I’d like to make my annual plea for the liberal use of sunscreen to protect all of us — young and old — from the damaging effects of the sun.  Please understand that the “healthy” bronze tan color that many people seek is actually how the skin demonstrates that it has been damaged by the sun.

These policies pay for part or all of the cost of nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and home health care for people who can no longer take care of themselves.

Kiwanis of the Valleys

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

David Scott “Scott” Hunter of Scotts Valley was among the graduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) commencement ceremonies held on June 5 in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Zoey Anne Hardacre, a 7-pound 10-ounce girl, was born to Rebecca Marie Rooks and Joshua Robert Hardacre of Felton at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. She was born at 3:03 p.m. on June 15, 2015.

- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

I’ve been on the job as the new executive director at Valley Churches United since August of last year. When offered the chance to write a column for the Press-Banner, I jumped at it, as it’s a way to let the community inside this great place. I figured I’d start at the beginning; How is it I ended up here in the first place? When I heard of Annette Marcum’s illness and then passing (we never met), I felt in my gut the organization must carry on.