Recently, the Friends commissioned a mural to further enhance the library's patio and chose Bruce Harman, a professional artist located in Santa Cruz who has created murals in and around the county.

On a blue-sky day, I walked up the western slope of the San Lorenzo Valley High School campus, almost to the edge of Fall Creek State Park, to the Aquaponics Program.  Over the hubbub of harvesting, water tanks, chatter, and Stevie Wonder, Mr. Meyer’s voice echoed around the facility, “Okay, guys! Get to your stations.” As I took a passionate and student-led tour of the greenhouse and classroom, I couldn’t help but wonder where this program was when I was in high school. 

Dogs do so much. They served honorably in wars and K-9 units, and at airports they sniff out drugs or explosives. Search and Rescue dogs can find a lost child or an injured person in a fallen building.  They alert epileptics of a seizure or can sniff out cancer. They are eyes for the blind or a friend when we’re not feeling well. They are guard dogs, companions and family members; they can fill a void.

Scotts Valley High School has a plan to help its students connect their education and future careers. On Wednesday February 19th, I listened in to a presentation by Michael Hanson, the principal of Scotts Valley Highschool, and Tanya Krause, the superintendent of the Scotts Valley Unified School District, alongside several Scotts Valley businesses.  Krause summarized their hopes for the program, “We are trying to provide opportunities for high school students to get out into business communities, have exposure to different kinds of careers, and hopefully want to stay in our community.”  The new program will encourage informational interviews, touring, job shadowing, and interning at workplaces throughout the community.

It’s easy to see Highway 9 as solely a thoroughfare for the many commuters that use it daily.  However, after a moment’s consideration, it’s obviously quite more than that.  Highway 9 contains so many hidden gems of San Lorenzo Valley Main Streets. Two women, Karen Edwards and Tamara O’Kelly, are working hard to polish up the particular gem of Boulder Creek. I sat down with both to hear more about their efforts through the Main Street Program.  According to O’Kelly, Boulder Creek is the perfect gem to polish because, “Boulder Creek has a strong sense of place.  That’s not something you can create, that’s what we’re trying to revive.  The ultimate goal is for Boulder Creek to become a place for all ages, all walks of life, all people to enjoy, a place to gather.  We need to polish what we have, with funding and hands.”

This Monday Laurie Bruton, Superintendent of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, sent an email to the community addressing the district's response to the Coronavirus.  The email also contained several superintendents' responses as well. We felt it important to share as it contains relevant information on how to prevent the virus.  As of now, no cases of the virus have been reported in Santa Cruz County. 

On February 22nd, a dream, decades in the making, came to fruition.  This past Saturday spirits were high for the opening of the Felton Public Library, in a gorgeous, spacious, and thoughtful brick-red masterpiece.   Many Feltonians attended the ribbon cutting, and other notable faces commemorated the event as well.  Bruce McPherson, the Fifth District Supervisor, Anna Eshoo, the 18th District Congresswoman, Mark Stone, an Assemblymember, Michele Mosher, the Felton Library Friend Treasurer, Nancy Gerdt, Felton Library Friend Chair, Susan Nemitz, Santa Cruz Public Library Director, and Teall Messer, the architect, all spoke at the ceremony, praising the library and community behind it.