San Benito County Community Service & Support Digest

Haunt 13 is the brainchild of Eric Garthwait, a Hollister resident who is an application engineer by day and a haunted house creator during Halloween season.

Tiny homes are increasingly California cities’ shelter option of choice — but how far they go in solving homelessness is a contentious question.

After years of planning a broadband system to bridge California’s digital divide, officials deprioritized some low-income areas due to unexpected costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom says he’s committed to funding the entire network, but advocates are skeptical.

Despite an influx of money to counter learning loss during the pandemic, English language arts and math test scores remain low.

Bernie Ramirez, with the Hollister VFW Post 9242, is raffling handmade Adirondack chairs or a bench (winner’s choice). All proceeds go toward ‘I Care Packages’ the Hollister VFW sends to deployed active-duty military members across the world.

With the growing use of AI, campus officials are trying to set clear guidelines for college application essays.

The facts of climate change can lead to feelings of hopelessness and despair. Some California activists are creating communities for people to talk about those feelings.

The CPUC is considering a rule that would gut the payments that solar panels on apartment buildings receive, and many housing groups are blazing mad about it.

Between Oct. 1, and Dec. 10, homeowners who purchase from Anderson Homes choose one of these nonprofits to be awarded a donation: San Benito County Arts Council, Youth Alliance, San Benito County Chamber of Commerce, BenitoLink and the Community Foundation for San Benito County.

After a historic decline in community college enrollment during the pandemic, students are returning to school again, according to the state’s most recent data. But students between the ages of 20 and 30 are lagging behind.

Several anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are advertising abortion pill reversal. California Attorney General Rob Bonta calls the claims false advertising that mislead vulnerable patients.

Civic leaders gathered to participate in a listening session where they discussed topics such as crime, homelessness, behavioral health, substance abuse and county employee retention.

The Community Food Bank of San Benito hosted an event called “Spooning the Lawn.” Food Bank CEO Sarah Nordwick said each spoon that was installed in the Veterans Memorial Building lawn represents 10 people in the county who are struggling with hunger.

A last-minute legislative deal would raise pay for California health care workers while giving medical providers a guarantee that they won’t have to battle local measures on employee compensation.

Known for his appearances over the years as Santa Claus, Max Martinez is laid up at Mission Skilled Nursing in San Jose, but he wants the residents to know that he is still paying attention to who has been naughty and who has been nice.

Concrete flooring in the Palmtag Shed at the Historical Village has been completed, thanks to the San Benito County Historical Society. The venue will be a welcome improvement at the upcoming Hope Harvest Festival on Sept. 23-24.

The Hollister chapter of Helping One Woman, a nonprofit organization, raised more than $9,000 for a local boy who needs brain surgery at a dinner attended by 162 guests.

Full-time general assignment reporter Monserrat Solis is joining the BenitoLink team to help cover the subjects readers have said are most important to them: local government, education, health, transportation and housing.

Almost 20 months ago, 12 families began transforming the site of an old demolished hospital on Southside Road into Riverview Estates II as they learned how to build their own homes with the help of the Community Services Development Corporation.

A new law allows community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, an option for students unable to attend a four-year institution. But California State University officials are objecting to many of those proposed programs.

Last year California began providing free school lunches to all TK-12 students, regardless of family income. Now, with an influx of state and federal money, school districts are revamping kitchens and training staff so they can provide freshly made, healthy meals.

Frustration runs deep among medical cannabis patients and advocates who say the commercial market created by Proposition 64 in 2016 isn’t meeting their needs.

The Hollister Exchange Club held an event to distribute $24,075 in grants and scholarships. The group is dedicated to fostering youth development, supporting charitable initiatives, and strengthening community bonds.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will spend $4.5 million on free legal services for undocumented workers involved in state investigations of wage theft or other labor violations. The lawyers can help with their immigration cases.

Kicking off a series of portraits of “San Benito Living Treasures,” BenitoLink profiles a resident who will be recognized at Hollister’s first Native American Gathering for her decades of military and public service.

Community Vision San Benito County has resumed its work to organize a community-gathering effort to identify both the difficulties and the hopes of county residents.

California health officials say granting the licenses prevents the eviction of hundreds of residents from their homes and provides oversight provisions, including a two-year monitoring period.

The spending change would prioritize housing for homeless people, which children's mental health advocates fear will cut their funding.

Carly Zanger of the Community Foundation for San Benito County Brenda Weatherly writes about the departure of Brenda Weatherly, who has served as director of donor and community services since 2018.

The California Department of Social Services announced that individuals and families affected by the recent severe winter storms in San Benito, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Kern, Mariposa, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties could be eligible to receive Disaster CalFresh food benefits.

More than 25 people gathered at the San Benito Health Foundation on April 6 for Monterey Bay Economic Partnership’s leadership breakfast featuring Rosa Vivian Fernandez, who spoke on health, housing and San Benito County’s role in advocating for funding. 

At Jovenes de Antaño Senior Services in Hollister, the loss of founder Paulina Valdivia can still be felt.