Lea este artículo en español aquí.
Newly elected leaders took office, shifting the balance of power in 2025 and leading to policy changes on residential and commercial growth, as well as the return of the iconic Hollister Independent Rally.
BenitoLink continued reporting on issues of importance to San Benito County and added coverage on alternative and innovative energy, among other issues.
Here is a look at what made news in the county in 2025.
January
Hollister had spent nearly five years updating its General Plan, which serves as the city’s blueprint for growth, and had seemingly culminated the effort in December 2024 with the adoption of the state-required document. However, a group of local slow-growth activists launched a referendum and obtained enough signatures for the new Hollister City Council to eventually rescind the plan in March. The city is expected to review an updated draft General Plan in 2026.
Among the early actions the new City Council took was rescinding termination notices sent to San Benito County and San Juan Bautista for fire protection services. The previous council had sent the notices in June 2024 as a tactic while negotiating a new contract. After initial negotiations stalled, the city reissued the notices, and even though the county pulled out of negotiations and threatened to create its own fire department, all parties approved a new four-year agreement in June.
February
The new Hollister Gavilan College campus opened in late January with almost 900 students. The years-long building project that was funded by Measure X, a $248 million school bond approved by voters in 2018. Of those funds, $52 million was set aside for the Hollister campus.
Two years after it announced plans to establish a charter high school in the county and encountered opposition from local districts, San Benito County Polytechnic secured a campus in Hollister. It took over the lease of the Briggs Building, which previously housed Gavilan College classes. An ongoing legal battle over the San Benito County Office of Education’s approval is in the hands of the Sixth District Court of Appeal.
March
2025 was not a good year for Jovenes de Antano, a longtime community organization for senior services. It lost two of its primary funding sources, which led to the organization letting go of 15 employees, including its executive director, in June. Alleging it was still owed money for the services it provided, Jovenes sued the Seniors Council of Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties, which ended in a $165,000 settlement. The nonprofit is now facing a lawsuit from former Executive Director Danny Barrera for alleged unfair labor practices.
San Benito Health Care District’s bankruptcy proceedings ended after an appeals judge upheld the bankruptcy court’s dismissal of its petition, capping a legal battle that began in May 2023. The bankruptcy court first dismissed the petition in March 2024. The district was in bankruptcy proceedings at the same time it was negotiating with Insight Health to eventually buy Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital. That option also fell through in August after the Michigan-based for-profit cited “uncertainty” related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as the main reason for withdrawing. San Benito County abandoned in April its efforts to create a Joint Powers Authority to oversee the hospital, a plan which the Health Care District did not support. The health care district is not currently in negotiations with any other organization to manage or purchase the hospital.
April
Community members and leaders continued to shape strategies for protecting and supporting agriculture, the county’s biggest economic sector. Holding meetings starting in November 2024 to develop an agriculture element to be included in the county’s General Plan, discussions have covered topics including prime farmland, environmental impacts and policies to split farmland.
The breeding program for the blunt-nosed leopard lizard continued with the release of the four-inch endangered species into the Panoche Hills Recreation Area. The program consists of a captive breeding program at the Fresno Chaffee Zoo with the goal of increasing the population within its range.
May
San Benito County officials began the first phase of clearing the San Benito riverbed, including homeless encampments and abandoned vehicles. County officials prevented BenitoLink from accessing the riverbed as they cleaned and spoke to people living in the area. BenitoLink followed up with Estevan Mendoza after he was evicted from the riverbed. He refused county services and said he began sleeping in front of businesses in downtown Hollister. He was among the more than 23 people evicted from the riverbed. Two people claimed they were jailed on trespassing charges after they returned to the riverbed.
It’s taken more than a decade, but in May a proposed gas station in San Juan Bautista inched closer to the construction phase after planners approved a right-hand turn aimed at improving vehicle deceleration. In December, the project got the thumbs up from city officials. The project has gone through iterations and delays because of concerns from city officials over its design as well as a legal challenge from a neighboring property owner.
June
Both the city of Hollister and San Benito County found themselves dealing with budget deficits in 2025. Unlike San Benito County, the city avoided staffing cuts in an effort to address a $10 million gap for the 2025-26 budget. Both agencies eliminated unfilled positions and made cuts across departments. The county continued public hearings through Oct. 1, trying to address a deficit of $25 million that was achieved by also cutting 12 filled positions and using reserves.
