Re: street newspaper war on loitering law [your stand?] FWD
Theodore Latham (tedrico@hotmail.com)
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 00:45:10 PST
Tom,
I view Street Paper Vendors and Panhandlers as allies because they
are both the receipients of monetary exchange. One wears a badge .. the
other will accept a handout from someone wearing a badge. They are both
usually harassed by law enforcement and city council and most
importantly ... they both are on the sh-t list of typical downtown
business owners/facilitators. NUFF SAID!
Regards,
Tedrico Latham
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-----------
Tom Boland <wgcp@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Subject: street newspaper war on loitering law [your stand?] FWD
>
>
>
>HOMELESS PEOPLE'S VIEWS, NEWS & ALERTS: 3,000+ Archived posts since
11-97
>HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/
>
>Should street newspapers take a stand on panhandling and
anti-panhandling
>laws? If so, what stand? Do you view paper venders and panhandlers as
>allies? As competetors? Why? -- Tom Boland, Homeless People's
Network
>__________
>
>FWD http://www.denverpost.com/news/news1105b.htm
>
>ACTIVIST PLANS NEWSPAPER WAR ON LOITERING LAW
>
> By Cindy Brovsky
> Denver Post Staff Writer
>
>Nov. 5, 1998 - AURORA - A Denver advocate for the homeless vows to arm
>loiterers with a community newspaper to thwart the city's attempt to
keep
>aggressive beggars off East Colfax Avenue.
>
>Jeff Chase, a reporter with Denver Voice, a newspaper written by and
for
>the homeless, said Aurora's proposed anti-loitering law "spits in the
face
>of the First Amendment.''
>
>"This is an attempt by the Aurora City Council to pass an unnecessary
law
>that is aimed at the poor and homeless, '' Chase said.
>
>Chase and eight homeless people, most of whom live in Denver, were the
only
>ones to speak against the proposed anti-loitering and aggressive
begging
>law when the council gave it initial approval last month.
>
>Chase vows to return to the council meeting Nov. 16 to ask it to
>reconsider. If not, he'll hand out the Denver Voice to people loitering
on
>the Colfax plazas. The loiterers would sell the newspaper in exchange
for a
>donation they could keep, which would stop police from citing them for
>loitering.
>
>Chase's plan hasn't changed the council's support for the law, but a
few
>did applaud him. Other cities, including Chicago, San Francisco and San
>Diego, have homeless people sell newspapers to avoid loitering laws.
>
>"Touche' for the homeless,'' said Councilman Bob LeGare, who voted in
favor
>of the new law. "At least someone would be getting something for their
$1.''
>
>Council members argue the law is necessary because people begging for
money
>have discouraged others from shopping along East Colfax.
>
>"We spent a lot of money to revitalize that area and yet we have people
>sleeping in the flower planters or clutching whiskey bottles in
business
>doorways,'' said Councilman John Paroske. "People hesitate to shop
there
>when there are people lying on the sidewalks.''
>
>The law would make it illegal for anyone to loiter between 7 a.m. and 9
>p.m. anywhere along the East Colfax Avenue corridor. Police could stop
>people from sitting, kneeling or lying on the sidewalks or streets
unless
>they are ill. Police also could cite people for "aggressive begging,''
>which would include touching, following or using threatening language.
>
>The law was patterned after similar ordinances in Seattle and
California,
>which have been upheld as constitutional in the courts. If approved, it
>would be the most strict anti-loitering law in the Denver metro area.
>
>The Denver Voice newspaper began two years ago and is funded mostly
through
>grants. Chase isn't homeless but said he's been involved with issues
>concerning the poor for several years.
>
>"Everyone can go through tough times,'' Chase, 36, said. "Council
members
>who are offended by people asking them for money shouldn't be in
politics.
>Maybe they should go to finishing school where everything is polite and
>proper. This is the real world.''
>
>But Dan Lathers, community outreach attorney for Aurora, said all
visitors
>should feel comfortable and not harassed when shopping along East
Colfax.
>
>"My third-grade teacher told us to sit up straight, be polite and keep
our
>feet out of the aisles,'' Lathers said. "That's what this law is: basic
>common courtesy.''
>
>END FORWARD
>-
>
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