I reside at the end of a privately maintained old lumber road. On Friday, January 22, Scenic Way was blocked to all inbound and outbound traffic due to downed tree/power lines. Our neighborhood is fortunate to have an alternative access route when either Scenic or Park Drive closes. When one road closes, all residential traffic is funneled through this private section. With more than a hundred vehicles passing through, the road quickly turned to thick mud; previous hardpan turned into deep pot holes, and two cars ended up in the drainage ditch.

Like water customers throughout the Central Coast and many other parts of California, Scotts Valley Water District ratepayers have responded to the historic drought by sharply reducing their water use even as El Niño rains fall across our service area. Although El Niño is bringing some relief to the parched soil, it will take longer than a single year for our thirsty watersheds to recover. Water conservation is still necessary to assist in the recuperation of our watersheds.

Dear Editor,

Early in my police career I responded to a drug overdose of a young professional woman. She and her boyfriend had been drinking and snorting cocaine. Sadly, later that same month we were called back to her home. We found her convulsing on the living room floor, eyes rolled back. Her boyfriend, with cocaine still ringing his nostrils, hysterically asked us to help. Paramedics did what they could, but failed to save her life. I never forgot that tragic night.

RE: Shout-Out for Soccer Coach Dave Okrant

RE: Shout Out to the Ben Lomond Post Office

A child who enters foster care needs a safe, comfortable, supportive place to live – a place that allows them to maintain connections with people they love, keeps them in school, and gives them help processing trauma they may have experienced. Usually, that place is a relative’s home or a foster family home. But some children in the foster care system are placed in group homes, which do not always provide stable homes or meet children’s needs.