Agriculture

San Benito County supervisors recently decided to restrict new housing in four geographical areas that encompass significant swaths of the county’s unincorporated agricultural, open space or vacant land. But some local residents at the last board meeting decried the move as “political theater,” while voicing...

Measure Q, a hotly contested ballot question that would have required future voter approvals for many new construction projects in San Benito County, appears headed toward defeat.  Early, unofficial results of the Nov. 8 election, posted to the county’s elections site, show that “No” votes...

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors last week approved a resolution stating its opposition to local ballot Measure Q, and some have wondered if the action comes too close to violating state laws against using public resources to promote an election campaign. The resolution...

San Benito County Supervisors at a recent meeting approved a conditional use permit for the Betabel commercial project, after hearing two appeals against the proposal due to its likely impacts on the environment and tribal lands. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Nov. 8 to...

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...

The proponents of a local initiative that would require voter approval before rural and agricultural property owners in San Benito County can rezone their land have gained enough signatures to place the measure on the November ballot, according to sources. The results are not official,...

Winged visitors alien to the area have been casting their large shadows over Contra Costa and Stanislaus counties recently.  Preservation group Save Mount Diablo said in a statement Sept. 25 they’ve tracked the paths of six California condors soaring through the skies above Round Valley...

Although farm and food production workers were considered essential workers during the pandemic, many of California's food employers endangered those workers, violating Cal/OSHA's Covid-19 guidelines more often than most industries, a new report said. The California Institute for Rural Studies’ report said farm and food...

California’s severe drought continues, and mandatory water conservation measures are in place. These climate conditions, along with our limited long-term water supplies, mean it is in our best interest to use water as efficiently as possible. Not just when we’re in drought, but ALWAYS! On...

The latest weather forecast for Hollister might not include sunny skies, but some relief from the heavy downpours that have been characteristic of recent storms over South Valley might be on the way.  After the latest atmospheric river on Jan. 10 cleared the region there...