San Benito County: Bivalent boosters most effective against current Omicron variants
Earlier this month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Pfizer and Modern bivalent vaccine (“two strain”) boosters for everyone aged 12 and older, following completion of their primary series at least two months earlier, regardless of vaccine product used, according to a...
Weighing in at the State of the Region
Government, business and nonprofit leaders around San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties staged the 2025 State of the Region Oct. 17 at CSU Monterey Bay to discuss a vast list of topics from healthcare and air mobility to hospitality, tourism, advances in the...
Smith at helm as sports return to Hollister School District
Don Smith said the vibe at Hollister schools is different with the return of the after-school sports programs this year.
“The reintroduction of sports has completely changed the energy at our schools,” said Smith, a physical education teacher at Rancho San Justo Middle School and...
Community Food Bank prepares for surge in demand
Thousands of households in San Benito County who have received extra CalFresh benefits due to pandemic-related hardships will see a reduction in their monthly allotments as of April 1, and local service providers are preparing now to meet the inevitable surge in demand that...
Supporters, opponents spend big on San Benito County hospital measure
San Benito County voters have the fate of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in their hands this Nov. 5 election as they decide on a ballot measure proposing its sale to an out of state company.
Measure X is the final step in the San Benito...
Local Scene: Housing element, Senior health
Andrews named to Dean’s List
Casey Andrews, of San Juan Bautista, has been named to Southern New Hampshire University's Summer 2022 Dean's List.
Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum grade-point average of 3.5 to 3.699 for the reporting term are named to the Dean's...
Nurses raise concerns about Hazel Hawkins
Registered nurses at Hollister’s Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital are “deeply concerned” about the medical facility’s recent declaration of a fiscal emergency and potential bankruptcy, says a statement from the California Nurses Association.
The nurses fear what a Chapter 9 bankruptcy at HHMH would mean for...
Mobile Covid-19 testing sites close Feb. 5
San Benito County Public Health officials announced that as of Feb. 5, all OptumServe mobile Covid-19 testing sites that serve local residents will close. The California Department of Public Health, which has funded the testing sites, is closing the facilities due to declining Covid-19...
Recycle household hazardous waste for free on May 20
Recycle your non-rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, electronic waste, and residential fluorescent lights for free from 9am-1pm May 20. The free San Benito Recycle Day will take place at Brigantino Park, 2100 San Juan Hollister Road in Hollister.
In early 2022, the San Benito County Integrated Waste...
Hazel Hawkins withdraws notices of potential closure
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital announced March 21 that its leadership staff will withdraw notices previously sent to employees that cautioned of a potential hospital closure and loss of jobs.
The notices are being withdrawn because HHMH has made “significant progress in shoring up its finances”...


















