Columns

While watching the documentary “This Changes Everything” on Netflix, I learned about the history of women in the film industry and their struggles for inclusion. One of the statistics included in the documentary about how films can influence us inspired this article. In the Disney/Pixar...

Our Santa Cruz County court will soon begin our process of interviewing and selecting our 2024-25 Civil Grand Jury, and we hope you will consider applying. Serving on the grand jury is a tremendous opportunity to support our local community and to contribute to the...

A Facebook friend posts photos taken of her yard with lots of turkeys and deer families. How can you not love a picture of those cute fawns covered with spots? There's something about babies. You know that feeling when you see a new infant...

What do The Adventure Gift Store, Air and Fire, Boulder Creek Outfitters, Treasures from the Attic, Viscosity, Lille Aeske, and the Springy Girl all have in common? They, along with at least eight other businesses, are located downtown Boulder Creek (B.C.), and on Oct. 31,...

I have just ‘pulled’ another successful loaf of rustic sourdough bread from my oven and as soon as it cools, I’ll butter a slice while it is still warm and fragrant.    While feeding the jar of sourdough starter, I remembered a bread my Appalachian-born family...

Warm days, short days, cold days and hopefully rainy days—all in the fall of the year here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s part of what makes our area so special to us. We are inspired by Mother Nature and our mountains. We feel...

A quiet revolution is underway in Santa Cruz Mountains’ lush valleys amidst the towering redwoods and winding creeks. It’s a tale of resilience, community and the enduring power of connections—the resurgence of networking in the San Lorenzo Valley (SLV). As we gathered together after the...

The other day I visited three local nurseries to see what’s new in their bare root edible selection. In addition to the classics, I found a ton of new varieties for containers and smaller home gardens.  Now is the time to add ornamentals and edibles...

My neighbor Sue answered her door sneezing and coughing with puffy eyes and a red runny nose that Rudolph would envy. We live among redwoods and it’s their mating season. Pollen.com predicts pollen levels will increase as alder, juniper and birch release their pollen....

“Those who do not weep, do not see.” —Victor Hugo Stable marriages finance families; financial disputes disrupt. Approximately 43% of first marriages fail in America. As a widower and divorcee—now happily married—I know the extended pains of divorce can be just as disconcerting and perhaps...