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Light up that tree Santa makes the rounds Dec. 1 in Aptos at the annual tree lighting ceremony. Sheriff's deputies, firefighters, girl and boy scouts, vendors and live music added to the festivities. The event is hosted by the Aptos Chamber of Commerce.

The Shadowbrook Restaurant in Capitola is hosting its annual “Dine for the Red Cross” fundraiser on Jan. 15.

Aptos High School students awarded $2,500 scholarship by the Corralitos Woman's Club. Both will attend UC Berkeley.

The company will perform series of façade renovations at the center at State Park and Soquel drive

Cabrillo College in Aptos is shown in an aerial photo. The first classes were actually held in temporary quarters within the partially abandoned old Watsonville High School in 1959. Freshman enrollment was about 700 students at what was then known as Cabrillo Junior College, according to historian Sandy Lydon.

If you have lived in this county for any amount of time, you may have noticed Ledyard trucks delivering food and restaurant supplies. I did not make the connection between the two names until I received a book for the Aptos History Museum entitled, "Aptos was Idyllic," written by Dr. David Glass. It is the story of his childhood, growing up in Ledyard Acres in the middle of the last century. It is a wonderful little book.

When the rock-opera musical “Rent” first opened in New York City in 1996, it wasn’t quite the celebration many had imagined. The show’s creator, Jonathan Larson, had died suddenly just a day before the show’s Off-Broadway premiere, leaving friends and the theater world devastated. Despite this, the production eventually did open. It then went on to be one of the most groundbreaking and longest-running musicals to ever hit Broadway.

There were several events special for the fair’s opening day. As per tradition, the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and the Watsonville Firefighters Association hosted the Opening Day Barbecue in Paddy Smith Park. People enjoyed a lunch of tri-tip, salad and garlic bread while South Bay Swing Band performed nearby on the Amphitheater Stage.

A selection of wines from the newly opened Soquel tasting room, Vinocruz, was part of the third annual Soquel Village Sip & Stroll on Saturday. The event included a number of area wineries who set up stations throughout Soquel Village.

Income planning. Qualifying on a home loan is a little trickier than you might think. Let me "esplain" (I grew up watching "I Love Lucy"). Let’s say you’ve been at your job for 20 years and you’re still renting your co-worker's garage. Let’s further say that your company has been asking you to work overtime and double time and you have politely declined the offer over the past few years, hey! Not having to work so much is the benefit of living in a garage. But then the unthinkable happens. You get a serious girlfriend who refuses to be sweet on you inside of a garage. You start working all the overtime and double time and even triple time (this could be a local policeman) that you can get your hands on. This is where the sins of the past come to haunt you. The bank will only count overtime if you worked it for two years continually, it doesn’t matter that it's always been there for you. Thinking you can afford more in the moment is an easy pitfall to fall into, I can help you avoid such an embarrassment by letting you know what you actually qualify for and not what you figured you did.