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As the 41st annual Garlic Festival was in full swing, Christopher Ranch’s executive vice president Ken Christopher told the Hollister Free Lance that this year could potentially change the festival forever. With bigger-name celebrities than ever before, Christopher’s most pressing concern on the festival’s second...

The 2018 Farm Bill made it legal to grow commercial hemp in the U.S. for the first time in half a century, but fewer than half of California’s counties allow the crop. San Benito is one of them. Growers are now storming San Benito and...

Nearly two months after the Hollister City Council voted June 3 to uphold a planning commission decision to approve key pieces of the 400 block project, Mayor Ignacio Velazquez told the Free Lance he is still considering challenging the vote. Velazquez had filed an initial...

After holding a pair of parent meetings regarding middle school cell phone use, Hollister School District leaders will introduce a new “Away for the Day” cell phone policy for the 2019-20 school year. HSD’s school board approved an updated Board Policy 5131 on July 23,...

Hollister police and fire responders revived a man who was found not breathing due to a possible drug overdose, according to authorities.

San Benito County emergency services and health officials are preparing for a potential worst-case scenario, widespread power shutoff for the rest of this summer after PG&E announced such measures might be necessary to prevent wildfires in California.

Hollister School District’s governing body took a key step in beginning the process of changing the way its trustees are elected to office. At the July 23 meeting, the school board approved a resolution “initiating (the) process of establishing trustee areas and elections by trustee...

The July 16 preliminary hearing for Neil Kitchens, a former Republican candidate for state assembly District 30 accused of five felonies related to voter fraud and forgery, has been delayed until mid-August.

San Benito Bene, 615-B San Benito St. in Hollister, is celebrating its eight-year anniversary on Saturday, July 27 from 11am-2pm. San Benito Bene, owned by Kathina Szeto, offers a variety of local products such as olive oils, chocolates, pottery, jewelry, soaps and spices. The shop earned...

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal July 23 that will transform a former turkey farm and equestrian facility into a hemp processor. San Jose-based Pacific Bay Capital Group plans to construct a 275,000-square-foot San Benito Hemp Campus at 7800 Lake Road...