Letters to the Editor: Readers shaken by a newspaper filled with grim stories. Any good news to report?

To the editor: The first three pages of the Nov. 17 print edition’s California section were horror story after horror story. Man killed, man accused of slaying, newborn found dead, man jailed, man convicted and so on.

Years ago while on California’s central coast, I picked up a local paper. The second page was titled “Good News,” and it had articles about positive actions in the community — teens volunteering, charitable organizations and the like.

Many people are doing wonderful things, and I would love to read about that every day. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are frightening, and our political climate is in a very sad state, but there are uplifting stories waiting to be written.

The world is not a miserable place.

Julie Wodark, Orange

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To the editor: I was probably not surprised, but I was still shaken by the headlines in the California section of Sunday’s paper:

“Newport Beach man gets life in prison for hate-motivated killing of ex-schoolmate,” “Man accused of slaying couple,” “Lancaster man pleads guilty to 375 ‘swatting’ calls,” “LAPD arrests suspect in at least four rapes,” “Newborn is found dead on Skid Row,” and, “Sun Valley man convicted in death of teen’s parents.”

This comes after a hateful, vengeance-filled presidential campaign. As Joseph Conrad wrote in “The Heart of Darkness”: “The horror! The horror!”

The question for each of us: Are our hearts this deeply darkened?

Tim Vivian, Bakersfield