Agriculture

San Benito County held a town hall meeting Sept. 5 on storm cleanup to inform local homeowners of a new executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that grants emergency permissions to accelerate debris removal related to the atmospheric river storms earlier this year. The...

San Benito County public health officials are warning residents of the danger of handling or getting too close to diseased or dead birds after a number of positive cases of Avian Influenza have been detected here. County Health and Human Services officials said in an...

Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were included in a list of areas statewide where people have been severely sickened by Amanita phalloides—commonly known as the death cap mushroom. A group of doctors from across California warned Jan. 14 that foraging for wild mushrooms can be...

The Peninsula Open Space Trust purchased a nearly 2,500-acre portion of the Sargent Ranch in southern Santa Clara County, according to the organization’s president. The property is located near the site of a proposed sand and gravel mine. POST President Gordon Clark spoke with this...

A federal committee last week approved a program that includes about $63 million in funding for the improvement and expansion of water infrastructure. If approved by Congress, more than $15 million in upgrades could be dedicated to San Juan Bautista and Hollister, according to...

Emily Drost—a local volunteer, youth mentor and rodeo competitor—was named Miss San Benito Rodeo and will compete for the title of Miss California Rodeo Salinas 2026.  Drost will compete against five other contestants hailing from throughout the Central Coast. The 2026 Miss California Rodeo Salinas...

The weather forecast is finally calling for a noteworthy dry spell in Hollister, but dozens of local people and businesses are still recovering from flood damage and other property losses resulting from the last several weeks of drenching storms in South Valley.  In recent days,...

Twice Tyger, a small regenerative-farming vineyard north of Gilroy, has opened a seasonal tasting room this summer while it works through county approval for a permanent tasting pavilion and production facility on its own estate five miles away. The current “satellite” tasting room, at a...

A non-native Aedes aegypti mosquito—an aggressive species that can spread certain diseases—has been discovered in a residential area of Gilroy, according to the Santa Clara County Vector Control District. A mosquito of the same species was also found recently in a neighborhood of east...

The Amah Mutsun Land Trust this week announced that by the end of 2025, it will acquire a 50-acre property near the intersection of Highways 129 and 101 in San Juan Bautista—marking the first time the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band has regained full access...