Community

In the rolling hills south of Hollister, the Miller family have transformed a former walnut farm into an eclectic “destination bakery” that reflects their philosophy of giving new life to old structures and traditions. The heart of Suncoast Organic Farms is a century-old barn that...

A multitude of elected officials, workers and law enforcement officials from Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties gathered at the Government Center in Salinas last week to send a message to the community and the federal government. “Today we stand together, locally, statewide and...

As vineyard manager at the 7,000-acre Paicines Ranch in San Benito County, Kelly Mulville has a rather significant task: he’s trying to practice organic, regenerative farming on 25 acres of vines while surrounded by hundreds of acres of vineyards being conventionally farmed.  “Our underlying philosophy...

Re: Hundreds protest on No Kings Day, Free Lance, June 20, 2025 Never before have I seen such enthusiasm before carrying out a protest or rally. People arrived with a mission to accomplish. Many arrived before noon and remained well into the late afternoon celebrating...

Authorities recently confirmed the identities of two people who died in an Aug. 3 traffic accident in south San Benito County.  The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner’s office said Jessie Mendoza, 23, and Alexander Garcia, 22, died in the single-vehicle collision on Cienega Road north...

Hundreds of people spent the late morning and early afternoon April 19 strolling through downtown Hollister celebrating Earth Day.  With 30 booths that included the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, San Benito Agricultural Land Trust, Master Gardener Otis, Hollister Hill SVRA, Green Foothills and many...

What animal control investigators thought was a case involving an abandoned dog turned out to be a misunderstanding, Hollister Police said.  After investigating the July 26 incident and contacting the owners, local authorities determined the dog is in good health and its owners had no...

Millions of people in cities and towns throughout the nation joined the “No Kings” protest on June 14—a crowd that included several hundred protesters in southeast Hollister.  The event was organized in 2,000 cities in the U.S. to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and...

Authorities are trying to find the owner of a dog that was found abandoned with injuries off the side of a highway near Hollister.  On May 5, officers from Hollister Police Animal Care and Services and the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office responded to a...

In what transportation officials and local representatives hail as a “major milestone,” all four lanes of the new San Benito Route 156 Improvement Project will open to all traffic on June 13.  Caltrans District 5 hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony on June 7, in which...