Opinion

There were cheers last week about the record or near-record turnout levels in the midterm elections in California, and across the U.S. While the numbers were relatively high—approaching 60 percent in some California counties— they were properly qualified by adjectives such as “midterm,” “off-year”...

A little over a year ago, we wrote an editorial in this space entitled, “Why should we care?” “Why should we care about any further investigation of the money that disappeared from the Tony and Barbara Matulich Charitable Trust?” was the question we posed. After all,...

Two months after the death of Steven Juarez while in the custody of Gilroy police, the investigation of the exact cause of his death continues. While the police and the district attorney’s office are investigating whether police were responsible, they have said little about...

This is a story of ordinary events that unexpectedly escalated into extraordinary circumstances, of dangerous situations that were resolved peacefully—events that in other communities have resulted in tragic, even deadly consequences. But not in Hollister. In the late morning on the day after the Fourth...

A little over two years ago, this newspaper called for the resignation or termination of Hollister City Manager Bill Avera. The Free Lance editorial said Avera’s mishandling of sewage spills and lack of accountability showed that the former development services director lacked the capacity to...

The notion that mental illness drives the current spate of mass shootings is a dangerous oversimplification. Some shooters, such as the Aurora. Col., movie theater gunman James Holmes, yes, have had diagnosed mental illness, while others have not. To unfairly stereotype people with conditions...