Opinion

“The soil is made of butterfly wings, dinosaur teeth, pumpkin seeds, lizard skins and fallen leaves. Put your hands in the soil and touch yesterday and all that will be left of tomorrow shall return so that new life can celebrate this day.” —Betty...

With the holiday season upon us, I like colorful plants on my tabletop and window sill. But how safe are holiday plants for pets like my cat Archer and dog Sherman or for small children? I have a beautiful poinsettia on the table and, soon,...

If every bicyclist and vehicle (and smart pedestrian) ran with lights on 24/7 on Highway 9, we could avoid many unfortunate collisions going from stark sunny blindness to deep dark tree shade. I have driven this road over 30 years and it is very scary...

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...

Scotts Valley PO Mail Delays Draw Concern I am writing concerning service degradation at the Scotts Valley Post Office. We recently mailed two Priority Mail packages at the Post Office: May 26 and July 20, 2026. Each of these packages was scanned into the system at...

One of my favorite classes when I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was Plant Taxonomy. On the surface the subject sounds a little dry, but the professor was all about plant reproduction, which is quite exciting and more varied than you think. So...

In Washington State, fresh Elberta peaches would begin appearing in local markets in September, but in July, in California, we have just begun to see fresh peaches for home use coming in from Fresno, Tulare and Madera, where processing peaches are grown mostly in...