Many mentally ill people can function productively in the community at little risk to themselves or others. Carper should consider ordering state mental health officials to stop quickly discharging acutely mentally ill people after a few days treatment unless there is a fully supervised program and living arrangements for them in the community. This would require some serious rearranging of the system and some serious financial commitment to both the Delaware Psychiatric Center and the inadequate community-based programs that try to track and care for mentally ill on the streets. But it would be the right thing to do. The etablishment of new cellular phone-free zones trumpets lack of courtesy.
Cell phones are here to stay.
Unfortunately, many cell phone users seem incapable of exercising basic common sense and good judgmentwhen using them. Some towns have banned the use of cell phones while driving a car. It shouldn't be necessary to pass such a law. Common sense dictates that trying to operate a phone in one hand while trying to steer an automobile with the other is unsafe. At the Delaware Theatre Company now, warning people to turn off their cell phones and beepers is part of the pre-performance message along with cautioning patrons not to make recordings or use flash cameras.