Columns

California’s Arbor Day is celebrated on March 9 this year. It’s actually a whole week in honor of famed horticulturist Luther Burbank’s birthday. The day is celebrated on different dates around the world because one of the features of Arbor Day is the planting...

Uniting a community in colorful celebration is no small task. It takes a community of hard workers, creative spirits and fun-seeking individuals to weave the tapestry of the upcoming Art, Wine & Beer Festival in Scotts Valley. For years, this event has brought families, dog...

One intersection with traffic lights. No high school. No movie theater. No transit center. One big shopping center. That was Scotts Valley when I arrived as a reporter for what is now the Press Banner 50 years ago. But Scotts Valley was not a one-horse...

What happens if you don’t pay taxes? The IRS, or FTB, writes to say you owe and you concede the amount. To remind us all that taxes are compulsory and no say on expenditures, the IRS can prosecute for tax fraud, but courts and...

Recently, the County won approval from the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board to make it easier for survivors of the CZU Fire to get started on an important aspect of rebuilding their homes. Rather than going to the Regional Water Board for approval...

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....

We all enjoy privacy around our homes. Even if you’re best friends with your neighbor, you don’t always want to wave at them each morning. Whether you have a property tucked way back in the forest with a next-door neighbor that looks right down...

While pouring the dark, thick and very sticky molasses from its bottle this morning, I thought about the people who drowned during the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, one hundred and five years ago. On the docks of Boston Harbor, Purity Distilling company had...

Wearing something green on St. Patrick’s Day has been a tradition since emigrants, particularly in the United States, transformed the holiday into a largely secular event celebrating all things Irish. Cities with large numbers of Irish immigrants staged parades going back to 1737 in...

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...