Guest Columnist

It’s that time of year again for our annual article on end of year financial tasks to complete. It’s hard to believe that 2018 is already drawing to a close as it just seems like yesterday we were celebrating New Years! In between festivities, take a few minutes to knock off a couple financial “to-do’s.”

By Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County Supervisor If you’ve been driving on Soquel near the Aptos Village recently you’ve noticed the work on the intersection of Aptos Creek Road and the surrounding area. This work includes important pedestrian improvements as well as intersection and drainage...

As I begin each new year as your County Supervisor, I like to report back in this column on some of the things we’ve accomplished because of your partnership and communication of priorities. Here is a very small overview of what we accomplished in 2017: Community Meetings: In 2017, we’ve held 71 open office hours in Aptos, Corralitos, La Selva Beach and Watsonville and held or attended nearly 50 community and neighborhood meetings in Seacliff, La Selva Beach, Aptos, Watsonville, Capitola and Corralitos. In addition, I’ve written over 50 columns in local papers and neighborhood newsletters and sent a number of e-newsletters to communicate with our district about county happenings.

By Zach Friend, Santa Cruz County Supervisor As the world economy has plunged toward recession the local economy, and County budget, are facing the same retraction. With the tourism industry, one of the largest employers and tax elements (directly through hotel taxes and indirectly through...

Growing concerns over the loss of housing and the commercialization of neighborhoods led the Board of Supervisors to request staff propose a set of new restrictions for vacation rentals. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a set of guidelines for new restrictions that County...

Over the last four years the Board of Supervisors has been working on policies around the dispensing and cultivation of medical cannabis. While work around cannabis in general will be evolving for quite some time, the Board is poised to adopt a commercial cultivation ordinance in early May. Creating a framework for medicinal sales (through local dispensaries) was the first thing addressed by the ordinance a few years ago. While there have been updates to that ordinance, overall the framework for medicinal sales has been established. Creating a framework for commercial cultivation — both on the medicinal side and now, through state law change, the recreational side, has proved more difficult.

The first owners of Aptos were the King and Queen of Spain. The Catholic Church and the Army administered their holdings.

The holiday season is upon us! 2017 has flown by and we are only weeks away from Thanksgiving. Friday, Nov. 24 means a mad dash to be the first in line at your favorite store for Black Friday shopping, or maybe you shop from the convenience of your living room on Cyber Monday. Either way, the holiday season can turn into a stressful time of juggling family obligations, parties, and last minute to do’s before you ring in the New Year. However, the holiday season can also be an opportune time to teach your kids lessons about giving and basic financial literacy. Below are a couple of ideas to consider.

A year ago my update showed the median sales price in Aptos at $935,000.

Over the last few years the County has experienced significant flood events and damage that we are still working to repair. With climate change, severe events like these storm sets are expected to become more common as are the severity and length of droughts....