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Scotts Valley
September 16, 2025

Your Health: Dispelling myths about flu shots

It's time for me to make my annual plea for everyone to get their flu shot. In today's column, I'd like to answer common questions I hear about influenza and the flu shot.

Talk About Money: When to buy, sell stock

Buy low, sell high. That’s what investors strive to do, but emotions get in the way.

Plain Talk About Food: Buttermilk biscuits, my comfort food of choice

The word “comfort” became synonymous along with food in the last 10 years or so; “Comfort Food” it’s called.

The Mountain Gardener: Quail Hollow Ranch a unique collection of wildflowers

Few things can compare with walking on a scenic woodland trail lined with wildflowers. Now that it's officially spring, I recently took a hike in Quail Hollow Ranch County Park to see what I could find.

A Thanksgiving poem

Once upon a time when our area was underwater there were no parks or trails or trees or gardens. I'm thankful that our mountains rose from an ancient ocean so we could enjoy this beautiful place we call home.  I'm thankful for the Bigleaf maples that shower me with...

Record Music at Skypark attendance in 2016

As the final Music at Skypark free concert day approaches, event sponsor Kiwanis of the Valleys estimates this year will close out as record year for the event and for its donations to music programs at local schools.

24th Brookdale Bluegrass Festival delivers a jam-tastic weekend

Brookdale Bluegrass and American Roots Festival
The Brookdale Bluegrass and American Roots Festival held its 24th incarnation at the Brookdale Lodge over the weekend and was blessed with lovely weather—a stark contrast with the no-power edition of 2023. Doreen Heath, a woman walking around with fiddle in hand, said she’d made...

Plain Talk about Food: Taking Thanksgiving Dinner up a Notch

Having cooked, oh, let’s say forty or more Thanksgiving dinners, I decided last year that it was time to give my traditional holiday dinner some oomph by making a little change to each dish that I would set before my family and friends. The results from that decision were remarkable and so appreciated by those at the table that I will continue with that decision each Thanksgiving.

Exercise benefits — no excuses

The benefits of exercise are no longer theoretical. All recent studies concerning exercise and its effect on people conclusively state that exercise will help most people live longer and healthier lives. Whether you are young or old, overweight or underweight, or even if you have a disability, exercise will benefit you.

Redwood Mountain Faire celebrates 2025 fundraising success

Redwood Mountain Faire donation recipients
Redwood Mountain Faire (RMF) has been a long-standing institution in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The first festivals in 1980 were one-day events held in April at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond as a way to showcase the local artist community. Originally called the Redwood...

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News Briefs

News Briefs | Published Sept. 12, 2025

Fun run, emergency preparedness fair set for Saturday On Saturday, Sept. 13, the City of Santa Cruz will be hosting Race the Wave, a 3K...