Local News

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has intervened in a lawsuit challenging San Benito County’s approval of the Betabel Commercial Development on U.S. 101 south of Hollister, Bonta’s office announced this week. The lawsuit was initially filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Amah Mutsun Tribal...

Although farm and food production workers were considered essential workers during the pandemic, many of California's food employers endangered those workers, violating Cal/OSHA's Covid-19 guidelines more often than most industries, a new report said. The California Institute for Rural Studies’ report said farm and food...

Santa Clara County announced Tuesday that it has acquired the new Novavax Covid-19 vaccine and will begin administering the vaccine at all County Health System vaccination sites on Aug. 2. Unlike the currently available Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that use an mRNA-based approach to developing...

In two separate Santa Clara County workers’ compensation insurance fraud cases, a child therapist and San Jose father and son business owners will face serious sentences for committing felony fraud, according to authorities.  Mark Anthony Ramos, 50, of Escondido, owner of Stars Bay Area Therapy...

Gilroy High School is poised to become South County’s first mass Covid-19 vaccination site. On Feb. 11, the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education will consider allowing Santa Clara County Public Health to operate the site through the end of July. According to the tentative...

Most true lovers of pinot noir have made a pilgrimage to Calera Winery in Hollister, the place that firmly established North America’s ability to produce “the heartbreak grape.”  Calera Wine Company, established in 1975 in the remote hills of San Benito County, was the beautiful...

Mistaken identities, slamming doors and a Scottish hitman in a kilt are just a few of the comedic elements audiences can expect in South Valley Civic Theater's upcoming production of “An Unnecessary Farce,” opening April 26. The plot revolves around two inept police officers conducting...

California lifted most of its Covid-19 restrictions and officially reopened Tuesday, marking the moment with state-subsidized vacation giveaways and $15 million in vaccine lottery prizes as it emerged from the pandemic politically divided but economically formidable. One of the last U.S. states to reopen, California...

San Benito County officials clarified late last week that the developer of the proposed Strada Verde Innovation Park—which was the subject of a failed November 2020 ballot initiative—has asked the county to pause its work on the project’s application.  “As a result, work on the...

Food pantries across South County are experiencing unprecedented demand following the suspension of SNAP benefits due to the federal government shutdown, with lines wrapping around blocks and new families seeking assistance at rates not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Reach Out Food Pantry in...