Community

After months of fraught negotiations, San Benito County and the City of San Juan Bautista have finally come to an agreement on fire and emergency medical services with the City of Hollister.  The board of supervisors approved the county’s side of the contract for fire...

Re: “Medi-Cal not the solution to expand healthcare,” Free Lance, March 29. What have we learned from the pandemic, or are we in another pandemic? The symptoms seem to be having a hunger when we are not hungry. These symptoms are not like body obesity...

On May 20, approximately 200 students and parents attended the Hollister High School Robotics and Engineering College Signing Day Banquet, during which the robotics team's nine graduating seniors were honored. The team, once again, graduated 100% of its seniors, who took 90 combined Advanced...

Open letter to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Interim CEO Mary Casillas: You are interim chief executive officer of the San Benito Health Care District, also known as Hazel Hawkins Hospital. It is a public entity, not your private company to spend funds without having to...

In the words of Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer, “Fix the damn roads!” And this is directed to the COUNTY.  By no means should the COUNTY ever rely on any input from the CITY in this regard, considering the absolutely disgusting revisions to the streets of...

With the polls closed across California, longtime U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren holds a commanding lead in the race for the state’s 18th District.  With about 83% of precincts reporting partial results throughout the district as of 8:30pm March 5, Lofgren has received about 57% or...

With holiday mailing and shipping ramping up, the United States Postal Service gave Hollister an up-close view of local letter carrier Ed Smith’s efforts to connect with small businesses and other customers.  On Nov. 29, which was Small Business Saturday, the USPS invited members of...

They should lead with respect I don’t usually pay much attention to politics, but this feels personal. I’m writing as a daughter who is tired of seeing the way Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki talks about my father, Joe Paul Gonzalez. I understand that politics comes with disagreements,...

Halloween is on Oct. 31, and a number of local and area activities are scheduled in addition to anticipated neighborhood trick-or-treating.  From 4-7pm, the City of Hollister’s Parks and Recreation department will host holiday activities including trick-or-treating, a costume contest and other festivities. The events...

Clean CA art show opens April 1 The San Benito County Arts Council, Caltrans and the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista will host the Clean California Art Show opening party from 6-7:30pm April 1 at the Art Depot in downtown Hollister.  The exhibition includes...