Regarding affordable housing in Santa Cruz

There is not now, nor will there ever be “affordable housing” in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz is the most expensive rental market in the country. A family of four with both parents working requires an income of around $180,000 to live here. The vast majority of employment in Santa Cruz is in ”service” work. This includes farmworkers, restaurant workers, construction, health care and education. None of these jobs pay enough to rent, much less buy a home. Doctors can’t move here, professors at UC Santa Cruz can’t afford to live here.

According to the county Civil Grand Jury, Santa Cruz city government has no idea who is living in so-called “affordable” housing. However, proponents of the massive build-in of these expensive high-rises claim that the condo debacle as well as the proposed garage/library are designed to help provide “low income and affordable” housing. This is an attempt to fool the voters of Santa Cruz.

Anyone who claims that these projects will alleviate the crushing costs of living in Santa Cruz is lying.

— John Morris, Santa Cruz

And, then, regarding yet ‘another anti-vax letter’ ...

Oh boy, another anti-vax letter (July 12). I haven’t had to respond to one of these in quite some time. This one makes statements such as “(the vaccine) travels throughout the body rather than staying where injected as promised” showing a complete lack of understanding on how vaccines works.

No, the vaccine does not stop you from getting COVID. But it has an approximate 95% effective rate in preventing COVID, and if one does get COVID, it greatly reduces the chances of hospitalization or death.

And the writer’s concern about giving it to pregnant women ignores studies that show the vaccine does not increase any safety risks in women or the fetus. And getting the vaccine is a heck of a lot better than complications one could have from getting COVID during pregnancy.

And finally, the mRNA technology is not new — it has been studied for decades, and has many advantages over old vaccines that contain live microbes, which pose their own risks.

Please re-print this letter if anyone voices their vaccine concerns in the future.

— Phil Hormel, Scotts Valley

The power of the sea ... found within tide pools

If you are visiting Santa Cruz for the first or ninth time, I recommend the tide pools. If you haven’t had the chance to witness the cauldron of blooming life in these wonders of nature, there is no way to adequately describe them. An instance of this is seeing a small octopus caught in one of the translucent pools gently suspended in sea water, basking in the warmth of the July sun.

It’s as close as some people would ever get to the awful power of the sea, but like I said, not easy to describe to someone who hasn’t seen that the sea’s majesty will be here even when the people that traversed it and proved its depths, vanish.

— Tod Mastrandrea, Ben Lomond

More and more people are running red lights

What is going on with so many people running red lights in Santa Cruz County? I have really noticed an uptick in this in the past several months. I know everybody is busy and the traffic is horrible with all the construction going on, but this has to stop. I even saw a city bus go through a light a full two seconds after it turned red the other day.

Of course this is dangerous for everybody concerned, but being a motorcyclist I am especially sensitive to this rising trend. Please everybody, don’t run red lights.

— Jeff Hotchkiss, Soquel

Hearst family lost fight against cockfighting

In the 1930s, a cockfighting ring was busted in Kern County. The Hearst family, keen to be perceived as pro-animals, pushed for top-level prosecution. Before trial, the defendant was asked for photographs by the Hearst family newspapers. He said, “After the trial.”

He was found guilty and charged $5. He then stepped outside the courtroom and said, “Ten dollars for photos.” The news photographers happily paid.

He was considered a local hero for years for having got the better of the Hearst family.

— Janice Walton-Hadlock, Santa Cruz