San Benito County Local News

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has scheduled a series of public meetings on the Highway 101 and State Route 25 interchange project. The purpose of the meetings is to provide commuters with more information about the changes coming to the busy intersection.

Dr. Sara Cody—a nationally recognized public health official who was a leader and a pioneer in the Bay Area’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic—has announced her retirement from her position as Santa Clara County Health Officer.

At its March 12 meeting, the Aromas San-Juan Unified School District heard a presentation from Dan Giusti, founder of the food service organization Brigade, which conducted an on-site survey of all three district schools in Sept. 2024. Giusti proposed creating a centralized kitchen hub at San Juan School to serve all three district schools, which he said would offer students more variety, serve more scratch-made foods, and bring in more local produce.

On March 16 at 1:30 p.m., 18th District Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren will hold a virtual town hall to discuss “federal funding freezes, some of Trump's executive orders, DOGE, the House Republicans' budget bill, tariffs and more.”

At the March 11 meeting of the San Benito County Board of Supervisors, Associate Planner Stephanie Reck delivered an update on the housing element of the county’s General Plan. While the county surpassed its goals for planning for market rate homes in less than two years, it’s still behind when it comes to low income housing.

During its March 11 meeting, the San Benito High School District Board of Trustees removed an agenda item that would have eliminated the school’s Athletic Director position. If the board voted to eliminate the position it would have laid off current Athletic Director Tod Thatcher, who has been with the district for 31 years. More than 70 people, many of them current Hollister High athletes and parents, attended the March 11 meeting.

About 40 seniors share daily meals at the Pauline Valdivia Memorial Community Center in Hollister. Over half of them stay a little longer to play bingo. Observing the environment of companionship and laughter, one would not know the organization providing those services faces an uncertain future as it expects to lose two of its major funding sources.

The Hollister Heat held its Opening Ceremonies on Mar. 8. More than 200 people attended the event at the Veterans Memorial Park. The weather was chilly, but everyone had a great time.

The United States Bureau of Reclamation has announced its initial surface water supply allocations for the Central Valley Project for the 2025 water year. CVP contractors’ south-of-Delta have been allocated 35 percent of their agricultural contract total and 75 percent of their municipal and industrial total.

Passing Anzar High School on the way in or out of San Juan Bautista, drivers might only barely register the huge concrete-and-steel panels lined up in the yard across the street, standing on end like so many huge dominoes waiting for a nudge to set them tumbling. For more than 45 years, similar panels designed and built by Willis Construction have graced major architectural projects across the continent.

A San Benito County Jail inmate unsuccessfully attempted to escape custody on March 3. Lieutenant Jorge Perez with the San Benito County Sheriff’s Department said there was no threat to the public and that the correctional officers followed protocol.