The other day, a young girl asked me, "Are you the lady that writes the flower column in the paper?” I was thrilled to know that my readership includes middle schoolers. Our conversation soon turned to vegetables, which are good to plant at this time of year because of how late they can be started. Gardening can be a wonderful learning opportunity for all of us, but especially for children.

King salmon have started to return to the Santa Cruz Harbor, and anglers are already catching some from the jetties and surrounding waters. This is great news, as the major return of salmon is still one year away, when the catch will be a year older than the two-year-olds we’re seeing today. As the salmon continue to arrive, it is important to fish only from legally designated areas of the harbor while also adhering to fishing regulations.

SLV water polo sneaks past Aptos

At the end of August, Cody Rakela, a Scotts Valley teenager, left for the Saviano High Performance Tennis Academy in Plantation, Fla., in pursuit of lofty athletic goals.