It’s the Law: Lost loot of Christmas past
Like every other child, I wasn’t able to contain myself as Christmas grew nigh. To thwart my brothers’ and my enthusiasm, my mother and father adopted the extraordinarily irritating habit of not putting anything under the tree until after we went to bed Christmas Eve. That meant no slack-jawed gazing at the presents, no rattling the innards to discern the contents, nor peering through them with the X-ray glasses ordered from the back of Fantastic Four comic books.
Let’s Go Fishing: Rains bring steelhead
With the onset of winter, the rains have come, and the San Lorenzo River recently crested at 5,500 cubic feet per second. The shortest day of winter is behind us, and steelhead should be making their way up the river now.
A gift from Santa’s postal elf
Every year for the past few years, in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, I’ve enjoyed a very special duty. My mail carrier brings me all the letters that local children write to Santa Claus.
Comedy corner: The Remodel
As you may know by now, my sense of humor is pretty quirky, and I don’t always see things in the normal way. For example, take the new Cialis commercial that seems to air 20 times a day.
Wine lover: A Chardonnay for everyone
Chardonnay is a heck of a grape. It can be made into a buttery, full-bodied, creamy fruit bomb, or it can be made into a pristine, light-bodied, mineral-driven Burgundy. The amazing thing is that both of these styles are widely accepted and mass-produced.
Gardener: Stuff your stocking with natives
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. The community trees are lit, homes and businesses are brightly decorated and Mother Nature is soaking up that much-appreciated rainfall. Santa is looking at the list you secretly keep, and if you've been good, you can probably add one more request. There's still time to get natives in the ground, so add some of these plants to your Christmas list.
Money: Recapping the tax changes of 2010
When the famous Greek philosopher Heraclitus constructed his doctrine of change being central to the universe, with the thesis that “nothing endures but change,” he might have been peering into the future, witnessing the state of our tax and legislative system in the U.S., circa 2010.
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...