Opinion

During the past 12 years, as your Fifth District Supervisor covering Scotts Valley and the San Lorenzo Valley, it has been my honor to represent you in county government. This District and all of Santa Cruz County look much different now than when I took...

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...

Like a garden full of spring flowers, tax measures are sprouting up all throughout the county this cycle. And who can blame the cities and county, as the inflation pressures and the unfunded mandates imposed by the state of California are stark reminders that...

I read the bulb catalogs the same as you do. They show oh so many bulbs that do well in the shade. As we know all too well, there are many degrees of shade in our gardens here in the Santa Cruz Mountains and...

In the spirit of my annual New Year’s resolution to learn something new every day, I did some research on Calscape about adding butterfly friendly natives to my partly shady garden and did some reading on garden design trends for 2025. Turns out the...

“Ye are the salt of the earth.” —Jesus of Nazareth At the age of 5 years old, I would eat my bowl of oatmeal or cream of wheat while looking at the little Morton’s “salt girl” who carried her umbrella and her blue container of...

Those words, “Ya gotta believe,” were brought to life by the New York Mets in 1973, when trailing badly in the baseball pennant race they passionately voiced that slogan. And it seemed to work, as they ultimately prevailed and won the National League pennant,...

Jennifer Young is a force of nature. She has an infectious wit and undeniable intelligence. Her love of working with details and structure and her visionary organizational skills are why she succeeds at customizing retreats for small business owners. Several years ago, I met Jennifer...