Columns

In November, we are focused on two issues that are often in the forefront of people’s minds throughout Santa Cruz County and especially in District 5—water and roads. Let’s start with water. My office has spent a great deal of time on shaping a better...

It happened last Sunday morning at 2am. That’s when daylight saving time ended and clocks went back an hour. Sure I got an extra hour sleep, but the end of daylight saving time signals to me that autumn is really here in our mild...

I raised my little family in Watsonville on a lovely “piece of land” on Green Valley Road, oh, about 6 miles from town or so. Grandma and Grandpa (my in-laws) owned that property and they suggested we build our home next to theirs. One...

In today’s fast-paced world, the term AI is buzzing everywhere. Curiosity about AI and its various tools has led me to explore how AI, ChatGPT and other AI technologies might benefit our Valley’s business owners and industries (myself included). I would like to share some...

Outside my front door are several Overdam Feather Reed Grasses that are spectacular when backlit by late afternoon sun. What’s not to love about a stunning variegated grass with white and green stripes? During the summer, pink flower plumes sway above the foliage. Now...

My hubby Norm and I had been married for one year when he announced that it was time we spent Christmas in Chicago with his parents, whom I had yet to meet. Now being away from home at Christmas didn’t sound like a great...

It’s beginning to look like Halloween in my neighborhood with chrysanthemums and pumpkins on porches, skeletons and ghouls decorating front doors and posts on Facebook about tarantula sightings as the spiders go about their fall mating ritual. It’s the plants that get my attention...

October is Depression Awareness Month. Depression is a silent battle that millions of people face. It's a complex mental health condition that doesn't discriminate. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, background or circumstances. While depression is a mental illness, its impact extends...

Not long ago I got a call from a homeowner with a very bare, very steep slope behind his house that was in dire need of some kind of erosion control and he needed it pronto. In the rebuild process after the fire, the...

This month, the voters of the Scotts Valley Fire District will be asked whether to invest $22.2 million into a new fire station and multipurpose administration/disaster support building to improve community safety. The District currently operates out of two fire stations: the 22-year-old Glenwood...