Lydia DeVere Bird was born at 1:24 a.m. Aug. 17, 2009, to Megan DeVere (Christopher) and William Joseph Bird of Felton. She weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces at Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center.

EDITOR,

The recent Santa Cruz County grand jury report, “Alcohol, a Drug of Choice for Scotts Valley Teens,” provides the proverbial good news-bad news picture. Well, perhaps OK news and bad news is a better summary.

SV swim team defeats Boys and Girls Club

EDITOR,

In my two prior swine flu columns, I advised everyone to be prepared for the flu season by getting vaccinated when the vaccine is available. I also talked about being prepared to stay at home for the duration of one’s flu symptoms.

In my most recent column, I covered some of the reasons people hate lawyers. This month, I promised to find reasons why lawyers aren’t utterly useless. If you ask a lawyer, most will say that they are vital to achieving justice and preserving freedom for the weak and oppressed.