- Submit Datebook items to [email protected] or drop off press releases or photos at 5215 Scotts Valley Drive, Ste. F, Scotts Valley 95066. Deadline is 5 p.m. Tuesday. Entries are subject to editing, and publication is not guaranteed.

- Bridger Albert Marshall Mitchell, son of Page Williams and Mason Mitchell of Boulder Creek, was born at 3:47 p.m. Aug. 3, 2012, at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

EDITOR,

Summertime, and the living is easy in Santa Cruz County. But as our green hills turn yellow, homeowners are reminded that we’ve had some destructive fire seasons in recent years.

The Olympics, I believe, have a split personality. Partly the Olympics are about the beauty of competition: the lovely narratives of individuals who triumph over overwhelming odds and exquisite examples of sportsmanship and sporting brotherhood and sisterhood. But the Olympics are also about flag-waving patriotism. I have to admit when the U.S. faces other countries, my default mode says, “Root for the ol’ Stars and Stripes.” I believe that’s why the women’s soccer tournament is more interesting and exciting for many people in this country. While the U.S. did not qualify for the men’s tournament, the US women are viewed as favorites and have done nothing to change that through the opening round.