I reside at the end of a privately maintained old lumber road. On Friday, January 22, Scenic Way was blocked to all inbound and outbound traffic due to downed tree/power lines. Our neighborhood is fortunate to have an alternative access route when either Scenic or Park Drive closes. When one road closes, all residential traffic is funneled through this private section. With more than a hundred vehicles passing through, the road quickly turned to thick mud; previous hardpan turned into deep pot holes, and two cars ended up in the drainage ditch.

Like water customers throughout the Central Coast and many other parts of California, Scotts Valley Water District ratepayers have responded to the historic drought by sharply reducing their water use even as El Niño rains fall across our service area. Although El Niño is bringing some relief to the parched soil, it will take longer than a single year for our thirsty watersheds to recover. Water conservation is still necessary to assist in the recuperation of our watersheds.

Kiwanis of the Valleys

I went from being a renter to a homeowner in 1984 because I got sick and tired of those friendly little notices in my mailbox every six months cheerfully notifying me that the rent on my apartment was going up another fifty bucks a month.

Local ocean fishing has been big news and mostly consisting of negative press. The combination of crab closures due to domoic acid counts and the Santa CruzHarbor shoaled up has created great hardship for local fishermen.

There seems to be some confusion when it comes to understanding the difference between palliative care and hospice. They are both distinctive medical disciplines and often work together.

 A Facebook friend recently posted a picture of gummosis on her dwarf nectarine. While pruning her fruit trees she found the sticky stuff and shared her plight. While some folks post pictures of babies and political opinions on their Facebook page, my friends post pictures of plants and their fruit trees. Yes, if you haven’t already done so, this is the time to winter prune fruit trees and apply dormant spray to fend off diseases and insect pests. With rainfall expected throughout the spring, this is not the year to omit this important task.