Community

The suspension and then the reinstatement of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has dominated national conversations this past week. For some, it is just another celebrity controversy; for others, it raises questions about accountability in media and entertainment. For us here in the community, it...

Dozens of San Benito County employees and community members participated in a demonstration Sept. 22 calling on local officials to protect essential services and make responsible fiscal decisions as the county faces a several-million dollar budget shortfall.  The protest at the county supervisors’ chambers building...

No one would ever suspect the library as a place of fraud. We go to the library for novels like “Moby Dick” or “Tale of Two Cities” or for information like “California History of San Benito County” or any history, geography, politics or literature.   I...

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust this week announced that by the end of 2025, it will acquire a 50-acre property near the intersection of Highways 129 and 101 in San Juan Bautista—marking the first time the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has regained full access...

In the upcoming special election on Nov. 4, voters are going to see a new measure, Proposition 50. By a vote of the majority, California voters will decide if temporary changes to our congressional district maps should be authorized.  This would allow the legislature, members...

The public review period is open for the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for San Benito County’s 2023-31 Housing Element Implementation Project. The public review period started Sept. 12 and continues through Oct. 13. The county recently posted its Notice of Intent to...

During a joint investigation into a suspected narcotics trafficker operating in Gilroy and San Benito County, investigators from the Gilroy Police Department Anti-Crime Team and detectives from the San Benito County Criminal Apprehension, Suppression, Prevention Response Team recently served a search warrant at a...

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...

A Gilroy day care operator stalked and sexually molested her foster child and engaged in Satanic rituals, according to allegations in documents reviewed by the Gilroy Dispatch. Santa Clara County officials filed a July 31 criminal complaint that details the charges against Christina Jean Johnson,...

Student workers at Gavilan College are organizing what they say would be the first student workers union at a community college in California, aiming to address wage disparities and improve working conditions at their Gilroy and Hollister campuses, and inspire other students to follow...