There was a time when we thought of health as simply the absence of disease. As long as you were not sick and had low blood pressure and good cholesterol readings, you were seen as a healthy person. Today, we recognize that our health is defined by many other factors, such as what we eat, physical fitness, sleep, levels of stress, emotional well-being, feeling connected to others and our general outlook on life.

Tegan Marie Tracy was born to Lisa Marie and Nathan Tracy at 8:20 p.m. Dec. 26, 2011, at their Boulder Creek home. She weighed 6 pounds, 8 ounces.

The Jan. 21 Passport Day is coming up next weekend, and more Santa Cruz wineries will be open than ever before.

As I begin my fifth year writing this column, I’d like to thank my readers for the encouraging feedback I’ve received from so many of you.

China is accused of dumping solar panels in the U.S. at ultra-low prices, pushing Solyndra of Fremont into bankruptcy and causing other U.S. manufacturers to seek help from Washington.

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