Letter: Study on wildfire’s health risks is a breath of fresh air
Last week the smaller print piece in the Free Lance side bar labeled “Local Scene” got my attention. The title “State to study cancer risk of fighting wildfires” had me opening the paper focused on further information. Everyone is interested in cancer risk.
Our surrounding...
Weighing in at the State of the Region
Government, business and nonprofit leaders around San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties staged the 2025 State of the Region Oct. 17 at CSU Monterey Bay to discuss a vast list of topics from healthcare and air mobility to hospitality, tourism, advances in the...
Local Scene: School Supply Brigade returns to Hollister
School Supply Brigade in Hollister
Enterprise Academy of Martial Arts will host its 2nd annual School Supply Brigade from 10am-12pm Aug. 12 at Enterprise Academy of Martial Arts, located at 817 Industrial Dr #F in Hollister.
Partnering with both The San Benito County Office of Education...
Letter: Editorial underestimates government’s threat to free speech
Your Sept. 26 editorial, “When National Headlines Collide with National News” regarding the massive and successful boycott of ABC/Disney, Sinclair and Nexstar distributors (who have since also acquiesced) was tone-death!
It minimized the threats to our freedom of speech. You missed the whole point! This...
Mother, daughter reflect on decades with local schools
It’s somewhat improbable that both Julie Maldonado and her daughter, Mary Villegas, have worked simultaneously in the Hollister School District for multiple decades.
Perhaps even more astonishing is that Villegas has taught for 20 years with cerebral palsy.
The duo reflected on their time and experiences...
End of guaranteed continuous Medi-Cal coverage could affect 10,000-plus San Benito residents
San Benito County public health officials will soon begin mailing notices to local Medi-Cal members to let them know that they are no longer guaranteed continuous coverage under pandemic-era waivers, and will resume the normal process to redetermine eligibility for the state’s public health...
Editorial: Community hospitals are vital to a city’s well being
A community hospital is more than a place we go when something goes wrong. It is one of the essential pillars of a healthy and resilient community.
When a medical emergency strikes, minutes, even seconds, matter. Having a hospital close to home can mean the...
Letter: Clean up encampments without further delays
I’ve been fighting an uphill battle to clean up dangerous homeless encampments in places like the San Benito River bed since joining the San Benito County Board of Supervisors in 2021.
After a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it clear local governments can ban...
Letter: Hazel Hawkins and community should play as a team
In a Super Bowl where one point could make a difference between winning or losing, is the hospital situation any different? Could Hazel Hawkins put aside one point of difference to accomplish a winning situation in order to stay together and serve the community?...
Health chains could keep bankrupt hospitals alive
Three California hospitals that declared bankruptcy earlier this year are hashing out deals that could bring back or save much-needed health care services for their communities.
Defunct Madera Community Hospital in the San Joaquin Valley, cash-strapped Beverly Community Hospital east of Los Angeles and Hazel...
