Aug. 13 and 14 will bring the 12th annual Scotts Valley Art and Wine Festival, a celebration of local painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, glass workers, brewers and vintners, to the fields of Skypark.

Accomplished educators David Weiss and Annie Elizabeth have found a way to continue sharing knowledge in retirement: as book publishers.

Former valley resident John Robert Cronin Jr., 49, of Honesdale, Pa., died July 23.

On Aug. 3, the Scotts Valley City Council — absent Mayor Dene Bustichi — voted 4-0 to approve a plan that will allow property owners living in the city’s sand hills to obtain building permits with less red tape.

While many students and educators enjoyed three months of R-and-R, a band of teachers from the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District spent a week at Columbia University in New York City, participating in intensive courses to improve how they teach reading and writing through the Teachers College Summer Institutes.