At approximately 1:30 p.m. today six large military helicopters were sighted flying over the Santa Cruz mid-county area. They seemed to be flying especially low and, as such, were extremely noisy and obtrusive.

When I contacted Santa Cruz County's emergency services (911) department, the attendant told me that they had no notice of exercises to be carried out in the area or prior warning about the choppers. She mentioned that she had never seen (such a thing) it before, but felt that there was no cause for alarm, that "they were just passing through."