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The Sans Topo Ranch in San Benito County, which has been owned and managed by five generations of the Sans family since 1926, will be preserved in its current state forever after the California Rangeland Trust purchased a conservation easement for the property.  The 4,500-acre...

After struggling through a one-win season last year, the Gavilan College women’s volleyball team is back on track.  Entering the week, the Rams were 5-3, having won four of their last five matches. They’re doing it with a similar formula and a familiar face in...

Did you know that putting batteries in your trash and recycling containers can, and does cause fires in trucks and facilities that endanger workers and damage expensive equipment? In California, it is illegal to put batteries in the trash or recycling. Instead, they must...

Police arrested a 27-year-old man on suspicion of domestic violence and other charges after he kidnapped a local high school student and assaulted her at his home, according to authorities.  On Sept. 27, staff at Hollister High School told local police that a female student...

Re: Hospital proceeds with negotiations, Free Lance, April 18, 2025 Instead of the Easter Bunny, we get the Big Bad Wolf and he is trying to blow the house down.  The Easter basket from the San Benito County Health Care District over-flowed with attractive colors,...

The fentanyl crisis is ravaging communities around the country, touching lives across every socioeconomic, racial and geographic line. Yet too often, our conversations about fentanyl overdoses are clouded by stigma, misinformation and judgment.  It’s time to change that. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times...

A report that recommends a buffer zone between an agricultural fumigant storage facility and a proposed development was scrutinized by the San Benito County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 4, with one supervisor blasting it as being politically motivated. Voters in November will consider a...

As a resident of San Benito County and the City of Hollister for 36 years, and as an elected Board Member of the San Benito Healthcare District, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past two years and shed light on...

The San Benito High softball team enters Saturday’s 1pm Central Coast Section playoff quarterfinal game at Mitty brimming with confidence.  Yes, the Haybalers know they’re up against a formidable opponent which beat them in the season-opener 4-1 on March 1. However, San Benito is banking...

San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a suspected murder-suicide after an elderly couple were found dead at their home in the Ridgemark area on Thanksgiving Day, according to authorities.