Health

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 lawmakers announced Aug. 1 the introduction of a bill that would create a permanent structure to provide relief for farmers impacted by natural disasters.  The Agricultural Emergency Relief Act aims to streamline the process for seeking and receiving relief.   While Congress has previously provided aid...

San Benito County will conduct a full audit of the public library after two former employees were convicted of embezzling more than $360,000 from the county.  Former library staff members Erin Baxter and Mary Alvarez were recently convicted of embezzling about $360,755 of library funds...

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said Jan. 16 that he would veto any bill with an outright ban on youth tackle football. “My Administration will work with the Legislature and the bill’s author to strengthen safety in youth football—while ensuring parents have the freedom to...

San Benito County Public Health officials are reporting the number of new daily cases of Covid-19 has gone back up, slowing down any progress they made to move into the next level of the California Blueprint for a safer economy. The data from the Public Health...

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s directors last week declared a fiscal emergency that allows the Hollister medical facility to file for bankruptcy if such a step is deemed appropriate, according to the hospital. Hazel Hawkins’ board of directors declared the resolution of a fiscal emergency at...

Two people—one a Hollister resident and one from Gilroy—died in a collision on Highway 25 near the border between Santa Clara and San Benito counties, according to authorities.  The Santa Clara County Coroner and Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims of the fatal accident as...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 24 announced $300 million worth of zero-interest loans for struggling hospitals, including Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital which will receive $10 million from the program.  The Hollister hospital, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year, will receive the funds in the coming...

With the Bay Area currently showing the highest Covid-19 infection rates in California, health officers are reminding people of the importance of safety precautions such as continued masking indoors and vaccine boosters. The current wave of infections is fueled by the highly contagious Omicron subvariants,...

San Benito County on Aug. 25 reported its first confirmed local case of monkeypox. The case was confirmed through testing at a local Quest Diagnostics Laboratory, says a press release from the county. The infected person is in isolation under the care of a medical...