Columns

Now is the time we all are thinking of changing a thing or two for 2026 to improve our lives. Many of us use the new year as a marker to turn over a new leaf, live healthier and be better people. This coming...

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the garden,The creatures were stirring, the deer got a pardon. The hummingbird feeders were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that the Anna's soon would be there.  The flowering cherries were nestled all snug in their beds,While...

Hayek’s “Use of Knowledge in Society” illustrates the profound challenges that well-meaning but arrogant market planners have faced from widely dispersed market knowledge inadequately understood by domineering politicians, technical engineers, greedy corporations and suffering consumers. Artificial Intelligence and battery-powered cars demand more energy. France and...

The holiday season may be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but it can also be a lot to manage. Between family expectations, busy schedules, travel, financial pressure, and the pressure to make everything perfect, even the most magical moments can start to...

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, and are enjoying this holiday season. Last week, Superintendent Krause and your full board attended the CSBA Annual Education Conference in Sacramento, where we spent a few busy days learning alongside peers and connecting with board members...

Every year as I get down the Christmas decorations I think about past holidays with friends and family. Who was that well-fed baby in my Dad’s 35mm films? And then there was Aunt Ruth’s aluminum Christmas tree with the rotating color wheel. I remember...

“Why such a huge turkey?” I was asked by my butcher. “For ‘leftovers,’” I replied. My family loves leftovers as much as they love the original dinner. After our dinner, the kitchen becomes a busy place with Ziplock bags being filled with leftovers from each...

As we reach the end of the year, I’ve found myself thinking about what an extraordinary place Scotts Valley is and how much we have achieved together. Serving as your Mayor has been one of the great honors of my life, and closing out...

To kick off this year’s holiday season, I plan to add some color to cheer up my houseplant selection. Sometimes I give friends and neighbors a holiday plant, but I need to keep in mind if they have small children or pets as some...

“The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do.” —B.F. Skinner Oxford’s 2013 study estimated that “47% of U.S. occupations were at high risk of automation.” Techno-Marxists fret that AI will wipe out jobs of all but geek aristocrats. “AI will be...