June 20 was the first day of summer and the longest day of the year. The ocean is a bit behind the seasons, though, as the warming trend and currents start to change along the West Coast.

I remember growing up and hearing warnings about consuming too much coffee, because it was possibly related to health problems. Well, my fellow java drinkers, the tide seems to be turning.

- Paige Marie Zils was born to Lindsey Ann (Doolan) and Jude Relckherd Zils of Scotts Valley at 5:56 a.m. June 12, 2012, at Sutter Maternity & Surgery Center in Santa Cruz. She weighed 6 pounds, 3 ounces.

- 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.

EDITOR,

It’s July already, and plants are growing like there's no tomorrow. The hummingbirds are my constant companions in the garden, and the resident deer population comes by daily. There are two spotted fawns who now accompany their mother, along with a couple of her sisters. Life is good.

Local teenager wins volleyball title

The Scotts Valley Arts Commission announced the winners of its annual “Verse in the Valley” contest June 6 in front of the Scotts Valley City Council. The Press-Banner published winners in the categories for kindergarten-to-third-grade, fourth-and-fifth-grades and middle school students in its June 22 edition. Below are the winning poems from the other three categories.

“I wish we didn’t have to do this,” said our deacon, Jim Lieb, not for the first time.