Economy

Today is Election Day. Polls are open 7am to 8 pm. If you have not already voted by mail or at one of the voting centers last weekend, you can vote today. If you have filled out a mailed ballot, it must be postmarked today or...

Citing the impact of across-the-board rising prices and economic uncertainties, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors declined to ask the voters for a 1% sales tax in the November election. And despite their ongoing search for more local revenues to fund public services, the...

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...

As Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital administrators are courting potential buyers or partners to pull the financially ailing hospital from the verge of bankruptcy, a local political organization is calling for more transparency in the process.  HHMH spokesperson Frankie Gallagher this week said the hospital has...

San Benito County and its elected board of supervisors violated state environmental protection laws when they approved a conditional use permit for the Betabel commercial project proposed next to Highway 101, according to a lawsuit filed last week by two nonprofit organizations.  The lawsuit—filed Dec....

It’s hard to find a job fighting climate change, oddly. But the organic farming industry is one place where a person can make a living making a difference.  Food systems account for 20% to 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to data from the...

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Sen. Nancy Skinner announced a proposal Dec. 5 to penalize oil companies in an effort to deter gas price gouging. The proposal would make it illegal for oil companies to charge excessive refining margins—the price difference between the cost of...

Hollister and San Benito County kicked off the winter holiday season this past weekend with the annual downtown Lights On Parade and celebration. The events on Saturday, Nov. 26 started early in the morning with the Holiday Car Display, an afternoon holiday boutique that lasted...

Housing costs and inflation are the top concerns for California's 9 million Latino registered voters, according to a report issued Sept. 10 by the Latino Community Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to Latino voter engagement.  Although some blame political candidates for high costs, most blame...

The historic heat wave that has gripped most of California this week has resulted in broken temperature records, prompted cities and counties to open public “cooling centers” for the vulnerable, caused power outages—and might have even damaged a stretch of highly traveled asphalt along...