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The Housing Element Part 2: Builder’s Remedy and The Cost of Non-Compliance
This is part 2 of a multi-part series that dives into state housing policy and its local impact on San Benito County. Part 1 can be located here. Once again we invite you to get comfortable with y...
San Benito Agricultural Land Trust
Listed under: Land Use & Development Agriculture, Food & Gardening Sustainability
Democracy is a 2,500-year-old system of government still looked on today as the best system, because under a democratic system, the people govern themselves. But is that all there is to it? What is democracy? And how does it work …
The California Supreme Court has kept the state at the forefront of legal issues surrounding abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, starting in its earliest days in the Gold Rush era.
The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.
California keeps on taking legislative steps that will keep it ranked in the top 10 of voter-friendly states.
Community service districts can do most anything a city government can do. Here’s how they work and how to start one.
Pushed by activists, cities move from at-large elections to district races.
From Benito Link...
A petition circulated by Hollister Guardians Action to rescind the 2040 Hollister General Plan appears to have obtained enough signatures to be considered by the Hollister City Council. The San Benito County Elections Office notified the city of Hollister that it predicts 2,902 of the signatures collected by the local activist group are valid.
To the sound of honking horns, about 17 community members gathered on Fourth Street in Hollister to show their support on Feb. 3 for the migrant community as part of the nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” demonstration.
On October 22, 2024, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors approved Ordinance Number 1070, aimed at promoting greater transparency and accountability in government decision-making. The ordinance requires individuals and organizations that lobby County officials to register, disclose their activities, and provide detailed information about who they represent, their spending, and the officials they contact.
The group Hollister Guardians Action submitted signatures to the city of Hollister on Jan. 21, in a referendum campaign to rescind the recently adopted 2040 General Plan, City Clerk Jennifer Woodworth confirmed to BenitoLink.
From CalMatters...
From Local News Matters...
In many elections, voters will cast a ballot selecting candidates at the top of the ticket but skip voting on “down-ballot” races—resulting in what election officials call “undervotes.” In the Nov. 5 election, a number of San Benito County races had more undervotes tallied than the margin between the top two choices, which means the undervotes may have determined the outcomes of those races.
In November 2024, Susan Ellen “Zoe” Lofgren (D) was reelected as the 18th District’s representative in Congress, defeating San Benito County Republican Peter Hernandez with 64.6% of the vote. Having first been elected to Congress in 1994, Lofgren maintained her popularity in an election year that was generally harsh on incumbents.
Read on to learn about some of the new California laws going into effect in 2025.
Being an election year, there was no shortage of news for BenitoLink to dig into in 2024. Stories included several campaign flyers distributed by two unknown organizations which, as BenitoLink’s Fact Check project revealed, contained numerous false and misleading statements.BenitoLink also increased its sports coverage, including high school sports, and highlighted achievements by club teams. Here’s a look at what made news in San Benito County in 2024.
Though campaigns and fundraising efforts culminated on Election Day, and the deadline to submit campaign finance reports was more than a week before in-person voting, money poured into state races until Nov. 5.
After deciding not to run again, John Freeman ended his eight years on the San Juan Bautista City Council as it underwent a change of guard. At the Dec. 17 meeting, after a ceremony recognizing Freeman’s contributions to the city, his replacement, former planning commissioner Jose Aranda, along and reelected councilman Scott Freels, were sworn into office.
From Gilroy Dispatch...
The Valley Water Board of Directors elected Tony Estremera as the Chair for 2025, and Richard P. Santos as Vice Chair. The board voted on their new officers at the Dec. 10 meeting.
In 2017, President Donald Trump created a program called Opportunity Zones to spur economic growth in low-income communities—two of these are located in San Benito County.
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