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Scotts Valley
September 14, 2025

Nature Friendly: Wildlife and cats just don’t mix

Cats kill 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion birds and 6.9 billion to 20.7 billion small mammals in the U.S. every year. Those startling statistics were recently revealed in a paper published in Nature Communications and picked up by media outlets from Comedy Central to the New York Times and Smithsonian.

Your Health: Winter respiratory infection advice

The winter “respiratory, cold, and flu” season is upon us. I have seen quite a spike in visits to urgent care with people suffering from coughs, nasal and sinus congestion, sore throats, and generalized achiness.

The Mountain Gardener: Glass garden a spectacular site

Recently I visited a garden of glass, and it was spectacular.

Serving Up Cheer

Sandy Oppenheim, a Ben Lomond resident since 1995, always enjoys a game of tennis in Highlands Park, her “home court.”   She plays every week and gushes, “My Ben Lomond life is so lucky, I couldn’t be happier than here, in this beautiful spot.”  Before her penchant for Highlands’ courts, she won championships in the United States Tennis Association (USTA), coached at Soquel High School, and played at the La Madrona courts for several years.  However, she’s “never played a game in a more beautiful place than Highlands.”

The Mountain Gardener: Flowers flourishing in Pacific Northwest

My summer travel season started this year in the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. My sister lives on Fox Island overlooking the Sound with a breathtaking view of Mt. Rainier. There are so many gardens and nurseries in this area I hardly know where to start when I come up here. Any destination was sure to provide lush landscapes and a cornucopia of colorful flowers.

San Lorenzo Valley Middle School Theatre presents ‘Moana JR’ this weekend

San Lorenzo Valley Middle School Theatre will present “Moana JR.” this weekend, Nov. 15-17, at the SLV Performing Arts Center, located at 7105 Highway 9 in Felton. This heartwarming coming-of-age story follows the strong-willed Moana as she sets sail across the Pacific to save her...

The Mountain Gardener: Nursery’s trials find best-performing, showiest specimens

During my recent visit to the Watsonville Terra Sole Nursery, owners John and Sherry Hall shared with me their experiences growing and experimenting with plants in their own landscape and nursery. From these personal trials, they decide what to propagate and sell in the small, independent nursery they operate on their property.

Student takes a stand against the fentanyl epidemic with documentary

“He overdosed just down the hall from me,” said Kyle Santoro, a Los Gatos High School senior. He was recalling the tragedy of a fellow classmate that overdosed on fentanyl during Santoro’s sophomore year. The student was revived and ultimately lived, but was expelled...

Sustainable living: ‘Re-Skilling’ for an uncertain tomorrow

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.

Cooking your first turkey for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is the largest meal many cooks prepare every year. Its centerpiece—the turkey—is the largest dish most cooks ever encounter, and many are not experienced at roasting one. Historically, it is the time when new brides call home to their mothers with the plea, “How do I cook a turkey?”

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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...