Hazel Hawkins welcomes first baby of 2024
The new year started off “extraordinarily quiet” in Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital’s Birthing Center—until the evening of Jan. 4, according to hospital staff. On that day, three babies were born in the span of 20 minutes and at 6:05pm, Natalia Elias Estrada won the...
Newsom outlines plan for state budget deficit
California is in a budget hole, its depth measured not in feet, but in dollars.
How deep? A projected $38 billion deficit, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said Jan. 10 he will declare a fiscal emergency when necessary and unveiled his initial plan to...
Apartment complex fire displaces 34 Hollister residents
A fire destroyed two buildings in an apartment complex on Line Street Jan. 6, leaving dozens of Hollister residents suddenly without homes over the weekend, according to city officials.
In the days since the blaze, an outpouring of donations and community support for the victims—driven...
New law allows cruising and speed cameras
Two new laws taking effect Jan. 1 could affect safety on California’s roads.
Cameras at intersections across California already flag drivers who run red lights. Under one law, six cities can begin a pilot program to catch and fine speeding drivers with cameras, with hopes...
From fungus to fentanyl, new laws address variety of topics in 2024
Every year, California’s legislators send a flurry of bills to the governor in hopes he or she will sign them. And that’s before the byzantine legislative process that leaves most proposed laws on Assembly and Senate cutting floors.
In 2023, the lawmakers sent off 1,046...
Judge’s decision on Hazel Hawkins bankruptcy case due in weeks
US bankruptcy court will decide if HHMH is eligible for Chapter Nine
A break in the weather for the next week after recent storm
Last week's storm brought flooding to coastal areas
State stiffens penalties for fentanyl trafficking
People convicted of distributing fentanyl will face stiffer criminal penalties in the coming year under a new law shaped by rising overdose deaths.
The law increases the penalty for selling or distributing more than one kilogram of fentanyl by an automatic addition of three years...
2024 brings tougher penalties for child trafficking in CA
A law that classifies human trafficking of a minor for the purposes of a commercial sex act as a “serious felony” took effect Jan. 1, less than six months after debate around the bill roiled the Capitol.
Under current law, human trafficking of a minor...
Driver dies in New Year’s Eve collision near Gilroy
At least one died in a vehicle collision near Gilroy on Monday midnight, barely an hour after New Year arrived, according to California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said two vehicles, a Nissan SUV and a Chevy pickup truck, were involved in the fatal crash which...
