Twice a month a group of people meet at the Senior Center at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. The goal is to have a space to talk about the inevitable—how to best support someone before they die.

The redbud are just starting to show color in my yard. Flowering plum, tulip magnolia, manzanita, forsythia, flowering currant and quince are blooming in many a garden. Even the deciduous trees and plants that look bare now are starting to grow new roots deep underground. It's time to plan this year's garden. Think about how you can blend artistry with ecology.

While finding the current fiscal year budget tracking close to expectations, the Scotts Valley City Council discussed at length how to avoid a “financial cliff” projected in the years to come.  At the regular city council meeting on March 7, council members considered a mid-year review of the FY 2017/18 budget, and discussed how the City will handle a projected budget deficit of more than $2 million by FY 2024/25.

The much anticipated Town Center Project is starting to take shape.

At last week’s board meeting, the San Lorenzo Valley School Unified District voted unanimously to deny a petition to form a new independent charter middle school.

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This week, students at Scotts Valley High School participated in National Student Walkout Day on March 14, to honor the 17 students who died in the Parkland school shooting and to promote school safety.

If the Judge and Mrs. Logan had been as busy as usual, Brookdale might not have happened.  Unseated in the 1896 election, James Harvey Logan could not return to his previous job as bank president because a close friend was doing it.  Meanwhile, the former Catherine Murphy was experiencing a serious case of empty nest syndrome.

Less than two years after residents overwhelmingly adopted a $35 a year parcel tax to increase safety for the Boulder Creek Fire Protection District, a new engine is on the way.

A couple weeks ago in a column about allergy free landscaping, I mentioned dogwood being a good tree choice as their pollen is not wind borne. Their showy flowers are pollinated by insects rather than by the wind. Producing less pollen, their pollen is large and heavy, sticking to insects rather than becoming airborne and leading to sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes. With dogwoods about to burst into bloom I thought I’d share some information about growing this iconic tree.