Agriculture

Wildfires and climate change are locked in a vicious circle: Fires worsen climate change, and climate change worsens fires. Scientists, including those at the World Resources Institute, have been increasingly sounding the alarm about this feedback loop, warning that fires don’t burn in isolation—they produce...

Residents of San Benito County who need to dispose of storm debris can do so at a free event Jan. 29 at John Smith Road Landfill.  The free disposal day is sponsored by the county’s Integrated Waste Management Regional Agency. It will take place from...

The Conservation Fund purchased the Richmond Ranch on Jan. 22, a 3,653-acre property in southern Santa Clara County.  The Fund is a national organization that provides money to bridge the acquisition of conservation lands by private and public sources. In this case, they are buying...

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...

Local officials and consultants are getting ready to begin an environmental study of the Strada Verde Innovation Park, a 2,767-acre mixed-use commercial and technological project proposed in northwest San Benito County. The upcoming effort to complete an Environmental Impact Report will take several months, and...

San Benito County residents who work in the agricultural and food industries can start signing up for Covid-19 vaccinations, but it might be a while before supplies are available for everyone who registers. The county’s public health services department and the Grower Shipper Association of...

Locals named to Dean’s List Hollister residents Ema Alfaro, Miranda Hernandez, Daniela Hernandez and Anessa Ocampo were named to the Stanislaus State University Dean’s List for the spring 2023 semester.  To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher and...

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 Planning Commission held a scoping meeting Aug. 2 for the proposed Ranch 35 Quarry project near the intersection of State Route 156 and U.S. 101. The meeting’s purpose was to inform the public about the scope of the quarry project...

Authorities arrested a man and woman this week who broke into the Hollister High School Ag Barn and killed two animals that students had fostered and raised for a local educational program.  The suspects allegedly killed a goat and a pig, and carried the pig...