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Scotts Valley
October 1, 2025

The Mountain Gardener: Avoid sneezing and itching in your own garden

Mea culpa. It was brought to my attention by a reader who suffers from pollen allergies that blooming acacias are not the cause of allergic reactions at this time of year. Acacias are largely pollinated by insects and have heavy pollen that doesn't tend to become airborne. It's the non-showy, quiet ones you have to watch out for. Warm temperatures earlier in the year are already creating havoc for those who have to deal with seasonal allergies.

Sports shorts

Bethany players net All-Conference honors

It’s the law: When the law loses its appeal

As a litigator, I go to trial once or twice a year, but the vast majority of civil cases are settled through mediation these days. In mediation, there is no judge or jury, just a mediator who makes no decisions. It is his or her job to steer both parties to a resolution that is acceptable to both, even if it isn’t precisely what either party wanted.

Nature Friendly: Nature Academy honors Arbor Day

Sometimes you cannot see the forest for the trees, but I think most of the time you cannot see the trees for the forest. California’s Arbor Day Week gives us an opportunity to pause and celebrate our trees.

Letter: Build a hotel for the grandkids, not CEOs

Hopefully, our county supervisor, Mark Stone, will not approve the construction of the new La Bahia hotel in Santa Cruz. At least, not as it is presently planned, with its projected height to be four stories and blocking the ocean views of the residents on Beach Hill. The hotel could have been built by now, but the developers will not budge from their insistence that the height be well over zoning regulations. They say that they must have that fourth story for two large and, we must assume, very expensive penthouses. The new La Bahia will not be just a hotel. It will be a four-star hotel. Meaning that it's not going to be a place where the grandkids can stay and be close to the Boardwalk.

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.

Local bowler hits pay dirt

Ben Lomond Hall of Fame bowler Sam Carter took home the winners trophy and a $20,000 prize at the annual 5-day Winter Mini-Eliminator Bowling Tournament in Las Vegas last month.

Comedy Corner: Close encounters of the cat kind

I strongly dislike cats.

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News Briefs

News Briefs | Published Sept. 26, 2025

Music at Skypark wraps up 16th season this Sunday The free outdoor Music at Skypark concert series concludes its 16th season this Sunday, Sept. 28,...