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The other day, a young girl asked me, "Are you the lady that writes the flower column in the paper?” I was thrilled to know that my readership includes middle schoolers. Our conversation soon turned to vegetables, which are good to plant at this time of year because of how late they can be started. Gardening can be a wonderful learning opportunity for all of us, but especially for children.

On March 11, at about 8 a.m., the first tsunami surges from the 9.0-magnitude Japanese earthquake hit the West Coast. The tidal surges pounded the coast and hit the Santa Cruz Harbor and Port of Crescent City without restraint. The damage at the Santa Cruz small-craft harbor is estimated at more than $22 million.

Six years ago, while swimming laps with a Masters swim team, I found myself sharing a lane with a tall Romanian man named Corvin. It wasn’t until after the workout, when he picked up his red-and-white cane, that I realized Corvin was visually impaired.

On November 13th, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Leslie Chavez and Sara Clevenger, two of authors of 100 Things to do in Santa Cruz Before You Die.  We met up at Coffee Cat, their favorite cafe in Scotts Valley.  Both Leslie and Sara were quite charming and excited to chat about their new book, which is part of a national series and available in Bookshop Santa Cruz and on Amazon. 

It seems as though summer has finally kicked in with last weeks unseasonable showers behind us. Summer brings long days and many opportunities to go fishing and enjoy the outdoors. The ocean hosts chances at many types of fish and techniques this time of year. Due to low rainfall many rivers and lakes in the Sierras are also good for fishing right now because they are usually too high with snow melt this time of year.

A few years back, a consultant report identified “inclusion” as an area where the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District had room to improve. SLVUSD partnered with an organization called Inclusion Counts using grant funds from the California Department of Education Antibias Education Grant Program;...

Who knew there is a huge California connection with the early history of aviation? Local Craig S. Harwood, engineering geologist related to John J. Montgomery, knew. He and Gary B. Fogel wrote, “Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West.”