News

On Nov. 15, the day Paul Eckert resigned under pressure as interim city manager after nine days on the job, the Free Lance emailed Hollister City Council members questions that asked them to reflect on their six-week roller-coaster ride attempting to hire a new...

Brett Miller, Hollister’s assistant city manager and manager of administrative services, is acting city manager. Miller’s appointment Friday afternoon, Nov. 15, was one of the last acts of Bill Avera on his last day on the job before his retirement as city manager. One day earlier,...

Hollister’s Interim City Manager Paul Eckert resigned today, Nov. 14, after just eight days on the job, according to Mayor Ignacio Velazquez. Velazquez said Eckert delivered a resignation letter to the city late Thursday afternoon, one day before City Manager Bill Avera’s retirement and one...

Hollister Police arrested two men in possession of drugs and illegal weapons after stopping a vehicle for a traffic violation, according to authorities. About 1:53am  Nov. 9, Hollister Police Officer Rene Rayas was on patrol when he noticed a vehicle weaving within the road and...

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital has received a grant from the California Bridge Program—a ground-breaking statewide initiative designed to increase access to treatment for opioid use disorders. The Hollister hospital will receive up to $129,000 to fund a new opioid addiction treatment The program enables the hospital’s...

It’s a great time to be a human during the penultimate month of the year. The weather is mild, the holidays are approaching, and a Thanksgiving feast caps November. Some local ranches offer organic turkeys for purchase, making for a sustainable dinner centerpiece. It’s a bad...

This San Juan Bautista home is located within the 140-home gated community of Rancho Larios, but thanks to strategically located trees and a panoramic view of 1,000 acres of preserve land, it has a feeling of privacy. Located at 603 Calle San Antonio, the 3,468-square-foot...

California is on track to build a $1 billion dam and create a giant reservoir at Pacheco Pass that will dwarf the existing reservoir and dam near Highway 152 east of Gilroy, with construction beginning in 2024. New evidence from an independent nationwide study of...

Within days after the Hollister City Council backtracked on a commitment to hire Paul Eckert as its new city manager—hiring him instead on an interim basis—even that appointment was increasingly in doubt this week. Eckert’s job status was to be the subject of another closed-door...

Hollister’s Kmart is one of nearly 100 store locations slated to close across the country, owner Transformco announced Nov. 7. A total of 96 Kmart and Sears stores will close by February, with going-out-of-business sales expected to begin Dec. 2, according to the company. “Since purchasing...