Opinion

To design the coolest toys in the smallest boxes, local tech firms offer engineers and managers not just quarter-million-dollar salaries, insurance and 401(k)s—but discounts or call options on stocks. This strategy eases corporate cash flow to gain and retain the brightest engineers and managers...

Almost overnight, although maybe I’m judging by rain storms, spring is upon us. The birds sure know it is and I’m seeing trees in bloom and new growth on the perennials. The tree frogs are croaking and looking for mates, the weeds are happily...

Within Santa Cruz County’s forests and mountainous neighborhoods, Measure K stands as a beacon of hope. For these residents—who have become far too familiar with the impacts of fires and our harsh winters—this proposition isn’t just about numbers and ballots, it’s about securing a...

“Attitude is the ‘little’ thing that makes a big difference.” —Winston Churchill Each morning, I swing my legs over the side of my bed, slide my feet into “sadly worn” slippers and make my morning’s first cup of coffee where I will take my first...

Always on the lookout for potential problems in my garden, I can use all the help I can get. Solutions are out there. One of my go-to websites that I use to diagnose those problems is UC Integrated Pest Management or http://ipm.ucanr.edu. You can...

Seniors and families struggle as HOA fees skyrocket In the Jan. 26 front-page article about the garage fire (“Hidden Oaks Residents Raise Concerns Over HOA Fees After Garage Fire”), a mention was made about the recent increase in fees at Hidden Oaks condominiums.  We live at...

Chairman Mao once paraded landlords before crowds to their deaths and many today would confiscate landlord’s control over property without recompense. When tax clients ask why the rich pay few taxes, I puzzle depreciation expenses, passive income and Trump’s Section 199 qualified business income...

As a young child. I lived in Washington State in the ’30s in a boarding house owned by my aged uncle and aunt, where eight boarders lived, all men, and many whose ages ranged from 60 to 70 years of age. One or two...

One of the biggest issues of why many of the population aren’t seeing the results of working out, is because they give up and lose their WHY way too early in the fitness journey. For your body to change, you need to be consistent...

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....