THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF SAN BENITO COUNTY
MAY 24, 2019
A supplement to the Hollister Free Lance
Hollister family remembers fallen son PAYING TRIBUTE
SAN BENITO MAGAZINE INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Hollister family remembers fallen son P2
NEW HOLLISTER PRINCIPALS P2 | FAIRVIEW ROAD FATALITY P4 | HIGH-SPEED RAIL P8
HOLLISTER • SAN BENITO COUNTY
A New SV Media publication
Friday, May 24, 2019
sanbenito.com • Vol. 147, No. 21 • $1
Council postpones 400 block appeal MAYOR DETAILS HIS ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE PROJECT Jaqueline McCool Reporter
➝ 400 Block, 13
Robert Eliason
The expected showdown between Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez and the City Council over a San Benito Street development this week was delayed until June 3 because city staff didn’t release a report to the public ahead of the meeting on May 6. After the mayor’s lawyer questioned the report’s timing, the council’s attorney, Lauren Layne of the Fresno law firm of Baker, Manock and Jensen, recommended the public hearing’s continuation. The hearing was set to consider the appeal to the planning commission’s approval of a commercial/ residential project and an office building at the corner of San Benito and Fourth streets, known as “the 400 block.” In past votes regarding the 400 block, the council has voted 3-1 in favor of
A MOTHER’S LOVE Amelia Gonzalez cherishes the memory of her oldest son Albert,
who died while serving in Vietnam in 1968.
Time to remember Staff report
Memorial Day is a chance to reflect on those who died defending our country. Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day observance began after the Civil War, and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
For the Gonzalez family in Hollister, this weekend is a special time to remember their oldest son Albert, who died in 1968 at the age of 22 while serving with U.S. forces in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service. In that war, a total of 58,000
American service members also lost their lives. On May 27, 11am ceremonies at the Veterans Memorial Building on San Benito Street will honor the fallen in all wars. The family’s story can be found in this week’s San Benito magazine, inside today’s Free Lance.
Police on lookout for phony officer SUSPECT PULLED OVER FEMALE MOTORIST Staff report
Hollister Police are looking for a male suspect who has reportedly been impersonating a cop in recent incidents in town. On May 13, a woman called police to report she
had been pulled over by a driver in an unmarked car in the area of Tres Pinos Road and Andrews Drive, according to police. The driver of the car used an emergency red light to make an enforcement stop. The woman stopped her vehicle but later drove away when she suspected the person was not a real officer. The incident happened about 8:30am, police said. The woman further told
police that the suspect's vehicle was an older model white Ford Crown Victoria. The vehicle appeared to be a police car with black stock wheels and spotlights. The car had been following the woman's vehicle when the Crown Victoria produced a red light for a traffic stop. The woman pulled over. The driver of the Crown Victoria contacted her and asked for her
driver's license, according to police. The man asked her about a crime she had no knowledge of. The woman suspected he was not a real police officer and asked him to identify himself. When he refused, the woman drove away. The resident drove to the Hollister Police Department and filed a report of the incident, according to police. Hollister officers began
to investigate and share the information with neighboring agencies. The Hollister Police Department does not currently have any unmarked white Crown Victoria vehicles in its fleet, according to a press release reporting the incident. The car was further described as having tinted windows and black ➝ Fake Cop, 8
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