Local News

The Hollister School District will continue teaching students via distance learning after the school board took action this week to extend campus closures until the end of the year.  The board voted 4-1 in a special meeting on Oct. 13 on a recommendation made by...

Over the coming weeks, the Hollister Free Lance will profile candidates for local City of Hollister and San Benito County offices that will appear on the Nov. 3 election.

Hollister is one of the top 50 “Safest Cities” in California due to the city’s low property and violent crime rates, according to a recent study by a public safety and home security research company. City officials give the credit to the residents of...

The first set of remote Covid-19 vaccine clinics for food and agricultural sector workers was a big success in San Benito County, bringing in approximately 250 people to get their first shots.    The county’s public health department and Safeway Pharmacy along with the Grower-Shipper Association...

It took a year and a half, but Mike Kohne and Maura Cooper have finally hung the “Open” sign on the door of Crave Wine Bar & Shop in downtown Hollister.  The two, who have an extensive background in the wine industry, began this project...

Downtown Hollister was taken over by shiny classic vehicles and loud engines on May 9 as part of the Shelter-In-Car Cruise. Dozens of cars, trucks and motorcycles cruised down San Benito Street just before sunset, drawing local residents and store owners to watch. Hollister resident Adrian...

The California Highway Patrol reported a fatal collision Dec. 7 on State Route 129 in Watsonville, east of Murphy Road. Officers responded to an 11:54pm report Tuesday night of a solo vehicle driving too fast and then going off the roadway. According to the report,...

The San Benito County Sheriff’s office arrested a suspect who has allegedly burglarized multiple cars this year at the De Anza Trail parking area just outside San Juan Bautista, according to authorities.

Local, state and federal police and fire officials are investigating more than a dozen overnight incidents of vandalism and suspicious fires that resulted in damages to at least 10 downtown Hollister businesses—two of which were a total loss—and numerous vehicles.

Elisa and Valentina Ornelas—ages 7 and 4, respectively—enjoyed Volkswagens as much as their father, Cesar Ornelas, who is a collector of vintage vehicles. They loved riding in his yellow Bug, which the girls called “the banana,” or his green Volkswagen (“the green bean”) to...