When was the last time you tried something new for the first time? Has it been a day, a week, a year or even longer? If you can’t remember, it’s likely been too long.

At a ceremony held on Wednesday, Dec. 17 during the meeting of the Scotts Valley City Council, Councilman Dene Bustichi was appointed to the post of Scotts Valley’s mayor for 2015.

Ben Lomond resident Dannon Black organized a soup line to help feed the homeless at Spanky’s Cafe on Sunday, Dec. 21 — something he hopes will become a regular event.

Between holidays and storms, I’m spending more time looking out the windows at the garden than I am actually outside in it. We have been fortunate to have received so much rain. We welcome it. We embrace it knowing that the trees are getting a deep soak and the aquifer rejoices.