Politics

Hollister City Council members Monday will consider a proposal to put further restrictions on nonprofit-run booths selling the "safe and sane" variety of fireworks.

There are about 1,900 ballots yet to count from the San Benito County election last week, an official said Thursday.

Mickie Solorio Luna extended her lead over Victoria Montoya for the District 2 Hollister council seat, while Jerry Muenzer was holding on to a narrow advantage in the race for District 4 supervisor, according to the latest election results.

Citadel Exploration has filed a $1.2 billion claim against the county after passage of Measure J, the initiative set to ban enhanced oil extraction, including the use of cyclic steaming planned for the oil company's field near Bitterwater.

For Hollister residents, the commute to Monterey County and the route to flea markets at the iconic Red Barn off Highway 101 just got safer.

Measure J supporters believe they can use the momentum from its passage to broaden their green energy efforts such as revisiting encouragement of the “model green city” approach in San Juan Bautista, which they broached with Mission City officials in January.

Mickie Solorio Luna looks to be pulling out the race to become the next District 2 council member in Hollister, according to unofficial results released Friday afternoon.

In response to voters’ passage of Measure J on Tuesday, Citadel Exploration has filed a document with federal regulators indicating the oil exploration company intends to pursue legal options in an attempt to move ahead on plans for steaming extraction in the Bitterwater area.

With more voting results expected at 5 p.m. Friday, incumbent Supervisor Jerry Muenzer held a lead over challenger Victor Gomez in the race for the District 4 county board seat after early results released Tuesday.

Newcomer Karson Klauer is headed toward victory over two-term former Councilman Robert Scattini in the race for the open District 3 seat after early election results released Tuesday.