Community

The San Benito County Office of Education proudly announced that San Andreas Continuation High School (SACHS) has been recognized as a Model Continuation School by the California Department of Education.  Only about 59 of the state’s 430 continuation high schools earned the prestigious designation that...

Oriana Chorale performs this weekend San Benito Oriana Chorale will present “Sweet Lovers Love the Spring” at their spring concerts this weekend. Performances are scheduled for 7:30pm May 17 and 3pm May 19 at Christ Fellowship Church, 2066 San Benito Street in Hollister.  Admission to the...

Hollister Police arrested a suspect on Feb. 11 who is accused of attempting to kill a juvenile in a drive-by shooting that occurred last week, authorities said.  Hollister Police responded to a report of shots fired about 11:36pm Feb. 6 on the 100 block of...

Hollister went on an amazing playoff run and captured the school’s first-ever boys soccer Central Coast Section championship.  The Balers won the Division II title and did so as No. 8 seed, upending host and No. 1 seed Westmont 3-2 in overtime and outplaying lauded...

Thank you for the Free Lance interview of Zoe Lofgren. She deserves every bit of newsprint. I felt proud of her service on the Jan. 21, 2021 commission so when reading the following quote I wondered how Representative Lofgren would feel now: “I considered...

The Hollister boys basketball team is reclaiming the historic Baler identity in the race toward a league crown.  A versatile offense and old-school man-to-man defense are the tickets to success. Hollister coach David Kaplansky loves that defense instead of a zone but it takes intensity,...

Tommy Sondgroth, who grew up in Hollister and maintains deep roots in the community, recently launched a smartphone application that aims to compete with the big-box behemoths of the gig economy while allowing service workers to keep more of the money they earn.  The app,...

Former San Benito High School art teacher John Robrock retired in 2018 with several boxes of unclaimed works from former students. In December, he set out on a quest to reunite the pieces with their creators.  Events that followed have turned into a public art...

The nonprofit Rancho-Maze Band recently paid tribute to the legacy of Joe Ostenson—a pillar of the local music-education community for nearly half a century—by recognizing a local young musician who exemplifies the characteristics of the life-long educator.  Marguerite Maze Middle School eighth-grader Megan Phillips was...

The San Benito County Office of Education held its annual Certificated and Classified Employee of the Year Celebration on April 17.  Each year, schools in San Benito County are invited to select one Certificated and one Classified employee who has had a significant impact on...