Local News

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...

Nearly every county in the greater Bay Area will lift their indoor mask mandates next week, aligning them with the state's plans to lift its mask requirements.  San Benito will join Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and...

Federal regulators issued their full approval Jan. 31 of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, the second approval of a Covid vaccine outside of its emergency use authorization.  The FDA issued its full approval of the vaccine after considering data from roughly 14,000 vaccine recipients and 14,000...

San Benito County faces another rising surge of Covid-19 cases, driven by the highly infectious Omicron variant of the virus, according to authorities. The wave of new cases hasn’t resulted in a major strain on the local hospital or healthcare providers—largely because Omicron doesn’t appear...

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital will have some much needed extra space and help as the final phases of the COVID Emergency Response plan are going through the completion stage.   Frankie Gallagher, the hospital’s director of marketing and community relations, issued a press release on Jan....

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital CEO Steve Hannah announced the opening of a new non-denominational chapel at the Hollister hospital to be utilized by local patients and families.  Funding for the chapel was entirely donated by Hospital Board Chair, Jeri Hernandez, in honor of her late...

Local voters have chosen to slow the growth in San Benito County, opted for a new mayor and two new city council members in Hollister and delivered mixed views on their desired future for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, according to the latest Nov. 5...

The Community Foundation for San Benito County has awarded a $10,000 grant to Visit San Benito County to support its mission to draw more visitors to the county. The grant will be used to form a Tourism Improvement District (TID) for San Benito County. The...

For years, Monica Garcia has roughed it along the Pajaro River watershed in her motorized wheelchair, where she’s helped volunteers clean up the ever-constant garbage left behind by those with no concern for the environment. Garcia, who is battling lupus, must use the wheelchair to...

San Benito County’s homeless population has increased by 26%–or 75 people–since 2019. Much of this increase is reportedly linked to ongoing challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic, and county officials say there would be even more homeless residents without the availability of local resources.  Volunteers...