Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: First of all, I love Grace’s letter. She is of the viewpoint of a typical 10-year-old; she’s smart and makes a very good argument. Her points are so valid. I have an 18-year-old and got […]
Community Voices
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Sorry, Grace — we should ban smartphones for kids under 16
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: Having a flip phone is a great idea for a 10-year old. But smartphones with access to the internet are toxic and addictive. I teach this topic at UC Santa Cruz and have read reams […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I’m 10 and I think I should have a phone. Here’s why.
Ten-year-old Grace Scherer’s biggest gripe is that her parents think she is too young for a phone. She wrote Lookout’s Community Voices editor, Jody K. Biehl, a letter explaining why she should have one. What do you think? At what age should Santa Cruz County kids get phones?
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Shakespeare and social justice and Santa Cruz! The old, dead white guy has a lot to teach us today
William Shakespeare has been dead for more than 400 years, but for Rebecca Haley Clark, education programs manager at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, “ol’ Billy Shakes” still has lessons to teach us today and to share with kids. A Santa Cruz native, Clark has spent years studying Shakespeare across the globe and now is back home and has created a program for Santa Cruz youth called “Shakespeare and Social Justice.” Clark is looking for schools interested in hosting the programs, which aim to knock the Bard of Avon off his pedestal and make him relevant to this generation and the issues they confront today, including racism.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I’ve finally found a way to say goodbye to my sister, nine years after she died
Writer Claudia Sternbach lost her younger sister Carol to cancer in 2013. That same week, she also “lost” her other sister, Carol’s twin, to a family rift she never understood and can’t — despite the years — mend. Sternbach has kept Carol’s ashes in a lidded ceramic bowl on a shelf in her Aptos home all these years, despite promising Carol she would spread them in the sea. She’s been unable to part with them without Carol’s twin, her other sister, present. But now, to mark Carol’s 70th birthday, Sternbach writes that she has decided to scatter the ashes and let go of the hurt that haunts her. She has found the perfect way.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: The working class wants people in the trenches, not ‘hobnobbers,’ to represent them
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: I would like to issue a few corrections regarding Mike Rotkin’s recent op-ed on the November 2022 candidates for Santa Cruz City Council and mayor. 1. Renee Golder had absolutely no political experience when she […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Thanks for covering the unhoused; where is the coverage of people with two homes?
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: I wanted to comment on a recent article you had on the visibility of individuals without homes. I agree the increasing number of individuals without homes is devastating our community and symptoms of the problem […]
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why does no one want to run for office in Santa Cruz? Future leaders are likely to lack experience
Mike Rotkin, former five-time Santa Cruz mayor, is predicting a new trend in Santa Cruz politicians. Low pay, less expensive district elections and increasing abuse from the public are, he writes, causing many experienced leaders to bow out. He thinks Santa Cruz will likely see younger, less experienced city councilmembers and mayors in the future.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I quit my job to surf and hike across the world; you can do it, too
Santa Cruz native Evan Quarnstrom quit his job with the International Surfing Association to travel the world. He’s been to Brazil, Colombia, Chile and right now, he’s in Bali, “where fast, powerful, waves that break over shallow coral reefs have been quite the contrast from the more mellow, sloping point breaks that I learned to surf on at home in Santa Cruz.” He’s also taken time to grieve his late father, Dean Quarnstrom, to come to terms with his famous local family and consider what sort of life he wants to lead. He reminds us that, with a bit of courage, we, too, could pick up and change our lives.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Letter to the editor: Give Santa Cruz city parks workers more credit
Have something to say? Lookout welcomes letters to the editor, within our policies, from readers. Guidelines here. To the editor: I am writing to ask if you would do a piece on Santa Cruz city parks workers. There are plenty of pieces done about the police and other higher-ups in city government about homelessness. I […]