In 2005, the Hollister City Council discontinued their contract with the event organizers, the Hollister Independence Rally Committee, due to financial and public safety concerns.[9] The event was canceled in 2006 due to lack of funding for security, but returned in 2007 and 2008. The format of the rally in 2007 differed markedly from previous rallies, with vendors on San Benito Street instead of motorcycles. The bikes were forced to park on side streets and a strict downtown curfew was imposed, with the entire area being locked up at 9:00 pm. This event was popular with bikers and some local establishments profited, but the city footed the bill for much of the expenses and was left liable when organizers filed bankruptcy.
The 2009–2012 rallies were canceled, but the annual rally was reinstated in 2013, and was expected to be profitable for the town.[10] Following a biker gang shooting at the 2014 rally, Hollister mandated that bars must stop selling alcohol after midnight during the 2015 rally.[11] The 2015 rally unexpectedly left the city with a $92,000 loss following a dispute with the promoter.[12] In 2016, the city hired its third promoter in four years; turnout for the 2016 rally was expected to be around 40,000.[13] The San Francisco Chronicle characterized the 2017 rally crowd as "retired, friendly, weather-worn and excruciatingly law abiding", and estimated the motorcycle attendance around 10,000.[14] The 2018 rally was cancelled due to loss of a major sponsor and concerns about the cost of workers compensation liability.[12] However, 2018 and 2019 both saw non-city-sanctioned "rebel rallies".[15] The 2020 rally was cancelled due to "shelter in place" policies related to the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.[16] A non-city-sanctioned rally occurred in 2021. The 2021 turnout was smaller than at the official rallies of the mid-2010s.[17] In 2022 the city council declined to sponsor a rally amid a shortage of law enforcement officers.[18]
Geography
Climate
Hollister has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (KöppenCsb) that has warmer summers than the Monterey–Salinas area but is cooler than many other inland cities in the Central Valley. Daytime temperatures of around 80 °F (26.7 °C) are typical between June and October, but heat extremes can be much more severe.
Climate data for Hollister, California (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1895–present)
Hollister is well known among geologists because it represents one of the best examples of aseismic creep anywhere in the world. The Calaveras Fault (a branch of the San Andreas Fault system) bisects the city north and south, roughly along Locust Ave. and Powell St. The streets running east–west across the fault have significant visible offsets. The fault runs directly under several houses. Even though they are visibly contorted, the houses are still habitable as the owners have reinforced them to withstand the dislocation of their foundations.
Although there was extensive damage in the town after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and the governor of California came to visit, this was due to a slip of the San Andreas Fault proper and was not related to the aseismic creep on the Calaveras Fault. The San Andreas Fault (proper) (not to be confused with the Calaveras Fault) runs, at its closest, through San Juan Bautista to the west and through the Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area to the south.
Hollister is one of at least three California towns to claim the title of "Earthquake Capital of the World," the other two being Coalinga and Parkfield.[21]
Hollister sits on the western foothills of the Diablo Range.
The 2010 United States census[28] reported that Hollister had a population of 34,928. The population density was 4,791.4 inhabitants per square mile (1,850.0/km2). The racial makeup of Hollister was 10,164 (29.1%) White, 341 (1.0%) African American, 617 (1.8%) Native American, 929 (2.7%) Asian, 63 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 10,437 (29.9%) from other races, and 1,780 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22,965 persons (65.7%).
The Census reported that 34,813 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 9 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 106 (0.3%) were institutionalized.
There were 9,860 households, out of which 5,291 (53.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,900 (59.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,511 (15.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 720 (7.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 744 (7.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 55 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,324 households (13.4%) were made up of individuals, and 496 (5.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53. There were 8,131 families (82.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.82.
The population was spread out, with 11,076 people (31.7%) under the age of 18, 3,545 people (10.1%) aged 18 to 24, 9,927 people (28.4%) aged 25 to 44, 7,803 people (22.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,577 people (7.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.
There were 10,401 housing units at an average density of 1,426.8 units per square mile (550.9 units/km2), of which 6,030 (61.2%) were owner-occupied, and 3,830 (38.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.0%. 20,781 people (59.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 14,032 people (40.2%) lived in rental housing units.
Government
Hollister City Hall is located in a Carnegie Library built in 1906
The city council consists of four council members and an elected mayor who represents the city at large. The first[29] directly elected mayor in the city's history, Ignacio Velazquez, was elected in November 2012.
Around early 2014, Hollister hired four additional police officers to battle a perceived increase in methamphetamine use.[32] In addition, the early 2010s saw an increase in heroin use among young adults, possibly related to tighter regulation of prescription drugs such as Oxycontin which have similar effects to heroin.[33] Furthermore, youth violence spiked around 2013 and 2014.[34]
Confusion with Hollister Co.
Hollister Co. is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. that projects a Southern California image. According to Abercrombie & Fitch, the name Hollister was pulled out of thin air. The city of Hollister is not affiliated with Hollister Co., and Hollister Co. does not manufacture goods or operate a store in the city of Hollister. In 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch threatened to sue local merchants in the city of Hollister for trademark infringement for attempting to sell clothes bearing the name Hollister, prompting at least one merchant to back down.[35]
Media
Downtown Hollister
Print
The Hollister Free Lance is a newspaper now published on Fridays by New SV Media.
Mission Village Voice is a monthly newspaper, which is also online, focused on San Juan Bautista and covering San Benito county events, arts and culture in general. It is owned by San Juan Bautista resident Anne Caetano, who started the paper on her own and produces a creative newspaper with local writers, designers and artists.
Television
CMAP TV - Community Media Access Partnership operates Channels 17, 18, 19 & 20 on Charter/Spectrum Cable as well as streaming online, offering public access and educational programming to Gilroy and San Benito County as well as offering live local government coverage, including the City of Hollister.
Radio
The following radio stations are licensed to Hollister:
US 101, 15 miles (24 km) to west, is the nearest major north–south interstate highway, linking the Hollister area to the rest of the Central Coast region, San Francisco to the north, and Los Angeles to the south.
Interstate 5, 40 miles (64 km) to the east, is a major north–south interstate highway, linking the Hollister area north to Sacramento and south to Los Angeles.
The Monterey Regional Airport, about 40 miles (64 km) away, connects Hollister to the large metropolitan areas in California, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada.
The State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development defines Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital as a General Acute Care Hospital in Hollister with Basic emergency care as of August 22, 2006. The facility is located in California Health Service Area 8 near (NAD83) latitude/longitude of 36°50′02″N121°23′10″W / 36.83389°N 121.38611°W / 36.83389; -121.38611. As of 2014, the hospital has 113 beds.[38]
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