Politics

Registered sex offender and health care district board member Ernest Rivas has declared candidacy for the November ballot in an attempt to gain reelection two years after admitting to a charge that he had sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl.

San Benito County supervisors recently decided to restrict new housing in four geographical areas that encompass significant swaths of the county’s unincorporated agricultural, open space or vacant land. But some local residents at the last board meeting decried the move as “political theater,” while voicing...

San Benito County is preparing to “take a step back,” in the words of Supervisor Dom Zanger, from its longstanding partnership with the City of Hollister for fire services.  The board of supervisors scheduled a special meeting on March 26 to discuss recent developments in...

Citing the impact of across-the-board rising prices and economic uncertainties, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors declined to ask the voters for a 1% sales tax in the November election. And despite their ongoing search for more local revenues to fund public services, the...

On Sunday morning, a Honda car remained parked, vacant, on Felice Drive at a stop sign that intersects with Fourth Street, one of the most traveled routes in town. Hours later, a Honda CRV hybrid showed up behind the car—with both vehicles abandoned and left with “For Sale” signs and contact information attached.

The voters who have been trying to recall Hollister Mayor Ignacio Velazquez have abandoned the initiative after their attempts to meet legal noticing requirements failed for the fourth time. Instead, the mayor’s detractors will focus on finding a candidate to run against Velazquez in the...

It’s official: incumbent Mayor Ignacio Velazquez will once again face off against two-time challenger Keith Snow.

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, headed to an 80-20 victory in his first re-election bid, isn’t going to be putting his feet up in the next few weeks while waiting for his Democratic Party to take control of the 116th U.S. House of Representatives. One of Congress’...

San Juan Bautista planning commissioners will revisit an ambitious proposal to transform a nearby 550-acre ranch into a world-class car racing destination at its regular meeting next week. On August 1, the five-member board will hear from WY2M, Inc., a Los Gatos-based company that...

Late May 27, just as California legislators were preparing to check out for the long holiday weekend, an earthquake rocked the California political world: Assemblymember Robert Rivas, a Hollister Democrat, announced that he had “secured enough votes” to become the next speaker of the...