Guest Columnist

As you recall from last month’s story, Ralph Mattison owned a number of businesses in Aptos Village and he helped to organize the Aptos Volunteer Fire Department and build the first fire truck.

The oldest baby boomers (those born in the year 1946) began turning age 70.5 in summer of 2016 and have begun taking required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) under IRS guidelines for at least one if not two tax years now (2016 and 2017). The rules surrounding RMDs can be confusing and mistakes can be costly. Below are a few tips to keep in mind when managing your RMDs.

Holidays can be a mixed bag full of love, laughter, joy, stress, anxiety, and full-blown tantrums. And I’m just talking about the adults. Expectations about gifts, traditions and spending time together can make the holidays challenging and overwhelming for many families, even when relationships are harmonious. When relationships between immediate, extended, separated, or blended family members are strained, it requires extra effort to communicate effectively so that children remember the holidays as a special time with family and loved ones. This monthly column provides tips for anyone who is helping raise children, based on the world-renowned Triple P – Positive Parenting Program, available to families in Santa Cruz County. If you have a question or idea for a future column, please email me at [email protected].

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

In 2016, total volume for Santa Cruz County (SCC) was $15.6B on 1,754 home sales, 200 townhome sales and 285 condo sales. The Median Home sales price was $785K. In 2017 (through Dec. 15), total SCC volume is $16.5B on 1,756 homes sales, 193 townhome sales and 277 condo sales. The Median Home sales price is now at $840K, a 7 percent increase year over year. So, number of sales is flat but sales revenues are up $1 billion in our county.

The holiday season has come and gone and many are left with the familiar feeling of regret after months of lack of exercise and overeating. They feel tired, sluggish, and yes, out of shape and over-weight ... again. This is what we call the "Holiday Weight Cycle." The problem is that fad diets and extreme exercise routines are often a “go-to” for most people; sometimes they work, but usually they don’t. For most these extreme measures are not sustainable and lead only to frustration or failure. For example, when one "starves" themselves or abruptly starts a daily, high-intensity exercise regimen it often leaves them feeling defeated and they quit; hence the "cycle" continues. The problem isn’t that people don’t have enough will-power, it's the "System" itself. As a society we tend to set unrealistic expectations which pressures individuals to give into unhealthy behaviors such as this "Holiday Weight-Cycle." Will 2018 be your year for change? Or will this cycle leave you one year farther from your goal to be healthy and fit again?

So this “ask a broker” thing has gotten off to a good start, thank you! The winner was able to see the Warriors beat the Spurs and watched in horror as our superstar and savior Steph Curry got hurt, we need Durant to step up!

Over the last year, in response to significant declines in transportation funding, the state legislature proposed a number of bills to stabilize funding. Ultimately, in April, the state passed Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act. The bill focused on providing a steady stream of transportation funding to address the backlog of state and local transportation projects. The legislation combined new diesel and gasoline taxes with vehicle fees and Caltrans efficiencies to fund local and state roadway repairs (including storm damage local matches), public transportation, congested corridors, bike and pedestrian improvements and more. The bill also allows for cities and counties with their own local tax measure (such as our recently passed Measure D) to apply for additional funds.

Nicole Young is the mother of two children, ages 14 and 18, who also manages Santa Cruz County's Triple P - Positive Parenting Program, the world's leading positive parenting program. Scientifically proven, Triple P is made available locally by First 5 Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency (Mental Health Services Act) and the Santa Cruz County Human Services Department. To find a Triple P parenting class or practitioner, visit triplep.first5scc.org, www.facebook.com/triplepscc or contact First 5 Santa Cruz County at 465-2217 or [email protected].

This January, Santa Cruz County is celebrating Positive Parenting Awareness Month for the seventh year in a row, and several other counties in California are joining in — Inyo, Napa, Mendocino, Sonoma and possibly more!