Politics

Esperanza Colio Warren, who has more than two decades of public service leadership experience, is San Benito County’s new County Administrative Officer.  The board of supervisors appointed Colio Warren to the position last week. She will begin her new job as CAO June 16.  Colio Warren’s...

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors formally suspended negotiations with the City of Hollister for the renewal of a contract for fire services.  The 3-2 vote at the board’s April 22 meeting followed the Hollister City Council’s rejection the previous evening of the terms...

Negotiations will continue on a new fire services contract agreement among the City of Hollister, San Benito County and San Juan Bautista, after Hollister’s city council this week rejected the latest offer from the other two jurisdictions.  At the April 21 Hollister council meeting, the...

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...

A group of San Benito County residents submitted more than 3,500 signatures Jan. 21 for a referendum petition that aims to reverse an end-of-the-year city council decision to expand Hollister’s sphere of influence for potential future development.  More than a dozen local residents—including representatives of...

After celebrating the holidays with her family and recovering from a bout of Covid, Zoe Lofgren flew back to Washington, DC on Jan. 2 to begin her new term representing California’s 18th Congressional District in the US Congress. The district follows Highway 101 from...

California lawmakers in 2024 introduced 4,821 bills, but most of them were tossed or otherwise rejected during the months-long legislative process during which most never saw the light of day. Just 1,206 made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, with 1,017 getting signed into law...

The leaders of the state Legislature have a message for voters: We know you’re frustrated with how expensive California is—and we’re going to fix it. After a painful election that sparked recriminations and soul searching among Democrats across the country, state Senate President Pro Tem...

Robert Rivas, who represents 29th California district, was re-elected this week as Speaker of the California State Assembly.  Rivas, of Hollister, now begins his second year as Assembly Speaker following a unanimous vote by his Democratic colleagues on Dec. 2.  “I am filled with great pride...

U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) announced this week that Gavilan College will receive $375,000 from the National Science Foundation to support STEM education for Latino students. “Diversity in the STEM workforce matters, and I am glad to see Gavilan College is implementing an innovative program...