A long time reporter, and environmental activist died as the result of a single-car accident on Panoche Road last week. 60 year-old Frances “Kate” Woods was reportedly the sole occupant of the vehicle in the 10 a.m. Thursday crash in south San Benito county. She was declared dead at the scene. Along with working at the Hollister Pinnacle Newspaper for 8 years, she had been active in the 2014 Measure J Anti-Fracking initiave, and had run for the 28th Assembly District Seat.
Along with covering local governmental issues for the paper, she wrote a weekly column titled “Report From the Badlands”.
Kate Woods was also one of the first female Mariachi violinists in California.
