Letters to the Editor: So nice to see CdM middle schoolers connect during lunchtime

Re: “At Corona del Mar Middle School, kids can’t use cellphones at lunch. The result? They talk”: Corona del Mar Middle School has embarked on something brand new, and it seems to be working. The new rule simply says: “No student cellphone use during lunch.”

The interacting of face-to-face scenarios has increased exponentially with kids acting like kids, sans their faces being transfixed on a small screen. Most of the 841 middle-schoolers, of which 95% have cellphones, seem to be complying with the new rule.

One of the positive items coming out of this change is the absence of students walking and texting at the same time thereby eliminating bumping into other students, walls, fences, etc.

Almost everyone has a cellphone and probably spends too much time interacting with the device rather than live people.

It would be a positive movement if this change were to spread to other schools and just people in general. But an even more fantastic gesture would be if this transition from reliance on cellphones to one of purely human application, would be those drivers who insist on continually using their phones, be it texting or talking, behind the wheel of a car.

This act, if it ever transpires, would no doubt save a plethora of lives.

Bill Spitalnick

Newport Beach

Move group homes away from the coast

After reading an article for sober-living homes, one glaring justification stood out (“Costa Mesa Planning Commission rejects permit applications for Westside sober-living home,” Sept. 12): Where can these people live for $500 to $600 a month?

My question is, where can our kids, who are not addicts, live for $500 to $600 a month? These homes would be a better fit inland, where space is vast and there is not temptation on every corner! These homes are nothing but ATMs for the owners, so please stop already with the weak reasoning.

Juli Hayden

Newport Beach

Aircraft remove need for alarm clocks

I read with slightly cynical amusement your Sept. 15 article about the increased aircraft noise in Huntington Beach (“Huntington Beach residents say excessive airplane noise is hurting their quality of life”).

I have been a Balboa Island resident since 1956 and have seen John Wayne Airport grow into what it is today. At one point it had only small prop planes buzzing over our house.

With the introduction of jet aircraft, everything changed. Back then, jets were many times louder than they are today. The slight adjustment recently made in the take-off patterns hasn’t reduced the sound very much either. It’s still the morning wakeup call we’ve had for decades. But take heart, gentleman. It has saved you both the cost of buying alarm clocks next to your beds.

William F. Darling

Balboa Island

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