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EDITOR,

I represent a lot of residential and commercial landlords and, occasionally, a tenant or two. While much of this work is mundane, such as reviewing leases or advising landlords on the intricacies of security deposits, once in a while an eviction (unlawful detainers in legal parlance) livens things up. As the expression goes, “Keep Santa Cruz Weird.” Tenants are not necessarily excluded from this philosophy.

EDITOR,

EDITOR,

Lately, there’s been a troubling chain email describing unrealistically high fees and charges attached to traffic tickets. It says something like: Your $20 ticket becomes $700 once the state adds it all up, and the California Highway Patrol is out to get us all, thus solving the state’s budget deficit.

In 2005, when Scotts Valley faced 12 percent operating shortfalls with virtually no reserves, the city asked voters to support Measure C, a temporary five-year increase in the sales tax. I was not on the City Council then but backed Measure C because I believed there wasn’t a credible alternative and that city leaders could be trusted if they said more revenues were temporarily needed.