San Benito County Supervisors Kollin Kosmicki and Ignacio Velazquez were served by members of a committee seeking to recall them. While the recall proponents eventually abandoned the effort aimed at Kosmicki, they gathered sufficient signatures to recall Velazquez. Though three members of the Board of Supervisors rejected the petition certification calling it a “scam,” an election was called for June.
July
The Hollister Independence Rally returned despite questions over security and costs. Though city officials deemed it successful, a report by Police Chief Carlos Reynoso to the city and obtained by BenitoLink outlined “widespread” illegal weapons possessions amid “inadequate staffing” of law enforcement. The city is set to host the rally again in 2026.
The San Benito County Civil Grand Jury released its report on multiple investigations including the county water district’s 1977 bond measure, the homeless shelter, San Benito Health Care District’s process to administer oaths and San Benito County’s hiring process.
August
The proponent of the controversial commercial Betabel Road project put forward an alternative option to build 280 homes on the property along Hwy 101. The move comes as Ryder and Victoria McDowell face litigation opposing their proposed visitor center, fruit stand, gas station and motel.
Flying cars in Hollister? Yes. The San Mateo-based startup Alef Aeronautics reached out to the city looking to use the Hollister Municipal Airport to test its flying car prototype. The city eventually approved the agreement, but as of December it has yet to be implemented because the company is on tour, according to Airport Director Jeff Crechriou. Later in the year the city also approved an agreement with Joby Aviation, a company developing flying taxis, to conduct test flights. The agreement is pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Alef and Joby would join Wisk, another company developing flying taxis, at the airport.
September
Two former San Benito County Free Library staffers were sentenced for their involvement in an $360,000 embezzlement scheme dating back to 2022. Erin Baxter was sentenced to 364 days in jail, two years of probation and ordered to pay $332,000 in restitution. Mary Alvarez was sentenced to 60 days in jail and one year of probation. Following the conclusion of the court process, county supervisors ordered an audit to identify the procedures and controls that failed and to recommend policy reforms.
County officials began 2025 expecting the first phase of construction of the Riverview Regional Park to start in the fall, but ran into endangered tiger salamander regulations that threatened the project, located between the San Benito riverbed and Hollister High School. The project faced state-required mitigation measures which would have driven the costs higher. The state eventually cleared the way for the project to move forward by reducing the mitigation costs from $2.2 million to $655,000. Now construction is expected to begin in 2026.
October
A month after two former library staffers were sentenced to jail time for their involvement in an embezzlement scheme, the county fell victim to attempted fraud after it paid someone posing as a contractor in a suspected phishing scam. Wells Fargo eventually recovered nearly $700,000 for the county. As a result of the embezzlement and attempted fraud, the California state Controller’s Office, at the county’s request, agreed to send a team of auditors to assess the county’s internal financial procedures.
Did San Juan Bautista make the cut in “One Battle After Another?” While it was hard to miss the filming process in town back in 2024, it’s another thing to figure out if those scenes made it into the movie, which features Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn.
November
Property owners voiced their frustrations with the city Hollister over the building permit process. Many spoke with BenitoLink both on and off the record, detailing issues they say led to unnecessary costs and delays. Among the issues are the staff’s response time to applicants and new requirements being brought up during the permitting process. The initial report led Sergio Torres to contact BenitoLink and share the challenges he faced while attempting to fix his aunt’s house, which was damaged in a 2020 fire.
Efforts to expand Hwy 25 between Hollister and the Hwy 101/25 interchange have been ongoing for more than a decade. And though a route was adopted in 2016 that would essentially cut across prime agricultural land, pushback from farmers has local leaders taking a step back to consider alternative routes, including the existing route. That move, however, caused other property owners to speak out saying it would cost them their homes.
December
The tension between the San Benito Health Care District and board member Nick Gabriel reached a new high after the former Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital general surgeon sued the health care district for $100 million, alleging numerous violations including wrongful termination and breach of contract. Gabriel, who voiced his opposition to selling the hospital as the sole candidate for the District 5 seat in 2024, was terminated by the hospital two months before taking office. Later, the district questioned his residency and eligibility for the board. The district did not move forward with an independent investigation saying it received “sufficient documentation.” The district also revised its policies that require directors to be physically present at public meetings. Gabriel has been attending meetings remotely since June.
The process to address speeding at Ladd Lane and Southside Road was as squiggly as the lanes first drawn on the new pavement. It ended with the city settling a lawsuit with the contractor. After finger-pointing between the city and the contractor over who was responsible for the botched job, reaction from residents in the area and a Civil Grand Jury report saying the design violated fire codes, officials returned to the original design.
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.
You must be logged in to post a comment.