Community

UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.  The UC Board of Regents approved the...

Re: Climate talk focuses on watersheds, Free Lance, March 21, 2025 More than a breath of fresh air or a drink of clear cool water was the group of people who arrived in Aromas to study water, which is life! At a time when governing...

The annual Poppy Jasper International Film Festival wrapped up its weeklong celebration of film Wednesday with a tour of Hollister wineries, a final film screening and the closing ceremony and audience awards at the Granada Theater in Hollister. PJIFF executive director Mattie Scariot said this...

Good news for our California law enforcement: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in your favor! I applaud all our law enforcement officials who have pledged to obey our state law, SB 54.  This law, known as the California Values Act, also referred to as the Sanctuary...

The San Benito County Arts Council is seeking local artists or artist teams to submit their qualifications to create and install a mural on one of five utility boxes along Highway 25 in Hollister.  This project is part of a State Highway Beautification Project, sponsored...

Return Chromebooks and hotspots The San Benito County Free Library this week informed users that the Wi-Fi  service for the Chromebooks distributed in 2023 ended on June 30, 2024.  Anyone who checked out a Chromebook and Wi-Fi hotspot last year, is asked to return them to...

Hartenstein named to Dean’s List Emerson College student Lily Hartenstein, of Aromas, earned Dean's List honors for the Fall 2022 Semester. The requirement to make the Dean's List is a grade point average of 3.7 or higher for that semester. Hartenstein is majoring in Journalism and...

The Hollister City Council voted last week to put a proposed occupancy tax increase on the ballot for the November 2024 general election. If passed, this would be the first time since 1986 that voters will  decide to increase the tax on hotel stays...

Sanchez makes president’s list Jenifer Sanchez, of Hollister, was named to the Southern New Hampshire University president’s list for the spring semester. Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the president's...

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital officials last week obtained approval to seek a line of credit to potentially extend the struggling Hollister hospital’s financial survival while its efforts to find a viable partner are ongoing.  On April 27, the San Benito Health Care District board of...