Politics

A new county library still seems a long way off after a recent report priced a new facility at $47.5 million. County supervisors received a library needs assessment report Tuesday and directed staff officials to continue the discussion at the San Benito County Intergovernmental Committee....

City Manager Bill Avera at a luncheon event this week said he “probably mishandled or misjudged" the severity of two 2016 cannery waste spills into the San Benito River bed. On Jan. 13, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board issued the City of...

A former city councilman is using his political consulting firm to bridge the gap between the public and private sectors. Former Hollister Councilman Victor Gomez is gearing up a new political consulting firm called Pinnacle Strategy. Gomez served on the council from 2008 until late...

The Highway 156 expansion remains a couple years away from starting, but that didn’t stop the California State Governor’s Office from including it on a list of key infrastructure projects released this week. In 2008, Caltrans approved an environmental impact report for the project that...

Hollister residents will be able to take advantage of clean, renewable energy without having to mount solar hardware on their homes starting in spring 2018. Council members Monday unanimously approved a resolution that allows local residents to choose where they get their energy. Monterey Bay Community...

The San Benito High School District agreed to pay former Superintendent John Perales two months of salary and health benefits along with undisclosed vacation-accrual compensation. That was in exchange for his "irrevocable resignation and a mutual release of claims," according to a letter provided by...

Rain expected this week has the county concerned about more potential flooding. Recent rainfall and flooding in previous weeks caused San Benito County to declare a local emergency due to flooding in the Lovers Lane area. Gov. Jerry Brown proclaimed a State of Emergency for...

There's a pleasant chirp in the air about McCarthy Street Park these days. At San Andreas Continuation High School neighboring the park Wednesday, about 20 local residents met with community organizers and leaders for an hour-long brainstorming session on ways to make over the largely...

The owner of an engineering firm contracted by Hollister to work on the sewage system—which experienced two 2016 malfunctions resulting in spills—was arrested last week on accusations of felony conflict of interest charges. The owner, John Wallace, also has a public history overseeing agencies...