San Benito County Local News: Business, Economy & Jobs


All Local Business, Economy & Jobs News articles contributed by our local media allies and other local newsrooms.

Image caption: Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage

Long-duration energy storage is essential if renewables are to become the basis for a future, carbon-neutral power grid. Here's how California is leading the race to store energy from solar, wind, and other clean sources for use whenever it's needed.

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society

Zoning laws determine what can be built and where. These laws have shaped California, but are they really just tools for social engineering? The history of zoning is closely tied to racial segregation, as well as the state's shortage of …

Image caption: They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country

California stands as America’s agricultural powerhouse, growing half of its fruits and vegetables. Here’s how California farming has shaped the state, from the early missions to today’s “factories in the field.”

Image caption: Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California

Life expectancy in California exceeds all but three other states, but how long you live depends on which county you live in. They're not all equal. Why? The answer may lie in political policies.

Image caption: Owning homes is the primary way the middle class builds wealth, and an option no longer available to most Californians.
Is California’s Housing Crisis Making Inequality Worse?

California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is the housing crisis a cause?

Image caption: Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals

Solar power, and a network of giant battery storage facilities, are playing an essential role in moving California toward its goal of exclusive reliance on renewable energy sources.

Image caption: Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners

As California insurance companies have revoked the fire policies of thousands of homeowners, the state has taken steps to get them covered again.

Image caption: The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think

The links between homelessness and crime are complex, and the idea that unhoused individuals present a danger to their community seems to be exaggerated.

Image caption: Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained

Residential wells are drying up in the state’s main agricultural region at the same time that agricultural businesses consume almost 90 percent of the water there.

California Local Pin Marker From Edible Monterey Bay...

05/07/2024
Long a fixture in Davenport, a second location of the Whale City Bakery Bar & Grill is set to open in Aptos at 7941 Soquel Drive.

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05/06/2024
Image for display with article titled Monterey Bay Tech Hub Announces Council, New Website

Among its Leadership Council are San Benito County Supervisor Angela Curro and Hollister City Manager David Mirrione.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

05/04/2024
More than half of the U.S. House supports a bill to extend the funds, but it can’t get out of committee.

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04/29/2024
During the much-ballyhooed “California exodus” amid the pandemic, remote workers moved to other states where they could live for a fraction of the cost compared to cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco.

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04/26/2024
The number of organizations submitting proposals for the management or ownership of Hazel Hawkins dropped down to three before the April 29 deadline.

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04/26/2024
A bill to rein in a proposed monthly fee on California electric bills would let California’s largest for-profit utility companies charge customers $24 per month — with fees as low as $6 for lower-income customers — as a kind of membership fee for the power grid.

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04/24/2024
The City of Hollister Planning Commission considered a new Starbucks at Fourth Street and Westside Boulevard in its April 25 meeting.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/18/2024
The California Public Utilities Commission will consider on May 9 a new proposal that would change how Californians pay for electricity.

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04/16/2024
Applications are open for the San Benito Leadership Institute program, designed to cultivate emerging community leaders.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

04/14/2024
A coalition of timber businesses filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co., alleging $225 million in damages caused by the 2021 Dixie Fire.

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04/11/2024
Image for display with article titled Gourmet Alley Work Begins

Construction began this week on the City of Gilroy’s grant-funded makeover of Gourmet Alley in the downtown, and some business and property owners are concerned about the possible impact the work will have on their operations.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/11/2024
A California Republican’s bill would exempt low and middle income wildfire victims from solar panels requirements on rebuilt homes that didn’t have them when they burned down.

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04/08/2024
Anti-tax groups in California have qualified a measure for the November ballot that would make raising state and local taxes much more difficult. It’s a showdown that’s been building for nearly five decades.

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04/05/2024
The San Juan Bautista City Council considered a draft ordinance reducing restrictions on food trucks operating in the city.

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04/05/2024
The union representing Hazel Hawkins nurses organized a rally, calling for hospital management to drop its bankruptcy appeal and focus on services.

California Local Pin Marker From CalMatters...

04/05/2024
Not filling open positions in state government, cutting a school facilities program and several climate initiatives, delaying funding for public transit — these are some of the first steps that California officials plan to take to deal with a looming multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

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04/04/2024
Image for display with article titled Hospital Board to Appeal Bankruptcy Decision

The San Benito Health Care District announced that it is planning to appeal the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s ruling that denied the district’s Chapter 9 filing for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.

California Local Pin Marker From Los Angeles Times...

03/30/2024
Captains of fishing boats on the California coast are bracing for salmon fishing to be severely restricted — or possibly canceled for a second year.
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