Opinion

The last couple weeks have felt like a dream. It all started in Tres Pinos when Confederate and Union soldiers in full regalia—rifles drawn—battled among the 19th century clapboard houses at San Benito County Historical Park. Then on Saturday an assortment of explorers, fair...

The 20th congressional district, which includes San Benito County, is home to an estimated 20,000 Dreamers, undocumented individuals who were brought to the U.S. as children. California is home to 1 in 4 recipients of DACA, a program that gives eligible Dreamers a chance...

It is not unusual for my nine-year-old daughter and I to talk politics. Even so, I was surprised when last Sunday, while sitting at the kitchen table, Lola asked, “So, what is going on with immigration?” The NPR evening news program played on low volume and...

My favorite event of the year is fast approaching – the county fair. Before settling in the wooded surround of north Monterey County, I pounded the pavement in some of the world’s grandest metropolitan cities and yet the county fair with its blue ribbon jams,...

The San Benito County Fair is right around the corner and starts September 28 at the Bolado Park Event Center. What are your favorite exhibits or things to do at the county fair? As communities change and the area becomes more urban, how should...

Hollister City Council recently approved an ABC liquor license for a new wine room downtown. What other types of businesses would you like to see open in the downtown district?   Charlene Hernandez: I think approving this type of establishment is a great idea! We need...

Like the rising floods ravaging parts of Texas and Louisiana, this week ended in a deluge of breaking news. San Juan Bautista City Manager Roger Grimsley, who also doubled as the small town’s city engineer, abruptly resigned Tuesday during the city council meeting after...

While my school days are well behind me, this time of the year always leaves me with feelings of hope and trepidation. As the Free Lance took a tour of San Benito High School with Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum earlier this week, I saw students arrive...

The Hollister City Council should go back to the drawing board on the 400 block. Dueling petition drives in a divided community are not a good way to make strategic planning decisions and revitalize a downtown. To make downtown the place it should be requires...

Last Friday while deciding on this issue’s Question of the Week, I ran into a bit of difficulty. I wanted to ask our readers how cancer impacted them to coincide with reporter Nick Preciado’s coverage of the Relay for Life fundraiser held last weekend...