Local News

Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were included in a list of areas statewide where people have been severely sickened by Amanita phalloides—commonly known as the death cap mushroom. A group of doctors from across California warned Jan. 14 that foraging for wild mushrooms can be...

The San Benito County Arts Council is joining arts organizations throughout the region to implement the California Arts Council’s Creative Economies in Action initiative.  The effort will begin with a statewide engagement tour and public town hall in January, says a press release from the...

San Benito County is now formally the “Home of Pinnacles National Park,” as local officials and tourism proponents dig into their efforts to promote the site as an economic development wellspring.  The board of supervisors at the Jan. 13 meeting unanimously approved a proclamation declaring...

Rancho San Justo Middle School is proud of its students who embrace positive behavior, respect and integrity on campus. The site showed that appreciation at its annual PBIS Luncheon held Dec. 10.  Like other sites in the Hollister School District, Rancho San Justo focuses on...

The South Valley is expecting and preparing for the strongest storms and heaviest rainfall of the season so far through the Christmas holiday, with wind and thunderstorms forecast through at least Dec. 26.  The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Hollister and...

Limelight Theater will present “The Other Place,” a psychological thriller that challenges audiences to distinguish reality from delusion, opening Jan. 16. The play centers on Juliana Smithton, a 52-year-old neurologist specializing in brain disease research whose life takes a disorienting turn as her brilliant mind...

Local seniors were treated Dec. 2 to Mirastar Federal Credit Union’s “Teddy Bears on Patrol” initiative at the Hollister Senior Center. Employees of the credit union visited the senior center on West Street and donated teddy bears for dozens of seniors who were there for...

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has awarded an $18,000 grant to the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival to create a transit-oriented scavenger hunt connecting the downtowns of Gilroy and Morgan Hill during the festival's eight-day run in April. The grant, part of VTA’s Transit-Oriented...

In an effort to keep sites clean and safe, the Hollister School District has undergone efforts to prevent critters from continuing to burrow under classrooms.  The district has experienced burrowing critters on certain campuses and is prioritizing a humane approach to address them. The animals—such...

Ken Griffin is San Benito County’s first agricultural commissioner since 2021, following a recent interview and vote by the board of supervisors.  Griffin has served as the county’s Acting Agricultural Commissioner for about five years. The board voted to remove “acting” from his title on...