Hollister City Council members have set the stage for a monumentally important decision for voters, and one that the electorate should embrace as a step toward progress.
Police Capt. Carlos Reynoso's use of a taxpayer-funded patrol car for his daily commute to and from work – around 100 miles round trip – underscores that the city needs a policy requiring newly hired, sworn, public-safety personnel to live in or near Hollister.
A resident called the Red Phone this week to question why large trucks were still parking for long periods of time - "all day, every day" in some areas - despite city rules enacted in November prohibiting it.
The Hollister City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to decline moving ahead on a possible contract-based merger between the police department and San Benito County Sheriff's Office.
Economic stories of success and failure continued to dominate the local news scene in 2011, with the various machinations of financial tumult affecting nearly every aspect of life in San Benito County.
The City of Hollister is looking to sell a portion of McCray Street that has been sitting largely unused since the Highway 25 bypass opened in early 2009.