Community

More than 75 young performers from across South County will step onstage Oct. 2 as South Valley Civic Theatre opens “Disney’s The Lion King Jr.” at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse, to run for three weekends. Adapted for young performers from the Broadway musical and...

South Valley Symphony kicks off its 53rd season Oct. 4 at 3pm at Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill, opening a four-concert season built around a single unifying idea: celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. “We wanted to primarily continue celebrating America’s 250th anniversary,” said Anthony Quartuccio, the...

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 22 declared a local state of emergency following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide emergency declaration in preparation for potential impacts from the upcoming El Niño storm season.  Supervisors unanimously approved the declaration—the first in any California county...

The Nov. 3 statewide general election ballot will feature dozens of local races, including numerous offices in the cities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista; seats on boards of education; and a contest for an unfinished term on the San Benito County Board of...

California could soon receive as much as $2.1 billion from Meta as part of a settlement over allegations that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that harmed children and teens. That is an enormous amount of money—and an enormous opportunity. The proposed settlement calls for...

The Joe Heller cartoon of Sept. 18 (Opinion page) portrays an AI robot angered by dire warnings of disaster followed by a robotic smile when congress smiles regulation. Apparently the robot recalls how the same warnings were used to scare people with nuclear annihilation...

Youth Alliance and South County Cal-SOAP on Sept. 18 announced a new partnership designed to strengthen college and career access for students throughout San Benito and southern Santa Clara counties. Effective Oct. 1, Youth Alliance will serve as the fiscal sponsor and organizational home...

Gabilan Ranch in San Juan Bautista—which provides habitat for the endangered California Condor—recently earned the Bird-Friendly Land Certification from the National Audubon Society.  The certification recognizes Gabilan Ranch for its efforts to support wildlife habitat and resilient working lands, says a press release from the...

The Santa Cruz County Fair took place Sept. 16-20, welcoming visitors to a vibrant world of “Apple Pies and Starry Skies.” A crowd of more than 100 watched the ribbon-cutting ceremony after hearing welcoming words and gratitude for those who made it happen. Visitors and...

The San Benito High School District announced on Monday that the remainder of Hollister High School’s varsity football season has been canceled due to an ongoing review of “a matter involving members of the varsity football program.”  The announcement comes less than a week after...