83.6 F
Scotts Valley
September 17, 2025

It’s the Law: The law of parcel taxes

There is no dearth of pithy quotes regarding taxes. The writer Robert Heinlein said, “Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors — and miss.” Meanwhile, Will Rogers observed, “The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has.”

The Mountain Gardener: Use well this break in the rain

Usually, I don’t comment on the weather. By the time you read this, it might be dark and stormy. But today, the sky is blue, the daffodils are sporting sunny yellow faces and the flowering plums are bursting with color.

Let’s Go Fishin’: Searching for steelhead

Steelhead are referred to as the fish of a thousand casts. That statement may be true if you’re lucky!

Your Health: The truth about vaccines

I recently tuned in to a local radio station talk show in which the host and a “non-medical doctor” were criticizing vaccinations by citing false information and providing their personal bias. I would like to offer my view of vaccinations.

Datebook: What’s going on in the valleys

Friday, Feb. 19

New Faces: Meet the newest members of our community

• Tavio Sol Valdivia was born to Erin (Timms) Valdivia and Brian Valdivia of Boulder Creek at 8:24 a.m. Feb. 10, 2010. He weighed 8 pounds at home.

Mountain Gardener: Find color without flowers

The flowering trees and shrubs of tropical Maui are behind me, and I’m back in our temperate rain forest of redwood trees and all things green. Sure, a few early blooming shrubs are flowering this time of year and are a welcome sight, but I look for color in other places. If you’re looking around your garden now and see mostly green, here are a few suggestions to brighten things up.

The Mountain Gardener: Island flora offers lesson in microclimates

Gardening in the Santa Cruz Mountains’ microclimates can be challenging, and it’s no different here in Maui, where I am vacationing.

Off Hours: Where words fail, music speaks

It was William Congreve (not William Shakespeare) who, in 1697, wrote, “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” Indeed, music is one thread that runs through every culture around the world; researchers have found it an important aspect of civilizations dating back almost as far as the human record.

New Faces

• Savannah Sage Meisner was born to Julie Christine (Frank) and Matthew Michael Meisner of Scotts Valley at 3:56 p.m. Jan. 20, 2010. She weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces at Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center in Santa Cruz.

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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...