San Benito County Archives

Multiple Hollister businesses damaged in structure fire

July 12, 2020 6:24 PM Elisha Machado

Investigation set for Hollister…

Hollister police report “out of control” number of illegal fireworks

July 8, 2020 11:48 AM Avery Johnson

Hollister police and several other area agencies said they issued several illegal firework citations over the…

San Benito County placed on COVID-19 watch list

July 7, 2020 10:23 AM KION546 News Team, Drew Andre

SAN BENITO COUNTY, Calif. (KION)–California Department of Public Health Officials have placed San Benito County on the COVID-19 County Data…

Rain Season Lacking

July 2, 2020 7:50 PM Dann Cianca

This rain year was dry for much of the viewing area and slightly wet around the Monterey Peninsula. We were dry to start out, had a wet December, dry…

Bay Area and Central Coast counties ask residents to stay home over holiday weekend

July 2, 2020 1:20 PM Avery Johnson

Bay Area and Central Coast health officials are asking residents to prevent the spread of…

Pinnacles National Park putting fire restrictions in place due to “very high” fire danger

July 2, 2020 12:00 PM Avery Johnson

Pinnacles National Park said fire danger is very high, so it has put fire restrictions in…

Hazardous material leak prompts evacuations in Hollister

July 1, 2020 11:46 AM Avery Johnson

Hollister police are conducting evacuations due to what they said is a hazardous material…

Monterey County health officer suggests county “likely next” for bar closure recommendation

June 29, 2020 12:35 PM Drew Andre

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars that have opened in seven California counties to immediately close, Sunday, and urged bars in eight other counties to…

State projections show potential increase in Central Coast COVID-19 deaths

June 26, 2020 2:00 PM Avery Johnson

Gov. Gavin Newsom released a new way to track current COVID-19 data and models of future scenarios, the California COVID Assessment…

Woman dies in Hollister car crash

June 25, 2020 8:50 AM Mary Coleman

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION)– A 61-year-old woman from Los Banos is dead following an accident Thursday morning. CHP officials say a vehicle with 3…

Burn permits in San Benito, Monterey Counties suspended

June 24, 2020 3:16 PM Avery Johnson

Cal Fire said it is suspending all burn permits in San Benito and Monterey Counties starting…

Endangered fish spotted in San Benito River for first time in 75 years

June 23, 2020 12:05 PM Drew Andre

The Children’s Cancer Funding Group owns a portion of land along the Betabel River Watershed. The CCFG granted Coastal Habitat Education and…

29-year-old Aromas resident dies in crash involving tractor trailer

June 22, 2020 11:45 AM Avery Johnson

The California Highway Patrol confirms that officers are responding to a fatal…

Bitter Fire near Paicines 100% contained

June 16, 2020 1:53 PM Avery Johnson

Cal Fire said it is responding to a fire south of Paicines Tuesday…

Open SBC hosts rally at Hollister amphitheater

June 20, 2020 10:53 PM Josh Kristianto

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION) A rally against COVID-19 restrictions in San Benito County combining music with protesting happened Saturday evening at an…

Man suspected of starting fire in Hollister arrested

June 18, 2020 2:59 PM Avery Johnson, Josh Kristianto

Residents are being asked to avoid the area around Hospital Road and Colorado Way while crews respond to a…

Hollister fire chief reports recent string of arsons

June 18, 2020 1:56 PM Avery Johnson

The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office released a message from Hollister Fire Chief Bob Martin Del Campo describing a string of recent “suspicious”…

San Benito County rescinds face covering order, residents now required to follow state order

June 18, 2020 2:10 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County’s Interim Public Health Officer said the face covering order the county had in place is rescinded effective…

Movie theaters begin reopening for the first time since Shelter in Place began

June 17, 2020 12:07 PM Jocelyn Ortega

Hollister Premiere Cinemas reopens since beginning of the shelter in…

CHP: Semi driver caught speeding, cutting in and out of traffic arrested on DUI charge

June 15, 2020 5:29 PM Avery Johnson

Monterey-area CHP officers arrested a semi driver whose blood alcohol level was allegedly four times the legal…

San Benito County to allow nail salons, tattoo parlors to reopen

June 15, 2020 2:50 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County’s Interim Public Health Officer announced that the county will…

18-year-old killed in rollover crash near Hollister Sunday

June 15, 2020 2:17 PM Avery Johnson

An 18-year-old male has died as a result of a rollover crash on SR 25 south of Hollister…

Hollister brush fire that prompted evacuations contained

June 12, 2020 12:47 PM Avery Johnson

Hollister police say they are evacuating homes near the Park Hill area because of a brush…

San Benito High gets creative with graduation

June 2, 2020 3:51 PM Drew Andre

San Benito High School normally fills a graduation with around 6,000 people in attendance. However, the coronavirus pandemic changed that for the…

