Featured

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the Hollister Police Department is reminding drivers to stay focused—and keep their eyes forward and their hands on the wheel.  Distractions like checking a phone, using the in-dash touchscreen or car phone app, adjusting the radio or...

The Community Foundation for San Benito County announced the return of its annual grant program, aiming to award more than $100,000 to local nonprofits. The grant program is resuming after a pause last year, following feedback from local organizations about the importance of the funding....

Hollister High School Athletic Director Tod Thatcher oversees a large number of Hollister High sports teams and student-athletes. Year after year, an overwhelming majority are big winners in Pacific Coast Athletic League competition and the Central Coast Section playoffs. Post-season honors for individuals are common....

With the Hollister School District creating a Migrant Speech & Debate Team for the first time this year, coaches and staff came away from the group’s first tournament proud of the students and excited for continued progress.  Coaches lauded efforts by all the team members...

The acclaimed Poppy Jasper International Film Festival returns to Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista April 8-15. This year’s festival features more films—and at more venues—and is expected to draw a larger number of filmmakers than any previous edition in the event’s...

San Benito County has begun much-needed improvements to a deteriorating, heavily traveled stretch of Union Road around the southwest side of Hollister.  County officials this week advised motorists that later stages of construction will require intermittent lane closures and commute delays.  Work on the roughly $2.4...

Gavilan College will host a special one-night event May 1 featuring a free public screening of “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez,” the acclaimed documentary by David Alvarado about the life and legacy of playwright, director and activist Luis Valdez.  Valdez will appear in...

Police are investigating a March 30 shooting they think was gang-related on the 100 block of Meridian Street in Hollister, according to authorities.  About 5:30am, Hollister Police responded to reports of a shooting into a residence. Officers found gunfire damage at a nearby apartment and...

Local residents, visitors, families and friends enjoyed sunny skies and mild temperatures this past weekend as they ate, shopped, danced—and otherwise let loose—at the San Juan Bautista Street Festival.  The festivities took place March 28-29 in the city’s historic downtown. Third Street and some side...

Once a week, something remarkable happens in homes and coffee shops across our city. People open the Hollister Free Lance and find something no algorithm can replicate: the unfiltered story of their community, told with care, accuracy and local knowledge. I’m writing to you...