Sadie Ashlynn Byrd was born at 12:54 p.m. Dec. 23, 2010, to Noelle Davey Parkinson and Michael Gene Byrd Jr. of Scotts Valley. She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces at Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz.

As the Great Depression waned and the first touring Chevvies and Deusies roared across Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific, Scotts Valley was right where it needed to be: perfectly placed to greet those pioneer motor-venturers with a hot drink at Camp Evers, a restock of provisions and, by all accounts, a roaring foxtrot. In short, our little rest stop on the California Trail began its own adventurous economic journey out of the Great Depression into the brave new mobile world.

Sauterne is a sweet white wine made in the Bordeaux region of France. Some sauternes, like Château d'Yquem, capture incredible price tags and are sought after the world over.

Though the Bethany University men’s basketball team is winless, there’s a feeling of positive energy going into the last eight games of the regular season.

Saturday, Jan. 22

“Sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite” was something my parents would say to me every night as they tucked me into my bed when I was a child.

Work on planned improvements on Graham Hill Road near Roaring Camp is officially scheduled to begin in March after Monterey Peninsula Engineering Inc. was awarded the contract for the project, valued at not quite $2.4 million, by the Board of Supervisors at its Dec. 14 meeting.

The only thing growing on my tomato plant is the big, huge, hairy, multi-spotted spider that has set up a household in it.