Two drivers die in crash on Frazier Lake Road

June 2, 2020 12:05 PM Avery Johnson

The California Highway Patrol is responding to a crash that killed at least one…

Hollister Safeway employee tests positive for COVID-19

June 1, 2020 5:12 PM Avery Johnson

Safeway has confirmed that one of its employees at its store on Tres Pinos Road has tested positive for…

Central Coast Comeback: Schools prepare for 2020-2021 academic year

May 28, 2020 7:27 PM Megan Meier

Schools on the Central Coast have been dark since mid-March. For the first time ever, classes transitioned to a completely online, and it was…

Fish and Wildlife Service considers removing Central Coast plant from endangered species list

May 29, 2020 1:19 PM Avery Johnson

CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says it is considering removing a plant native to the Central Coast from the…

Local law enforcement calls for policing to do better in response to man dying during police encounter

May 27, 2020 5:41 PM Avery Johnson

Four Minneapolis police officers have been fired after a video showed one of them kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, who later…

San Benito County allowing hair salons, barbershops to open

May 26, 2020 2:59 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County announced that it will follow state guidance and allow hair salons and barbershops to…

Introducing the Messenger Experience

May 25, 2020 12:08 PM Avery Johnson

The KION news team is happy to announce a new feature to help you stay up-to-date with what is happening in the…

What’s open on the Central Coast for Memorial Day weekend?

May 22, 2020 6:41 PM Avery Johnson

This Memorial Day weekend is not like any we have seen…

Two more people arrested in connection to shooting at Hollister gas station

May 22, 2020 4:25 PM Avery Johnson

An 18-year-old man and 17-year-old juvenile are facing attempted murder charges in connection to a shooting at a Hollister gas…

Hollister reopens restaurants

May 22, 2020 6:55 AM Jocelyn Ortega

Parts of San Benito Street will be closed off to traffic and opened up for restaurants this…

Hollister prepares to close San Benito Street for businesses, restaurants

May 21, 2020 10:45 PM Josh Kristianto

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION) While San Benito County restaurants and shops are already allowed to have people inside, separated tables mean fewer…

San Benito County offers free face masks to businesses

May 20, 2020 3:38 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County officials announced that the county will be giving free face masks to local…

Financial relief for immigrants on Central Coast overwhelmed with applicants

May 19, 2020 12:27 PM Drew Andre

Financial help for undocumented immigrants in California opened up on Monday, but across the state the call centers could not handle the volume of…

Parking lots partially reopen at 27 state parks, including some Central Coast parks

May 19, 2020 2:42 PM The Associated Press, Avery Johnson

The parking lots of 27 California state parks have partially reopened weeks after the 280 state parks and beaches…

Hollister police not making changes to sex offender registration

May 19, 2020 12:19 PM Avery Johnson

Governor Newsom signed an executive order allowing law enforcement agencies to register sex offenders…

Fire season begins in Monterey, San Benito Counties Monday

May 8, 2020 12:01 PM Avery Johnson

Cal Fire has declared fire season in San Benito and Monterey…

Central Coast real estate market suffers under COVID-19

May 16, 2020 5:32 PM Shannon Longworth

The Coronavirus pandemic has presented new challenges to the way people buy and sell houses.…

Local ‘kindness club’ gives back to essential workers

May 15, 2020 6:19 PM Megan Meier

Many knew Julie Neff as a 2nd grade teacher at Spring Grove Elementary School in Hollister, but now she has become one of the town’s…

San Benito County approved to move into expanded Stage 2 of reopening

May 12, 2020 7:08 PM Shannon Longworth, Avery Johnson

San Benito County meets Governor Newsom’s qualifications to reopen restaurants, according to county public health…

COVID-19 testing sites now open to all Monterey County residents

May 12, 2020 5:15 PM Avery Johnson, Elisha Machado

New COVID-19 testing sites in Salinas, Greenfield, Hollister and Watsonville are now open to the…

San Benito County joins Great Plates Delivered program

May 13, 2020 5:49 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County is joining the state-funded program “Great Plates Delivered” to provide meals to…

Hollister police investigate burglary, vehicle theft at high school

May 8, 2020 2:09 PM Avery Johnson

Hollister police are investigating a late night burglary at San Benito High School that they said caused extensive…

San Benito County moves into Stage 2 of reopening with state

May 8, 2020 1:37 PM Avery Johnson

San Benito County announced that it will be moving into Stage 2 of reopening along with the…

Central Coast comeback: How will recreational activities change?

May 7, 2020 7:15 PM Zach McIntyre

At some point the shelter in place orders will lift, but what will life be like…

Central Coast city managers write to governor asking for financial help during COVID-19 pandemic

May 8, 2020 12:41 PM Avery Johnson

City managers from Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom explaining how the COVID-19…

San Benito County hosting no-cost COVID-19 testing

May 7, 2020 11:19 AM Avery Johnson

Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would add more than 80 new COVID-19 testing sites around the…