Letters to the Editor

SVFD hosts successful strategic planning workshop On March 7, the Scotts Valley Fire District hosted a strategic planning workshop to develop vision and goals for the department’s next five years. I want to commend and thank community stakeholders, administrative staff, fire suppression personnel, chief officers and...

Measure S imposes unfair burden on younger homeowners The proposed Measure S seeks to increase property taxes to fund the new fire station — I believe this is unfair because it taxes younger, more financially-stressed families in Scotts Valley. As proposed, the property tax increase would...

Scotts Valley housing development to receive San Lorenzo Valley water  The Valley Gardens Development includes 146 residences, 60 apartment units, 12 Accessory Dwelling Units and three commercial buildings (10,000-plus square feet). The San Lorenzo Valley Water District is expected to provide potable water to this...

Blum’s Leadership Helped Secure Fire Assessment I would like to thank Interim Chief Isaac Blum for being such an inspiration to the volunteer firefighters, the FFPD Board and our whole community. In sharing his vision for the future of FFPD, he shared his own history of...

Small victory for justice and equality for all Dear Press Banner, I was surprised and delighted to see the photo of a crashed police car in your December issue (“Messy December Weather Leads to Crashes,” Dec. 22). More smashed-up police cars, please. As we’ve seen over...

Welcome back, Earthwise Pet Earthwise Pet recently reopened its doors in its new location next to Safeway at 255A Mt. Hermon Road. Their new store is more spacious and as welcoming as before. Our local community is fortunate to have Earthwise Pet here again to provide...

Community raises concerns over new housing development We can all agree Santa Cruz County needs affordable housing, but recent moves by lawmakers in Sacramento have created a loophole for one local developer to abuse our planning process and circumvent all restrictions on density, fast-tracking a...

Relocate pickleball courts to better serve community I agree with David Jones’ letter of Dec. 5, 2025, and I want to add a suggestion. It would be a benefit to our citizens to install more green space as part of the town center plan, and...

Martinez’s fiscal record raises red flags In the race for Fifth District supervisor, many concerns have been brought up about Monica Martinez, including lawsuits over misappropriation of grant money and labor law violations, as well as concerns about how she conducted business with the county...

A special shoutout to Robert Slawinski Auctioneers If you are a Trustee and/or Executor for someone’s estate, I highly recommend Robert Slawinski Auctioneers to help with liquidating all your treasures. Rob and Theresa made what could have been a difficult time almost non stressful. It was...