This past year has been a flurry of events, milestones, changes, victories and losses that shaped San Benito County. And as the region continues to face the challenges and embrace the hopes related to ongoing growth, 2026 promises to keep local communities moving and engaged.
One of the biggest, happiest highlights of 2025 was the return of the Independence Rally to downtown Hollister on July 4-5. The anticipated motorcycle rally—once an annual tradition in Hollister—brought large crowds of bikers, enthusiasts and visitors.
Live entertainment graced downtown stages for two days, while the streets were rerouted for celebrating motorcyclists.
And it’s starting to look like the Independence Rally is here to stay. Earlier this month, the Hollister City Council voted to approve a $40,000 contract with event promoter Roadshows Inc. to produce the 2026 Independence Rally.
Hospital set to rebound?
The saga of the bankruptcy of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital came to a close in 2025, as a federal judge in March struck down the San Benito Health Care District’s petition to file Chapter 9. The hospital board had declared a fiscal emergency and went to the court for relief in 2023.
Then in August, Michigan-based Insight Health backed out of negotiations to lease or purchase HHMH’s assets due to anticipated financial challenges stemming from federal cuts to health insurance programs.
HHMH officials are now in negotiations with hundreds of nurses for a new compensation package. In October, HHMH employees represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers protested what they called the loss of benefits and absence of fair wages since the 2024 bankruptcy filing.
Film festival future
The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival continues to grow, as the 2025 event ran April 9-16 with screenings in Hollister, San Juan Bautista and throughout the South Valley.
For the 2026 festival, organizers are working on a valley-wide scavenger hunt centered around the region’s public transportation system. The fun, interactive project is funded by a grant from the Valley Transportation Authority.
Highway 156 finally opens
In June, Caltrans and local public officials celebrated the opening of the new Highway 156 Improvement Project. The new four-lane stretch of highway between Hollister and San Juan Bautista promises to make commuting easier, and also to broaden the region’s economic potential.
“This is a game changer for the region and a proud moment for our community,” said California State Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who represents San Benito County. “The SR 156 project enhances safety and mobility for local families, but also strengthens our economy by improving the movement of goods throughout the state.”
Protected from fire
Negotiations among the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista and San Benito County for fire services took up much of 2025. In June, the parties approved a contract in which Hollister will continue to provide fire protection to the county and San Juan Bautista for the next five years, which started July 1.
The process included fraught discussions about the county paying its fair share, and what are considered safe and effective levels of firefighter staffing. In the end, the county agreed to pay Hollister $3.4 million the first year, with that cost rising 3% per year; and minimum staffing of two firefighters per engine—down from three in previous contracts.
Struggle with fraud
San Benito County lost more than $1 million in taxpayer money from two significant fraud cases that were uncovered in 2025. The first was ongoing embezzlement from the San Benito County Library, for which former employees Erin Baxter and Mary Alvarez were convicted earlier this year.
Then in October, a suspect or suspects used a phishing scam to convince county auditor’s staff to pay them nearly $700,000 that was due to a county contractor. The county later recovered those funds.
Alarmed by the magnitude of the fraud and the possibility there might have been more undetected, the county solicited the help of the State Controller’s Office for a full audit. The controller’s office agreed to help, in a process that will likely take a few months at the beginning of 2026.
Betabel and county housing
The developer of a long proposed roadside commercial attraction at Betabel Road and Highway 101 pivoted to housing, submitting plans in June to instead build a 280-home residential project. Submitted under the state’s “builder’s remedy” law, it is unclear if the county will have to approve the Betabel housing plans. The board of supervisors this month just approved its final hurdle to potentially gain a certified Housing Element, which might nullify the builder’s remedy.
Ongoing review and planning in the coming months in 2026 will provide a clearer picture.
Recall election scheduled
A citizens’ petition that gathered more than 1,800 signatures will add a recall election for Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez to the June 2 local and statewide primary ballot. Velazquez started his four-year term in January 2025.
The recall proponents said they want Velazquez removed from office because they disapproved of the board’s handling of fire contract negotiations with Hollister in 2025.
Legal dispute
Toward the end of the year, San Benito County Supervisors found themselves in a legal dispute with an anonymous Facebook page that posts self-described satirical cartoons about local events. After a cartoon posted by “Benito Beet Beat” in November was alleged to have threatened supervisors and their families, the county went to the courts to order the page’s owners to identify themselves for a criminal investigation to be led by the sheriff’s office.
But the Benito Beet Beat owners sued the county to stop the subpoena, claiming that it was a violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech. Represented by the First Amendment Coalition, the Facebook subscribers reached a settlement in early December, in which the county agreed to withdraw the subpoena.
