Community

PG&E is offering more than $500,000 in scholarships to help students in South Valley and beyond offset their costs for higher education.  One pool of funds totaling $350,000, provided by the PG&E Foundation, is part of the utility company’s annual Better Together STEM Scholarship Program...

Austin Curtis, who has worked at the San Benito County Free Library for about 18 months, was named this week as the library’s new librarian.  Before starting his work with the local library, located at 470 Fifth Street in Hollister, Curtis worked about 18 months...

Re: Hollister council rebukes another colleague, Free Lance, May 19 If a fire occurs inside a movie theatre, the sound system does not advise attendees to remain seated. We understand the alarm must be sounded and exits opened for safety. Similarly at the May 15...

Smoke from a series of large wildfires burning in Northern California and Oregon is riding steady northerly winds into the Bay Area, lowering air quality to unhealthy levels in much of the region.  The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air...

Mosquitoes that tested positive for the West Nile Virus have been found in a small unincorporated area of San Benito County, according to the county agricultural commissioner’s office.  Weather permitting, county officials are planning to treat the affected area on Oct. 3, starting about 7pm,...

Re: Fire on the hill, Free Lance 8/11/23 “Fire on the hill,” headlines partnered with the front page photo of a firefighter pummeling a blaze gripped my attention, as I had just watched a TV news program showing that Lahaina in Hawaii had been destroyed...

San Benito County voters have the fate of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in their hands this Nov. 5 election as they decide on a ballot measure proposing its sale to an out of state company. Measure X is the final step in the San Benito...

Looks like this was championship week when a final two met for a showdown. Each was a league best. Now was the test of mental and emotional endurance. Odds were chancy. One team, let’s say Team A, represents the Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Board of...

San Benito County was formed on Feb. 12, 1874, from a section of Monterey County.  On July 27, 2024, the community will celebrate San Benito County’s 150th anniversary at the Historical Park in Tres Pinos with an extravaganza complete with entertainment, a petting zoo, jump...

Re: City council postpones affordable housing ordinance, Free Lance May 12, 2023 A decision not to decide concerning a decisive issue is difficult to understand. This makes me think that Mia Casey might prefer to be mayor of a city like Monterey rather than of...