Change is Here: What Do We Want?

In this episode, Elia Salinas and John Freeman discuss the new solar and battery projects presented to the Planning Commission earlier this week.  We discuss the advantages and dangers of a solar and battery storage plant.  We also spent a few minutes discussing the recent recall election for District Five Supervisor.  

In Ihis epispode John and Elia discuss the election Contests in San Benito County.  .Our recommendations at inbedded it the Podcast.  Listen and learn about the issues and people running for office that control this areas future. 

In this episode, we invite Mia Casey, former Mayor of Hollister, to discuss the consequences of our county's jurisdictions, which have fallen out of compliance with the required housing element.  We talk about the opportunities that the jurisdictions are missing, such as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), which offers funding for Senior Centers, developing new parks and recreation facilities, transit centers, low-income and homeless facilities, and many other important functions of local governments. All three jurisdictions in San Benito County presently do NOT have an approved housing element.  As a Prop 13-constrained and poor county, we could use all the grant money available to serve our citizens.  So, how can we rectify this situation? Listen and find out!

In this Episode of "Change is Here,"  Elia and John invite Matt Huerta, the Housing guru of Monterey Bay Economic Development, to talk about the Builder's Remedy process that is impacting San Benito County.  We discuss its history and how it works and how it affects our county, both the good and bad.

In this episode, John, Elia, and special guest Stacie McGrady discuss more problems that the Civil Grand Jury found and reported on.  We talk about the taxes that the San Benito County Water District collects.  Has the reason for the tax, infrastructure built 40 years ago passed.  Does operations and maintenance justify the ongoing taxes?  John's answer is YES, the water district provides high-quality water to the city of Hollister and Sunnyslope Water District as well as blue valve water that supports Agriculture in our county. Stacie and Elia provide pushback on the tax issue. Later we talk about Code Enforcement and how an outside contractor does not always provide good service to the community.

In this episode, Elia and John, with special guest Stacie McGrady, discuss the recent civil grand jury report.  Ms. McGrady was a member of the 2024-25 San Benito County Civil Grand Jury and participated in the investigations conducted by the Grand Jury.  Twelve separate investigations were published, and seven of them involve County operations and administration.  In this episode, we discuss the ongoing problems with the County administration and thier inability to solve these problems.  

In our initial podcast, John Freeman and Elia Salinas discuss the problems and challenges of San Benito County.  We start off with the ongoing recall of two County Supervisors, and discuss the housing crisis in both the State of California and San Benito County.  We then discuss the effects of having the working population commute long hours out of town to earn a livable wage and its effects on the cultural life of San Benito County.  We discuss the recent passage of AB 130 that eases the CEQA requirements on infill housing.  We also discuss the economy of San Juan Bautista and the hopeful jolt that a new gas station on the corner of Hwy 156 and The Alameda may give to our beloved little town.  We end on a positive note concerning the power grid of California and how the power mix of WWS (Water, Wind, & Solar) now provides a majority of our electrical power, and the good effects of that fact on our air quality and our health.