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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.
January
The Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital bankruptcy and potential sale saga continued as Insight Health introduced itself as a third suitor looking to take over the facility. In the Nov. 5 election, voters approved a measure allowing the hospital district to pursue a deal with the Michigan-based organization. Throughout the process, some members of the community have questioned Insight’s track record.
Recently, Insight’s practices were the focus of a damning investigation by American Prospect magazine. All this while the hospital’s bankruptcy petition is reviewed by an appellate court after the judge dismissed the filing in March, citing a $15 million discrepancy in documents submitted to the court.
Also in January, after hearing concerns from residents about political flyers being distributed in the community, BenitoLink launched its Fact Check project as part of its commitment to serve San Benito County. The editorial team went on to publish four Fact Checks that targeted elected officials and identified statements that were misleading or false.
In south county, residents were still dealing with the impacts of a second New Idria Road washout. Andrew Frazier recounted how difficult and dangerous it had become to conduct day-to-day ranching operations in that region. Not only was the washout a problem, the road itself was in a terrible shape. And while the county repaired it, New Idria Road is already showing signs of pavement failure.
February
The John Smith Road Landfill was another controversy in the community. County planners rejected the certification of an environmental impact report for a proposed expansion. Waste Solutions, the landfill operator, appealed the decision but later rescinded its appeal, calling the move a “business decision.” At that time, the landfill had 13 years of capacity remaining, and the county continues to analyze its options.
San Juan School finally got an answer from the state that it could rebuild at its existing location. The campus’s fate was in limbo because of its proximity to the San Andreas Fault. The district conducted seismic studies as part of its efforts to repair and upgrade buildings.
San Juan Bautista tends to be a quiet small town except during popular events such as the annual rib cook-off. But this year, it caught the attention of many movie fans, as a film crew set up the State Historic Park for a Hollywood production. Some fans flocked to the site and said they got a glimpse of actor Sean Penn. San Juan Bautista businesses also benefited from the crew patronizing restaurants, hotels and city facilities.
BenitoLink concluded the first phase of our Listening Sessions. Meetings were held with about 20 community groups to discuss their concerns, goals and visions for San Benito County. BenitoLink is compiling its findings and providing a report to the community.
March
For the second time, local activists submitted a slow-growth initiative. Unlike the first try in 2022, proponents gained sufficient voter support to pass Measure A on Nov. 5. The measure requires voter approval in order to rezone rural, agricultural and rangeland in the county’s unincorporated areas to other uses—an action previously left to San Benito County planning officials. Both proponents and opponents of the measure said it will have profound impacts on local projects and opportunity zones.
San Benito High School District sued the County Board of Education for approving a charter school, the San Benito County Polytechnic Academy. While the district argued that the school was improperly approved, the court disagreed. The school district did not appeal the decision, but the legal fight cost taxpayers more than $200,000. Separately, the high school district selected a location for a new high school campus to alleviate overcapacity enrollment at Hollister High School. Some community members questioned why the district chose a property that was zoned as agricultural. The district now faces a challenge to pay for the new campus after voters rejected two bond measures to fund the project.
In response to an embezzlement investigation, officials looked to hire from outside the system a new leader for the San Benito County Free Public Library, but backed out and eventually promoted Austin Curtis. In order to do so, however, the county had to reduce the number of years of experience required from applicants. Months later, two former library employees were charged in connection with the embezzlement.
April
Public outcry over citations issued to a local food truck led San Juan Bautista to reconsider its rules. This led to proposed loosened restrictions allowing food trucks to pay an annual fee to operate on designated city streets on Mondays and Tuesdays from 6-10 p.m. However, the San Juan Bautista City Council has yet to vote on them.
San Benito County contracted with a new public defender following a damaging state report which found clients charged with crimes were not being sufficiently served. The move was meant as a temporary measure while the county considered creating a public defender’s office rather than contracting with private law firms. Around the same time, the county sought to all but eliminate its county counsel office to cut costs. Currently it has a hybrid model which involves contracting for services and employing in-house attorneys.
Local educators took advantage of the solar eclipse to provide a lesson on astronomy. As a result, students at Aromas School gained an understanding of what they saw through their NASA-approved sunglasses.
May
A persistent “manure-like” odor in west Hollister caused the city to send a cease-and-desist letter to San Benito Foods. An annual occurrence at the industrial wastewater treatment plant led to residents complaining to the city. Months later, the city determined that algae was causing the strong odors and that the cannery was taking steps to address it. Tomato-processing waste is treated at the plant.
An inmate escaped the San Benito County Jail. Though he was captured about 30 hours later, it raised questions about the security and staffing levels at the facility. Less than a month later, the Sheriff’s Department closed part of the jail, citing lack of staffing. The now-shuttered extension was opened in 2021. Regarding the escape, the state did not find any criminal wrongdoing by jail staff in its investigation—the San Benito County Sheriff said it was “laziness” by the officer in charge.
The Hwy 101/25 interchange received $55 million for a major upgrade from the state. The area near the onramp from southbound Hwy 101 regularly becomes congested and dangerous during peak hours as motorists create a line on the shoulder that can stretch for almost a mile. Ramp construction is expected to begin in April.
June
BenitoLink has been keeping an eye on our avian neighbors, the condors. The Central Coast Flock added at least nine chicks to its count this nesting season. At that time, there were 100 condors on the Central Coast. As part of an effort to keep the population healthy, the big birds were given vaccines for the avian flu outbreak.
