Community

Three California assembly members on Tuesday introduced a newly minted bill which, if it becomes law, would bring financial assistance to storm and flood victims who are ineligible for state and federal assistance. Assembly Bill 513, also known as the California Individual Assistance Act, was...

The Hollister boys volleyball team closed the regular season with a gut-check win April 30 over on the coast at Seaside, beating the Spartans 11-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-18. The victory gave the Balers a third consecutive solid season with a 21-15 overall record, and...

Gurleen Khajuria, a Gavilan College STEM tutor and aspiring materials scientist, has been awarded the 2025 Karl S. Pister Leadership Opportunity Scholarship.  The $20,000 award supports community college students transferring to UC Santa Cruz who have shown exceptional academic achievement, leadership and commitment to service. Gavilan...

The most straightforward definition of drought is the simple mismatch between the amounts of water nature provides and the amounts of water that humans and the environment demand. This mismatch causes California to be in perpetual drought. Even when we receive a lot of rain in California,...

Maze Middle School leaders are passionate about the site’s efforts to improve safety on campus.  Principal Primavera Cabibi and Vice Principal Shanieka Richard spoke about the school’s emphasis on safety measures in advance of America’s Safe Schools Week from Oct. 20-24. Like other Hollister sites,...

With a slew of events to cover from the holiday period and after, we’re presenting an installment of Thumbs Up-Thumbs Down to indicate our support or opposition on local topics. This week, all of the selected topics incited positive responses from the Community Insight Board.

In certain respects, the tension-laced debate over Measure J was unhealthy and unnecessary, and at times personal. The fervor on both sides of the issue, however, showed a lot about local residents’ passions for this county.

Like the TV commercial that promotes a squeeze product in a tube to repair damage, our county wants us to prepare for the next damage. According to the Free Lance, our county wants us to attend a workshop and to respond to a survey...

With all the talk lately about water cuts due to the ongoing drought in California, it begs the question about a local resource that is being left untapped. What is going on at San Justo Reservoir?

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors at the latest meeting initiated efforts to significantly strengthen the county’s illegal dumping ordinance to deter those activities.  Supervisor Dom Zanger and I had requested this formal consideration, and I have been pushing for more action with regard...