Community

Following a call from an alert resident, Hollister Police arrested a suspect connected to a stolen vehicle and in possession of burglary tools, authorities said.  About 2:57am July 27, officers responded to the 400 block of Verona Place after a vigilant resident saw suspicious activity...

The Gilroy Garlic Festival returned Friday after a six-year absence, drawing thousands of visitors from across the country to the South County Grove at Gilroy Gardens for three days of garlicky food, live entertainment and community fundraising. The festival, which ran July 25-27, marked its...

At a recent Town Hall in Aromas, a resident asked me to describe the vision for tourism as an economic driver in San Benito County.  I explained how it all starts with Pinnacles National Park. If we are going to reach our potential as a...

About a dozen young girls are spending the month of July practicing a wide range of ballet movements and positions at the San Benito Dance Connection, the result of a merger between Flying Colors Dance and San Benito Dance Academy. Under the tutelage of Artistic...

The San Benito Fire Safe Council is on a mission to turn more local neighborhoods into Firewise USA communities that work together to reduce wildfire risks.  To that end, the SBFSC is currently recruiting new members to join its board, and local community members are...

Author and youth advocate Roy Juarez, Jr. will appear for a book signing at Hill’s Bookstore in Hollister Aug. 5. The event is part of Juarez’s “Stories That Move” tour.  Juarez wrote “Homeless by Choice: A Memoir of Love, Hate, and Forgiveness” in 2018. A...

There are moments in life that don’t announce themselves with fanfare or ceremony. They arrive quietly, leaving behind a memory that settles into your bones.  Nine of us taking an early morning walk Saturday, July 19 to scatter Marty Cheek’s ashes at Henry Coe State...

A pilot was taken to the hospital with injuries after two planes crashed at the Hollister Municipal Airport July 19, according to authorities. The other pilot involved in the crash was uninjured.  Hollister Police responded to a report that two aircraft had collided while landing...

Re: Food security critical on Central Coast, Free Lance, July 11, 2025  “We are all one common group,” clarified Harley Davidson biker wife at rally on San Benito Street, as colorful, stylish, multi-variety models of mechanical two and three wheel wonders paraded.   I assume that one...

Hollister’s baseball program captured the school’s first Central Coast Section championship in late May. The Balers won the CCS Division II title with a 3-0 victory over Wilcox, paced by pitcher Trent Roach’s seven-inning complete-game two-hit shutout and Jake Esparza’s two-RBI third-inning double. When Hollister...