Has the hot, dry, windy weather made your garden look like mid-summer? Our meager spring rains have all but disappeared from the soil and what hasn't evaporated the weeds have taken. The local water companies all have water conservation requirements that began last month. I'm getting lots of calls and emails asking for advice about the best way to use water efficiently so the garden doesn't look like the Sahara this summer. I'm helping others redesign their gardens with an eye towards ongoing water conservation.

Classic cars filled the parking lot of Canepa of Scotts Valley on Saturday for a benefit for the De Anza College Automotive Technology program. The First De Anza College Auto Tech Club Car Show, which organizers said they hoped to become an annual event, drew about two dozen cars and generated some buzz for the program.

Martial arts instructor Elliot Stone was at Scotts Valley High School nearly all day Tuesday showing P.E. students how to defend themselves if they are ever attacked, and even better, how to avoid the situation all together.