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Want to be able to walk outside and pick some flowers to take to a friend’s house or bring inside to enjoy yourself? Not long ago I was looking around my own little garden for good flowers to cut for a bouquet. I had...

Water is a precious and vital resource. Our bodies are about 60 percent water and our brain—a whopping 70 percent. Less than 1 percent of the water on the Earth, however, is suitable for human consumption. With the population increasing and the water supply...

Having addressed the frequent questions about development, with the help of Public Works Director Rodolfo Onchi, I will attempt to address the second most-asked questions that council members receive—street repairs! Questions include: When will Scotts Valley Drive be upgraded? What about the manhole covers that...

As we prepared for 2026, Mother Nature certainly got our attention! Walking on what seemed like a beautiful day for a walk, my phone alerted me with a Tornado Warning to take cover. A year ago, I would have rolled my eyes at a...

Looking at your yard and thinking “This year I’m finally going to make some changes and enjoy my garden more”? Take my advice: go on a garden tour for inspiration. Even a visit to a neighbor’s beautiful garden will work to get your creative...

I hope you all have been enjoying the warm weather—it’s hard to believe it’s the middle of winter. There’s a lot to cover this month, so let’s dive in. At our last few board meetings, we’ve been reviewing our latest academic testing results from the...

As we step into 2025, we must acknowledge the unprecedented events that recently tested our community's resilience. Our long-held scientific belief that tornadoes do not happen in the Santa Cruz Mountains was dispelled. A week later, we saw historic storms destroy a county landmark...

I teach the lesson of humility;Overstretched snaps the bow,The usefulness of futility;The advantage of laying low. —Laozi Laozi once left eternal wisdom with a border guard as he wandered off into forests unknown. This paraplegic author outlined his hiking injuries in the Press Banner article,...

As we move into November, there is a lot of progress being made on supporting recovery from the CZU Lightning Complex fires—preparing residents to rebuild and protecting the community at-large from the likely hazard of debris flows. Crews working for the Environmental Protection Agency have...

I’m waiting patiently for the buds on my pink flowering currant to start showing color. They’re still pretty small at this stage, but I’ve assured my hummingbird population that they’re on their way. When I was out pruning last week, I didn’t touch this...