- Two young people on the Telegraph Avenue sidewalk could be cited by police under the mayor's plan -- if they were smoking.
Posted on 05/16/2007 7:55:57 AM PDT by SmithL
Berkeley figures it's found a way to get homeless people off the streets. Keep them from smoking there.
As Mayor Tom Bates sees it, the alcoholics, meth addicts and the like who make up a good portion of the homeless population on Shattuck Avenue downtown and Telegraph Avenue on the south side of the UC Berkeley campus "almost always smoke." And because smoking bans are the hot ticket these days for California cities, why not meld the two as part of a "comprehensive package" for dealing with the street problem that Bates says "has gone over the top"?
In this case, vagrants could be cited for taking a drag on the town's main drags.
Other ideas Bates is pitching include making it easier for cops to cite sidewalk sleepers during business hours, adding community policing and beefing up social services.
Bates has even come up with a politically correct way to pay for the program -- proposing that drivers pay an extra 50 cents an hour for parking citywide.
Plus, he proposes adding meters to such heavily trafficked areas as the blocks around the popular Berkeley Bowl market on the south side of town.
So far, Bates' ideas seem to be fitting fine with the Berkeley mind-set. When the smoking ban came up for discussion before the City Council last week, it was smooth sailing.
"I don't see anyone on the council voting against it,'' said Councilman Kriss Worthington. "In fact, it's possible that some council members would ban smoking throughout the entire city."
Still, Worthington -- who sponsored a resolution in 2001 aimed at keeping cops from citing people for sleeping on city sidewalks -- said he didn't think the mayor's plan would change much of anything when it comes to the homeless problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
- Two young people on the Telegraph Avenue sidewalk could be cited by police under the mayor's plan -- if they were smoking.
Liberal mindset: “I have compassion for the homeless because of the way big business has ruined these people and the way the Bush administration has turned their back on them. Now, get off my streets, ya bums, before I give you a ticket for smoking a cigarette! Oh, wait? That’s a joint? Oh, forget it... go ahead and toke on up, man! We need to legalize THAT!
Since we are talking about the Peoples Republic then, sure, why not?
Let me understand this: common bums won’t be cited for loitering, vagrancy, public intoxication, or obstruction of a public walkway, but only for smoking?
Oh, it’s Bezerkley. Nevermind.
I have refused for many years to spend money in Berkeley, this affirms my commitment to that pledge.
A little known fact about homeless, drug addicted bums who sleep in the middle of the sidewalk: They are sticklers about paying their fines to the police departments.
Just this morning, I gave a bum in my local park a dollar so that he could renew his fishing license...
At the time, I thought I was joking! Further proof that it is impossible to parody Berkeley.
But if they were smoking a joint, that would be OK. The police might even ask for a hit.
The nanny police are everywhere. They know what’s good for us and if we don’t agree, they’re going to give it to us anyway. But first, they may have to take things away from us for our own good.
The self-appointed vast left wing conspiracy nanny police are intolerant fascists, simple as that.
Smoking is bad, but will they still be allowed to gulp alcohol and shoot up meth?
The left wants more homeless. They can use the homeless to claim that Bush is responsible and that the country needs more liberalism.
Our technology should allow us to let these potential smokers instead mainline nicotine, thereby exempting them from citations for smoking, while qualifying them for the needle exchange progam. And since there will be no need for extra personnel to cite them, we can still raise taxes and have a slush fund for other goodies, such as funding more efforts to raise taxes. See? Everybody wins.
Pingaroonie!
A typical P.R.B. solution. When San Diego raised parking meter rates, they created a situation where it became more profitable for the homeless to break into the meters. Their meter repair costs exceeded new revenues for many years.
But, they’re Berkeley liberals, so they never learn from the past, or, frequently, even acknowledge there was one.
"Smooth sailing?" "No-Brainer" would have been a more appropriate term. This is a subject Berkeley-ites and their ilk find a matter of righteousness, and therefore a slam dunk.
Yes, and even trumps coddling the “homeless.”
Now, now ... patience.
Let's take it one step at a time. Ban it here now; outside the mall a few months from now; within six blocks of schools next fall ("for the children"); within fifty yards of your neighbor's dog next year; etc.
That way, we can make headlines each time, and institute a new tax to pay for it each time.
My, how things have changed. When I attended U. C. Berkeley, the city did its best to attract the homeless.
I guess only like homeless when they are in con cities.
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