The Santa Cruz County library system has seen its share of turmoil in the past year — many branches have drastically scaled back hours, suffered layoffs and put off upgrades or repairs.

For many Ben Lomond residents, it’s hard to talk about Ben Lomond Park without reminiscing about the days when, every summer, the river that runs through it was dammed up to create a swimming hole right in the heart of downtown. The park has been without a dam for about a decade, though, and residents now use the park sparingly.

Surrounded by Porsches, Lamborghinis and other custom race cars, it was a “Playboy”-pink 1967 Ford Mustang that wowed the crowd in the Canepa Design workshop last Thursday.

U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina made a cameo in Santa Cruz today as part of a series of campaign events throughout northern California.

Peter Raymond Holden died Dec. 27 at his sister’s home in Aptos at the age of 53. A local memorial is planned for next weekend.

Robert Jackson Witter of Felton died Friday, Jan. 8, at a hospital in Watsonville. He was 64 years old.