Winter can be just as hard on pets as it is on humans. Wolves and mountain lions might live outdoors and thrive, but that doesn’t mean our dogs or cats should, too.

Making wine must be one of the most fundamentally simple processes there is. Essentially, all you need to do is pick grapes, crush them and allow the natural sugar in the juice to turn into alcohol. It's as basic as yeast eat sugar and make alcoholic juice.

In a recent column, I said that antibiotics are usually not necessary to treat most upper-respiratory infections. I have been asked to discuss antibiotics in more detail.

- Kayden Alessio Koppe, son of D’Ambra Dawn Graham and Anthony Mario Koppe of Brookdale, was born at 10:45 p.m. Jan. 8, 2012, at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. He weighed 5 pounds, 11 ounces.

- 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.

Many of us know how to set up a home wireless network, assemble a children’s bicycle, scour the web for cheap air fares, and perform other tasks that define contemporary life for many Americans.

Scotts Valley Rotary

Most of us are not fully aware of challenges facing people with disabilities. Generally, we make efforts to learn how we can be helpful to people with special needs if they are a friend or relative. With this article, I hope to illuminate courtesies we all should extend to those living with these special challenges.