Written by Issaquah is talking about banning pan-handling…and threatening a $1000 fine.
Why do I think they won’t collect much of the fine?
“Brother, can you spare a dime to help me pay my fine?”
Seriously, Issaquah is going to have a hard time legally distinguishing homeless who sell overpriced “newspapers” from girl scouts selling cookies.
I am pretty sure they will find that the only thing they can really ban is aggressive pan-handling…i.e. altercations with passers by.
Meanwhile, they will pay $109 per pan-handler per day to house the pan-handlers in their jail, plus hundereds more per night for each one requiring medical, dental, or psych assistance….while waiting to collect on the $1000 fine.
This will continue until the ACLU gets an injunction and files civil rights violations against the city….yikes!
It will be interesting to watch….
Issaquah? God, don’t they have enough money now? This is ridiculous
I believe, the issue they are addressing is those who pan handle at exits off of I-90, and major intersections. Those folks can become aggressive and threatening (at least in they eyes of my kids). So, maybe the law is too broad, but I understand the rationale. This really has nothing to do with raising funds!
I lived in NYC in prior to Rudy’s term as mayor, and I can attest first hand that paying attention to these types of issues really does impact quality of life, for all.
what’s Renton to do?
We have some cardboard sign toting folks along Rainier Ave. I think it’s a hazard for the drivers and the panhandlers and should be curtailed.
I also dislike those A-board sign people (like you see all over Tukwila) who typicaly advertise mattress and furniture going out of business sales, or even apartments for rent and new homes for sale… tacky.
What is interesting about this is, each city government has it’s own personality, driven by a mayor, council members or the city managers. While Issaquah goes after pan handlers, Renton went after shopping carts. You see some city governments make sense and some don’t. That’s why city halls are called a puzzle palace. You have to scratch your head and wonder if local governnments are a matter of facts or a matter of feelings.
Go after the drivers!
The car drivers that stop in traffic and coax pan-handleres into the street should be ticketed.
Don’t go after the pan-handlers, go after the drivers that have money!
Re: Go after the drivers!
Soooo…my wife explained to me that, as some of you have suggested, Issaquah is going after the pan-handlers that hold signs near the off-ramps and try to collect money from arriving cars… a sort of “Welcome to Issaquah” greeting at I-90 and Front Street.
I can understand this… so maybe I was a bit harsh on the city. But I think the idea of ticketing drivers is creative… they have money to pay the fines at least.
This is not a real pan-handler picture, but this image came to mind…
Re: Go after the drivers!
Uhhh… thinking about it more, it would be tough to fine drivers for giving to the poor… I would not want to be the officer who wrote that ticket.
There is no easy solution.
Re: Go after the drivers!
Randy,
The logic behind ticketing the drivers is three fold:
1) It removes the “freedom of speach” issue and turns it into a public safety issue.
2) Drivers typically should know better than your typical pan-handler as to what is appropriate behaviour around cars.
3) Drivers have money to lose.
Re: Go after the drivers!
Makes sense!
How many of you folks would like one of these harmless panhandlers hanging out in front of your house everyday? I’ll bet that every one of you would be calling the police to have them removed. If you called and the police told you that they couldn’t do anything about it because it’s their first amendment right, would you be satisfied? I doubt it. They usually have a criminal past, are usually very unstable, and are obviously very intimidating to the public. There is a reason that they are not contributing to society. There’s a fine line that needs to be addressed. It all trickles down. Consumers will avoid these areas, and businesses will suffer. Who is the victim?