Columns

Fitness is not just for the younger community. As you age, moving your body daily is one of the most important things you can do for your physical and mental health. It can prevent or delay many of the health problems that seem to...

Hula, Rosie Chalmer’s dog, a breed of dogs known as Louisiana’s Hunting dogs, Catahoula, came into my life six months after I lost my beloved hubby Norm. But wait…this is NOT about my life, this is about Hula herself, and about Hula and her...

I believe it was Thomas Jefferson who postulated that the government closest to the people governs best. That maxim is being sorely tested each and every year as the edicts and mandates flow wildly from our state government in Sacramento to over-burdened cities and...

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it solely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. - Mark Twain While taking my ‘traveling...

On Jan. 14, Scotts Valley joined other local jurisdictions when City Manager Mali LaGoe issued a Proclamation declaring a local emergency, to be ratified by the City Council. This declaration was based on the presence of flooding, downed trees, power outages, retaining wall failures,...

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...

“Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.” —Sgt. Joe Friday, “Dragnet” series Yesterday, my friend Tina left my house with her hands over both ears yelling, “Don’t tell me, I don’t wanna know!” I had been grinding a chuck roast into hamburger meat when Tina came...

It’s that time of year when the dahlia exhibitions are held. I missed a couple already but the Santa Cruz County Fair is still going on this weekend and there’s always a huge display there. Last year a dark magenta cactus dahlia was my...

Alaska, where the Crows created the world And the Ravens brought the sunlight - Native quote I have been in Alaska and my hometown of Aberdeen, Washington for the past two weeks and my traveling shoes are beginning to show serious wear, not to mention wear on...

Most of us around here either live in a forest or near one. We are no strangers to nature as some city dwellers might be. We often spend time on a trail. You know the feeling you get when you are out walking slowly...