deadly outbreak of E. coli in romaine lettuce is officially over. Federal authorities say the romaine lettuce for sale in
grocery stores and restaurants is safe to eat. According to a June 28 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, samples taken from canal water that irrigated Yuma, Arizona growing fields were laced with deadly bacteria. “The E. coli O157:H7 found in the canal water is closely related genetically to the E. coli O157:H7 from ill people,” the CDC
reported in a final update on the outbreak. The romaine lettuce grown in Arizona was contaminated with a particularly virulent strain of E. coli that sickened 210 people in 36 states between March 13 and June 6. The age of victims ranged from 1 to 88. Ninety-six of the victims were sick enough to be hospitalized; 27 of those developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a type of kidney failure. Five people from four states died.
It was the worst outbreak of the particular strain of E. coli since a 2006 outbreak linked to spinach. Using a special type of DNA fingerprinting called whole genome sequencing, the CDC was able to determine that the E. coli bacteria sampled from those who became ill was closely related genetically, so a single source of infection was the most likely cause. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration, along with the CDC and various state partners, then traced the outbreak back to a single growing region in Yuma, Arizona. Yuma grows 90 percent of all the leafy greens America eats between the months of November and March. Most lettuce consumed the rest of the year is grown in California, including San Benito County. The last shipments of lettuce from Arizona shipped in April.