Guest Columnist

There are a lot of colorful names to describe suppliers of illegal booze: Rum runners (self-explanatory), moonshiners, bootleggers. What is a bootlegger? In the late 1800s, it was illegal to give Native American Indians whiskey, so traders would conceal flasks of liquor in their boot tops. Previously, we learned how prohibition helped to fund organized crime, and how otherwise law-abiding people developed a thirst for "medicinal" Scotch whiskey. But, Scotch alone does not make a well stocked bar, and not all alcohol was smuggled into the county. Gin was actually the most common liquor consumed during prohibition and much of it was produced locally.

Happy New Year, Readers. It’s time to say ‘tis the Season. No, not that season—it’s TAX SEASON! Tax season involves long hours at the office with little to no time for anything other than work. But it also become a time of year where gratitude...

A wonderful new event has surfaced in our Aptos community thanks to Friends of the Library and Denise Ward, a local resident who also loves to read and to bring community together.

Aptos is a very special place to live and work and I look forward to the second half of 2017!

In a recent budget message to the Board, the County Administrative Officer noted that as the county emerged from the Great Recession, the Board has worked to limit the growth of the overall budget while focusing on restoring reserves and investing in key

Happy New Year! January is the eighth annual Positive Parenting Awareness Month in Santa Cruz County. Although parenting is a non-stop job that deserves recognition every day of the year, this month is an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be a...

Sept. 15 marked 10 years since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. The Financial Crisis of 2008 wiped out about 8.8 million jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and caused about $19 trillion in household wealth to evaporate. While the recession officially started in December 2007, we wanted to review a timeline of some key events and also look forward to the future.

According to reports from the Huffington Post, the number one New Year's Resolution is to lose weight. That's not surprising as they also report that about one in every three adults in this country is obese.

Throughout California there are discussions about how to address the significant affordable housing crisis. Recent academic and industry studies done on home affordability have shown that in some coastal communities less than a quarter of people earn enough income to be able to purchase a home in their community and many can’t afford rising rents. Seniors are struggling to stay in the homes they own with an overall rising cost of living. Santa Cruz County is no exception.

“Everyone has a plan ‘till they get punched in the mouth,” was famously said by boxing legend, Mike Tyson. On March 16 our two businesses, Oceanside Supported Living and Safe at Home Senior Care, received a Mike Tyson size punch square in the mouth...