- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

Though the grizzly bear is long extinct from the forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it can be easy to forget that there is still a large apex predator roaming the region in the form of the mountain lion.

A Neighborhood’s DogA poem by Patty Morelli Miss Betty was once the new pup on the block.She’d sit on my porch where neighbor children would flock.“Can we play with Betty? Here, Betty, come!”Round dark eyes dancing, black fur, bright red tongue.School, winter, summer … time passing, half-flown.Warm days or wet days, they’d stop by my home.“We’re going for a walk, can Miss Betty go?”Then they’d leave with tail-wagging Betty in tow.Time passed, as soft-brown eyes watched from the gate,Old friends drove by, waving, late for a date.“Hey, Betty, good girl!” as they roared on their way.Miss Betty, head low, found a soft place to lay.Then one day, with time, there back came her old friends.With children of children to visit weekends.“Hey, kids. Meet Betty. Hey, girl, how’ve you been?”Tail wagging, tongue licking, oh! A puppy again!

Preliminary results: Lompico voters approve Measure N

Scotts Valley Police Department

Shout-out: Bravo to Scarborough Ace Hardware for excellent service and stock