THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
AUGUST 10, 2018
A celebration of vaquero heritage
San Juan Bautista remembers el vaquero
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
A Celebration of Heritage A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, August 10, 2018
sanbenito.com • Vol. 145, No. 32 • $1
Builder readies housing for farm workers SUBSIDIES TO REDUCE RENT BASED ON QUALIFYING INCOME Bryce Stoepfel Reporter
➝ Vista de Oro, 12
Robert Eliason
After months of delays, the $26 million, 80-unit Vista Del Oro apartment complex should be finished by October, providing subsidized housing for San Benito farmworkers. The apartments, ranging from one to three bedrooms, will be restricted to low-income farmworkers. The Pacific Companies, which also is building the 242-unit Alexander Station Apartments in Gilroy, will develop and own the project, but will hand off management duties to Buckingham Properties of Fresno once construction is completed. According to a 2016 report from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, Vista de Oro received $1,672,801 in annual federal tax credits and $5,676,005 in total state tax credits to finance the construction of the project. Federal funding from the USDA comes from the MultiFamily Housing and Section 514/516 Farm Labor Housing programs, which were developed to support affordable rental housing for rural areas. Vista de Oro also receives rental assistance from the U.S. Department
CAR SMASH Caden Munoz took his chance to smash away cancer at the San Benito County Relay for Life Saturday, Aug. 4.
Families battle cancer ceremony on Friday, Aug. 3 followed by a survivors walk and a luminaria ceremony San Benito County stood up to cancer on at nightfall. An additional opportunity for Friday, Aug. 3 and Saturday, Aug. 4 during fundraising gave people the chance to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for donate and wield a sledgehammer in the Life—an opportunity to raise money for the Relay for Life Car Smash. Until the closing American Cancer Society while celebrating ceremony at 2pm on Saturday, Aug. 4, at loved ones who lost their battle to cancer. least one member of each team remained The 20-hour event at Ladd Lane Elementary on the track all all times to emphasize that School in Hollister kicked off its opening cancer never sleeps. Debra Eskinazi
Magazine & Features Editor
Nash Road closure pushed back to Oct. MULTI-AGENCY PROJECT WILL INCLUDE MORE THAN JUST A BYPASS ROUTE By Jaqueline McCool Reporter
The closure of Nash Road at San Benito High School is set to be completed this October. School and county officials had originally hoped the road could close to weekday traffic in August,
providing a bypass around the school to divert traffic from the center of the sprawling campus. Four construction projects are happening simultaneously through and around Nash Road. The timing of the road’s closure is dependent on the completion of a bypass road, which is intertwined with the various projects. The projects included in the plans are a park, a crosstown pipeline, the bypass road and the Nash Road closure. The bypass being
created to divert traffic is also the first stage of a new county park. Adam Goldstone, capital projects manager for San Benito County, said the cross-pipeline project has slowed work on the bypass project because of its proximity to both Nash Road and the bypass route. Measure G is helping to fund the Nash Road. construction, with about $1.8 million taken out of the measure’s fund. The plan was first approved in 2016.
The measure G financial audit found the Nash Road project was expected to be completed this month. San Benito High School district Superintendent, Shawn Tennenbaum, said he was pleased at the rate all projects were moving. In the San Benito High School newsletter, the school explained the progress made on the Nash Road project: “Crews last week installed metal gates across Nash Road between
Monterey and West streets. They will eventually be closed from 7am. to 7pm weekdays to prevent vehicular traffic from bisecting campus.” Tennenbaum said the bypass was important to the safety of the school’s students and staff. Tennenbaum said the closure of Nash Road was the initial project that resulted in the three-part partnership and multiple projects. ➝ Nash Road, 5