News

San Benito County will continue efforts to sustain parks and recreation with a possibility of the county creating Parks and Recreation Champions to conduct public outreach.

Hollister Recreation is holding its second annual “Summer Splash” event Saturday at the San Benito High School pool.  The community event has a price of $2, which is a $1 savings off the regular weekday ticket. That will get attendees into the pool, along with hot dogs courtesy of the local firefighters association and other lunch items, said Recreation Manager Tina Garza. The event is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Community Solutions, a comprehensive nonprofit human services agency that serves South Santa Clara and San Benito counties, announced the hire of Lisa Davis, a licensed marriage and family therapist, as the agency's Chief Operations Officer on July 17.

The Homeless Coalition of San Benito County will host its eighth annual Jazz Under the Stars fundraiser July 27.

Street Festival, Car Show and Swap Meet: The 27th annual Downtown Hollister Street Festival and Car Show is July 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in downtown Hollister. Admission and parking is free, with guests welcome to free watermelon. The event will feature specials and sales at downtown merchants and restaurants, live entertainment on two stages, food concessions, raffle prizes, car displays and more. New this year there will be a beer and wine garden. Details: Visit www.downtownhollister.org/streetfestival.php or call (831)636-8406.

ENGAGEMENT: Paetz/Mickiewicz: Jenna Paetz and Kyle Mickiewicz are engaged to be married.

For the first time since its inception, CordeValle Golf Course will host a national championship.

As volunteers walked down the driveway after a day of feeding wildlife and cleaning enclosures at the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center, they were mystified to hear an unusual whistling-chirping sound coming from underneath a parked vehicle. Getting low on the ground and peeking up under the car, they were astonished to see a large face staring right back at them. Looking and sounding like a super-sized ground squirrel (which in truth, it is), it turned out to be a yellow-bellied marmot, normally a denizen of the Sierra and Rocky mountains. We quickly learned why they're nick-named “whistle pigs” - they whistle when alarmed by predators, such as wolves, foxes, coyotes, badgers, bobcats, golden eagles, hawks, owls, weasels, humans and dogs (one of which had just chased this particular marmot under the car).

On June 28, Grinds, Vines and Automobilia Café celebrated the end of its first year in business with some loyal customers at a ribbon cutting ceremony with staff, ambassadors and board members of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.