During graduation season, BenitoLink featured 90-year-old Ted Thoeny, who earned his degree in studio arts at Gavilan College. Thoeny shared his journey from attending Stanford University to moving to South America and back to the United States.
Hollister says it wants the county and San Juan Bautista to pay its fair share for fire services. In doing so, Hollister sent a letter to the agencies notifying them that it would not renew the contract, which ends March 17. The county is exploring several options for such services, including renegotiating the contract with Hollister, forming a fire protection district or creating a new San Benito County Fire Department.
July
Some rural property owners were thrown a lifeline after the county approved regulations that allow low-impact camping on private property. Property owners say this allows them to diversify their business model and promote agritourism in the county.
San Benito County turned 150 years old in 2024 and celebrated the milestone on July 27. To commemorate, BenitoLink produced several stories looking at historically significant places. Among those is the New Idria mercury mine, which was originally dug by prospectors looking for silver. Another piece looked at the rural schools and how early makeshift schools led the way until permanent buildings were erected. A third looked at how the county was created. (Spoiler alert: it split from Monterey County in 1874.)
The Civil Grand Jury found dysfunction in local government. While its report did not name individual officials or agencies, the grand jury foreman told BenitoLink that Hollister City Council was a prime example. Over the years, there have been multiple investigations into ethics violations by council members.
August
In response to an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Benito County adopted an ordinance that prohibits people sleeping in public areas. A big part of the new law is an effort to clean up homeless encampments in the riverbed. The Sheriff’s office later conducted an informal census of that area and found 53 encampments, 55 cars, trailers and boats, 38 people and 21 dogs and cats. The official biannual homeless census found the county’s unhoused population increased by 73%.
The state and conservation organizations are partnering to create a wildlife crossing on Hwy 101 near Rocks Road. The area, which connects the Santa Cruz Mountains and the Gavilan Range, was identified in 2020 as a high-priority site because the highway is a barrier for wildlife movement. The project is in its planning phase and could take 10 years to complete.
BenitoLink previewed the fall season for Hollister High School’s cross country, girls field hockey and football teams. Coaches and athletes addressed their challenges and goals for the year. Later in the year, we also caught up with the girls soccer team, which looks to emulate previous teams’ success.
September
After months of speaking with dozens of community members, a BenitoLink Special Report series looked into how local youth get involved with gangs. The report also looked into using restorative justice practices that focus on community building and dialogue to prevent repeated arrests and incarceration. And we looked at how an Oakland nonprofit is providing living wage jobs, education and free produce to people who were impacted by incarceration to help them reintegrate into society.
A silver lining of the fire that damaged the old courthouse building on Sept. 6, 2023 is that the county can now use it to temporarily house the library while it works to expand the library building. A year after the fire, repairs to the building are complete, but the cause of the fire has not been determined. Neighbors say, though, that a person was seen walking on the second floor of the building about an hour before the fire broke out.
Our reporter was “stalked, terrorized and nearly strangled” as he took a tour of Swank Farms’ corn maze. He put himself through the experience ahead of its opening to the public.
October
San Juan Bautista lost two anchor businesses—18th Barrel and Doña Esther’s Restaurant—a sign of the city’s struggles in attracting tourism.
Comical things tend to happen in the most serious of situations, and Election Day is not an exception. Can you imagine poll workers at the airport running after a dog that escaped from its owner, who took time out to vote? Or casting your vote and seeing a fellow citizen entering the building with a parrot or iguana? Yes, these things happened in San Benito County.
The Lands of Lee subdivision, a 141 single-family project, exemplifies the predicament local leaders feel the county is facing, whereby more housing is required by the state, while the infrastructure to accommodate new growth lags behind. The project has gone through several revisions, but has yet to get county approval. This has led the developer to take the fight to court.
November
Local politics experienced a big shift this past election season. Three incumbents, including Mayor Mia Casey, were swept out of office, and the Hollister City Council have a majority of members dedicated to slowing growth. The San Benito County Board of Supervisors now also has a majority with a similar agenda.
Amazon reversed its plans on how to use its million-square-foot facility near the airport. Originally, the operation was expected to bring more than $1 million in sales tax revenue to the city but now that number is zero. All this after the city and developer declined to reveal, before and after the project was approved, that Amazon would be the tenant. The city also kept secret that Amazon was going to be a tenant of a smaller facility (100,000 square feet) south of the airport in 2021.
The expansion of the San Luis Reservoir was approved by the federal government. The project will allow water districts to store more water during wet years. The reservoir serves about 2 million people and 1 million acres of farmland.
December
A San Juan Resident recounted his journey from being diagnosed with liver cancer. This led to a friend stepping up to donate his liver in a cutting-edge operation. BenitoLink has followed Juan Calendaria’s journey since 2023, when a fundraiser was held to help with medical expenses.
Elected officials filed their last campaign financial reports a week before Election Day. But that doesn’t mean they stopped receiving donations. BenitoLink analyzed last-minute donations to state and federal elected officials who represent San Benito County.
The end of 2024 was also the end of Don Reynolds’ tenure as San Juan Bautista’s city manager. He sat down with BenitoLink to reflect on his five years in the position. He talked about the city’s water issues, fire services and tourism.
A lot of these stories will continue to move forward in 2025. The BenitoLink team looks forward to serving the community and informing residents on issues that impact the quality of life.
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