Local News

Crew members and security staff are being tight-lipped about a major Hollywood production—featuring stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn—that is being filmed on location in downtown San Juan Bautista.  Shooting for the movie, currently known only as “BC Project,” began Feb. 25 and...

Police this week arrested a suspect who robbed multiple pharmacies in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and other communities by threatening violence against the drugstores’ employees, according to authorities.  One of the robberies occurred on Dec. 30, 2023, in Morgan Hill, when police responded to Rite-Aid, 16000...

Candidates make their case to SB County voters

Local musicians named to Honor Band Hollister High School Scarlet Regiment musicians Micah Bercasio (B-flat clarinet), Avery Cua (alto saxophone), Mikayla Dorado (alto saxophone), Leeza Gatson (bass clarinet), Megan Phillips (trumpet), Jared Provencio (baritone saxophone), Eduardo Rosas (tuba) and Sonia Zambrano (tuba) were recently named...

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the 2016 death of a Gilroy man whose body was found in a Fresno County canal. Vidal Zepeda, 39, was found dead on Feb. 22, 2016 in the California Aqueduct at West...

Longtime congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is locked in a contentious battle with Muwekma Ohlone tribal leader Charlene Nijmeh and former San Benito County Supervisor Peter Hernandez that will be decided in November, when the two highest primary vote getters face off. The normally routine business of...

Mike Soto, a coach for the Hollister Heat youth baseball team, and his family took advantage of some sun and warmth between the storms this week to practice their skills on the diamond.  Soto took his grandchildren and some of their friends to Vista Hill...

All lanes are now open at the new “turbo roundabout” intersection at Highways 25 and 156 in San Benito County. The California Department of Transportation released a how-to video on Youtube—in both English and Spanish—advising travelers how to approach and navigate the new intersection,...

Nearly four months after forming a bipartisan select committee and two hearings later, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced legislation Feb. 15 to combat shoplifting and organized retail theft—just beating a legislative deadline to introduce new bills. The Hollister Democrat joined Democratic Assemblymembers Rick Zbur of...

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...