Community

The San Benito Agricultural Land Trust recently completed steps to permanently protect another portion of Phil Foster Ranch in San Benito County’s fertile San Juan Valley.  With assistance from two public funding programs, SBALT has acquired an agricultural easement that brings the total protected acreage...

Accelerated Achievement Academy was recently named a 2024 California Distinguished Middle School—one of the highest academic honors in the state, says an announcement from the Hollister school.  State Superintendent Tony Thurmond on Feb. 29 recognized 293 middle schools and high schools selected for the 2024...

Espinosa on medical leave San Benito County Administrative Officer Ray Espinosa is currently out on a medical leave of absence, according to a press release from the county. Earlier this year, Espinosa had considered retiring due to his health issue, but his situation has “evolved.”  During...

Downtown business leaders and city officials have a good plan in place to narrow main street from four lanes to two lanes, but the timing of construction work is not ideal.

Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance), the Medi-Cal managed care health plan for more than 428,000 residents in Merced, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, will soon serve the counties of Mariposa and San Benito, according to a press release.  Effective Jan. 1, 2024, the...

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.

A swipe of a library card is enough for Californians to venture into the great outdoors for free. On Jan. 31, California State Parks representatives encouraged Californians to take advantage of multiple ways to visit state parks for free, including utilizing the California State Parks...

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in San Benito County on Tuesday afternoon and could be felt in parts of the Bay Area. The quake was reported at 3:23pm April 4 and was centered about five miles northwest of Hollister and 19 miles west-southwest of Salinas,...

I love our local wineries but have to admit I haven’t been to them all. In an attempt to spice things up and seek something new, I wanted to take a trip to Leal Vineyards near Hollister.  I decided I wanted to slow it down,...

Hollister City Council members are taking a fair, practical, modern approach to the future of cannabis in this community.