78.5 F
Scotts Valley
July 9, 2025

Off Hours: Eye in the skies turns 20

I’m always surprised when a longtime local says, “Huh?” at the mention of the Lockheed-Martin facility up on the Ben Lomond Mountain ridge above Boulder Creek. But even those of us who are aware of it tend to forget about the world’s largest defense contractor in our midst.

FIGHTING SENOR FLU (Part One)

                  The mysterious malady was arbitrarily linked with Spain, where thousands, including King Alfonso, were infected in the spring.  As might be expected in 1918, some Americans were certain that “this new evil, like other evils of the war, must be traced to German origins.” 

The Mountain Gardener: Garden lessons from the snowy northwest corner of the United States

SEATTLE — It was a snowy afternoon in the Seattle area when I attempted to ferry across the Puget Sound to Whidbey Island. Whiteout conditions got the best of us, so we chickened out and decided instead to go to a local arboretum and the garden of one of my sister's friends.

Editor’s Notebook: Getting hitched: His story

Sitting on my desk is a letter to the editor. I bet you’re all dying to hear what it says.

Five locals win league wrestling titles

Five wrestlers from Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley high schools won individual league titles during the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League finals at Santa Cruz High School on February 17. In the team competition, Aptos won the meet with 241 points, followed by Scotts Valley with 146 points. SLV took fourth with 122.5 points.

Baymonte students, teachers perform in talent show

Directed by Shanelle Atchley, Baymonte Christian School put on its annual talent show at the Rio Theater in Santa Cruz on Friday, Feb. 7.

Talk about Money: Not even death, taxes are certain in extraordinary times

In 1789, when Benjamin Franklin said “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes,” even a mind as great as his couldn’t have predicted the surreal state of our tax system at the beginning of 2010. By not properly prioritizing the legislative agenda, our Congress has failed to preempt the one-year repeal of the estate “death” tax and the inevitable mess that will ensue.

The Mountain Gardener: Local sloughs a harbor for plants, wildlife

Each year I wait for them in my garden and so do the robins, varied thrush, jays, spotted towhees, grosbeaks and band-tailed pigeons. The fruit of sambucus mexicana, a California native plant, is relished by an incredible number of songbirds. The creamy flower clusters in the spring are a favorite of bees and other beneficial insects. My Western Elderberry grows tall and gangly in the shade of a California bay tree, shorter and more compact in the sun. Their exuberance for life makes me happy just to watch them provide for so many other species.

Let’s go fishin’: Crab season continues while squid hit the beach

Strange things are happening at sea.

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News Briefs

News Briefs | Published July 4, 2025

Tree removal leads to temporary closure on Big Basin Highway Caltrans will temporarily close a section of southbound Highway 236 (Big Basin Highway) left on...