Columns

Gardening trends come and go. Who doesn’t love to read garden magazines with all those beautiful photographs during the winter and dream about your garden’s potential. Ditto for all the gardening blogs on the internet that are written by some very talented people who...

In this final series, I speak with Jason Borgen, the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at the Santa Cruz Office of Education (SCCOE), and with two local businesses, BraLisa and The Gather Community.  In this concluding segment of our three-part series on AI in Small Town...

2023 began with back-to-back extreme weather events that resulted in severe flooding, landslides and other impacts to our roads, neighborhoods and businesses in the mountainous Fifth District. Even as we continue addressing the damage, we are still grappling as a County with the aftermath...

The Pantone Color of the Year for 2024 is… drumroll, please… Peach Fuzz. I like it. It’s a light, delicate shade that sits between pink and orange. I rarely get a request for orange flowers to be included in a garden, so peach is...

New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to makeyour regular annual good resolutions. Next weekyou can begin paving hell with them as usual. —Mark Twain Over the past 40-some years, I have made dozens of New Year’s resolutions, some I have succeeded in keeping, and...

As a new year approaches, many people find themselves inspired by the idea of a fresh start, and contemplate the changes they want to make in their lives. Along with that enthusiasm comes the question—should I set goals or make resolutions? While the terms are...

I don’t know about you, but it seemed to me that 2023 was a challenge for the plants in my little garden. Between the atmospheric rivers and the cold nights in late spring, I barely got my herbs started in June. Then the weather...

We all know fitness makes us strong, fit and healthy, but being in great shape is not just limited to those benefits. What happens if you get a fracture or break or if you had to get a procedure done, such as a surgery....

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...

As a paraplegic planner, I have faced the need for part-time in-home assistance while simultaneously having the CFP financial expertise. Caregivers do non-medical tasks like transferring, bathing, meal prep, transportation, protective supervision, etc. Seventy percent of us are likely to need long-term care with...