Politics

Hollister’s police chief hopes to solve the problem with so many residents shooting off illegal fireworks July 4, especially in light of Saturday night’s incident in which five children were injured by some of the explosives.

There’s a familiar face coming on board as the new Hollister fire chief.

Although police officials don’t quite have official crime statistics compiled for the biker rally weekend, the chief said criminal activity was down at the 2015 event ending Sunday.

The Hollister Freedom Rally’s new Las Vegas-based promoter estimated 40,000 to 45,000 people descended on the city nicknamed “the Birthplace of the American biker” this weekend to celebrate motorcycles with music and revving engines.

In response to Saturday night’s incident involving the use of illegal fireworks injuring five Hollister children, Mayor Ignacio Velazquez on Sunday urged for an increase to the $1,000 fine against people caught with illegal fireworks.

Police Chief David Westrick has a simple goal heading into the Hollister Freedom Rally, the first major motorcycle event since the deadly Waco, Texas shootings in May involving rival biker clubs.

Hollister’s motorcycle rally is a boon for some downtown businesses, but it helps others outside the event area as well. Places such as Dunneville Café & Market, about six miles outside the downtown area, get a big boost, too.

A new name, a return of late-night headliner entertainment and tattoo contests are all in the works after a Las Vegas-based company took control of Hollister’s motorcycle rally this year.

Motorcycle riders visiting Hollister during the Independence Day weekend are here for an experience and are willing to pay for it, said Ignacio Velazquez, the city’s mayor.

Developers who bought and demolished the San Benito Street building destroyed by a 2014 fire plan to build a mixed-use project with a commercial office in the front and townhomes behind it, a planning official confirmed.