Most people associate fall with the darkening of leaves on the trees. The past few years the inshore waters of the ocean have made color changes in the fall with the arrival of red tides. Humpback whales have also made a late season showing right outside Capitola.

I drove through the Groveland area near Yosemite a couple of days before the Rim Fire started on August 17. The local talk over Tioga Pass was then about the recent Aspen Fire in the Sierra National Forest. The Rim fire has now burned 400 square miles of forest and cost $122 million to fight to date. What started as a 40 acre fire when discovered exploded to over 100,000 acres within two days. It is now the third largest in California history.

Despite a 7-0 setback to Aptos High School, the 2-1 Scotts Valley High School tennis team has shown it can compete, even after the loss of a strong core of seniors to graduation last season.