News

Three proposals at Hollister’s north end would allow construction of more than 1.1 million square feet of cannabis-growing greenhouses and other production facilities, establishing Hollister as an epicenter of cannabis production in the southern Santa Clara Valley and California’s Central Coast. The planned commercial cannabis...

The San Benito County Board of Supervisors, hearing concerns of theft and odor after the first hemp growing season, placed a 45-day moratorium on operations Dec. 10 to give the county time to revise its ordinance by late January. The county’s hemp ordinance went into...

Spring Grove Elementary School just north of Hollister has been honored as the only California Distinguished School in San Benito County, one of 323 K-8 schools honored across the state this month. The school will be honored at an awards ceremony Feb. 10 at the...

A woman died in a three-vehicle collision on Highway 152 east of Gilroy Saturday night, according to authorities.

Hollister mayoral candidate and Councilmember Honor Spencer took her public feud with Councilmember Rolan Resendiz to a new level this week, calling for the council to officially censure Resendiz in January “for his public comments using misogynistic and derogatory language towards women, senior citizens,...

The controversial roundabout planned for the Highway 25/156 intersection at Hollister’s north end is moving forward and is on schedule, according to Caltrans. Brandy Rider, the Department of Transportation project manager, reported in response to a Free Lance inquiry that the project is fully funded,...

It’s the Friday before Thanksgiving break, and Katherine Alosi’s third grade class is working diligently on their latest assignment. In any other classroom, this may be a rarity—especially an hour from dismissal—but this Gabilan Hills Elementary School class has proven to be an exception...

The historic orchard in the center of downtown San Juan Bautista recently got a makeover. Known as the first phase of renovation work, crews from Hollister-based Lee Landscaping removed dead trees and installed drip irrigation throughout the orchard. A wood chip mulch was installed...

Volunteers gathered at Calvary-Sacred Heart Cemetery in Hollister on Dec. 14 as part of National Wreaths Across America Day. The volunteers placed nearly 800 wreaths on the graves of veterans buried in the cemetery. National Wreaths Across America Day is carried out by coordinating...