THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
MAY 10, 2019
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
Cameroon professor finds home in Hollister
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
STANDING STRONG Cameroon professor finds home in Hollister P4
TOP SCHOOL STAFF P2 | SCHOOL CROSSINGS P11 | MURDER HEARING P14 CALENDAR OF EVENTS P10 | OPEN STUDIOS P15 | REAL ESTATE P17
HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, May 10, 2019
sanbenito.com • Vol. 147, No. 19 • $1
Trump tweets, feds stonewall fast train STATE GETS NO RESPONSE FOR TWO MONTHS Jaqueline McCool Reporter
The $79 billion High-Speed Rail that promises to connect Northern and Southern California could be stalled in its tracks by a new obstacle: the Trump administration.
The Federal Rail Administration (FRA) has refused to meet with the California High-Speed Rail Authority following a series of tweets from President Donald Trump in which he threatened to pull federal funding for the project, according to a High-Speed Rail 2019 project update report May 1. “On Feb. 19, 2019, the
FRA administrator notified the Authority of the FRA’s intent to rescind the $929 million in federal FY10 grant funds,” said the update. “The FRA also indicated that it was evaluating taking back the $2.5 billion in ARRA funds that were awarded to the Authority and which has been fully expended in compliance
with federal requirements and deadlines.” The FRA did not comment on the pulled funding, but a source in the administration told this newspaper that the FRA is still reviewing the HighSpeed Rail Authority’s response to the notice of pulled funding. High-speed rail in California has been the
subject of controversy for more than a decade, but as the project progresses, the High-Speed Rail Authority has continued to modify plans and attempt to appease critics. The train would run through Santa Clara County, which already has local officials talking about massive downtown revitalization from a new
High-Speed Rail station in Gilroy which would promise a 25-minute commute to Silicon Valley. The authority released the 2019 project report May 1. The update addresses funding shortages, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Feb.12 State of the State address and the Trump administration’s ➝Speed Rail, 4
Farmers market booms SOME BUSINESSES ON SAN BENITO STREET LOSE CUSTOMERS Erik Chalhoub Business Editor
Robert Eliason
FARM TO TABLE Monica Benton, left, and Shirley Brewer, center, check out greens from
Diane Matarangas’ Penny Lane Farms of Hollister at Hollister Farmers Market.
Only an hour into the opening day of the Downtown Hollister Certified Farmers’ Market on May 1, a line of people waiting to purchase a baked potato at Ivan’s Baked Potatoes stretched a quarter of a block. San Benito Street, closed off for two blocks, was overflowing with hordes of people, making it difficult to navigate from one end of the market to the other. Market manager Corey Shaffer said the market was “booming,” even before its 3pm start time. “It’s the community that brings it together,” she said. “This is a great ➝ Farmers Market, 2
Mayor challenges plans for 400 block VELAZQUEZ SAYS HE WILL SUE IF COUNCIL REJECTS HIS APPEAL Jaqueline McCool Reporter
➝ 400 block, 9
File Photo
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez is moving forward with his plans to appeal the Hollister Planning Commission’s approval of a tentative map for the 400-block projects in Hollister. The projects include the Community Foundation’s non-profit offices and a mixed-use condominium building on San Benito Street at Fourth Street. On April 11, the mixed-use space and foundation received approval by the planning commission, which approved a tentative map, conditional use
permit and minor subdivision for the Del Curto Brothers and Community Foundation of San Benito County. Prior to the planning commission decision, Velazquez sent a letter through his lawyers, Robert Perlmutter and Edward Shexnayder at Shute, Mihaly and Wineberger, claiming that the decision violated a number of environmental and city codes. When the sale of the property on the 400 block neighboring The Vault, Velazquez’s banquet hall, was first approved, Velazquez gathered signatures to get a referendum on the ballot that would overturn the decision. Although the petition gathered enough valid
400 BLOCK NEIGHBOR Mayor Ignacio Velazquez is challenging development of vacant lot as a “private citizen.”