Opinion

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Spooked
I wanted to write and thank you for the insightful article “Walking with a Ghost” in the recent Good Times (2/10).
I’ve read a thousand of these, and have never been compelled to try to contact the writer of an article before but this one really got to me.
As a 30-year-old who grew up in Santa Cruz and has lived in big cities, (Bay Area, L.A.) I’ve gotten to see this ghosting phenomenon on different scales.
Your article has described things that I’ve both done and been on the receiving end of. It made me go back and question my own involvement with this behavior and why I did it or allowed it to be done.
Texting is truly a terrible way to express feelings, but I hear people argue it’s “easy” or “convenient.” But really … it’s shallow. (I use it for work mostly, but hate it for my personal life.)
I have no social media for this reason, except LinkedIn. And that’s all for work.
I’m grateful you took the time to write about this, and wish it got more coverage in mass media.
Trevor Adrian | VIA EMAIL

PRICE LINES
In response to your recent article about affordable housing (GT, 2/17), please be aware that the Board of Supervisors has agreed to the builder of the Aptos Project renting out the 10 low-cost housing units, at market rate price, for at least five years. I would also urge the public to become more informed about traffic, water and environmental issues by going to the affordablehousingsantacruz.com and weareaptos.com websites. I agree with Gary Patton’s comments that the only solution is for existing  “units to be sold or rented with permanent price restrictions.”
Juliet Goldstein
Aptos

Online Comments
Re: Heart Me Up
What a sweet way to look at it! I’m going to do this with my friends. Valentine’s Day can make me sad, but now I’m excited for it!
—   Lynn M
Right on! Valentine’s Day is a necessary day of love in a life with so many distractions and worries. Thank you for reminding us!
— Jennifer Wren

Re: Walking with a Ghost
Just recently had this act happen to me by a guy I met online. We were talking and met two times in person. We were dating casually or just talking. We kept in contact for six weeks before he just decided to start ignoring me and cut me off. But two days before he started ignoring me, he called my phone and we talked. I told him to just be honest with me if he was feeling differently about anything and about me and his exact words were “Do you think I would still be calling you if I had lost interest?” And we were even talking about plans of meeting up again and hanging out on the weekend. Then he just ghosted me. I am just left feeling confused, wondering why, is it something I said? I will never know, I guess, and I just have to move past this. Thank goodness we weren’t serious or knew each other longer than those six weeks or I would be feeling a whole lot worse about this. Bottom line is ghosting is a bad thing to do to a person you’ve known, talked to, hung out with, dated, and especially were in a relationship with. Just be upfront and honest with them, the truth may hurt or be saddening, but silence with no answers or explanation is even worse.
— A girl

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OCEAN SIDE
Former lawmaker Fred Keeley always brings the best to UCSC to discuss the environment and benefit science scholarships. This year, organizers outdid themselves, bringing in Steven Chu, former U.S. secretary of energy and winner of the Nobel Prize. He will give Saturday’s keynote address for the school’s climate conference. Chu will also speak at a dinner at the College 9/10 Multi-Purpose Room at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26 to benefit Keeley Coastal Scholars.