Free Republic

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson said Tuesday that Wall Street has "a long way to go" in establishing parity for minorities. Jackson said access to capital is the final stage after the ending of legal slavery and segregation and the winning of the right to vote "in our struggle to make this a more perfect union". In an interview before a Reuters Newsmaker event in New York called "Diversity on Wall Street: the quest for equity and parity," Jackson said: "Wall Street is the ultimate mountain to be climbed." Jackson cited the U.S. mutual fund...

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The police chief wants to license panhandlers, saying it would make it easier for officers to manage aggressive begging in Minnesota's largest city. Under the plan, panhandlers would have to register each year at a government center and have their picture taken. Anyone failing to wear an ID badge would be jailed for 30 days, and possibly fined. "The idea is not to penalize people or make them go away," Chief William McManus said Wednesday. "It's just a way to govern how they conduct their business." Minneapolis already bans panhandling in front of cash machines, bus stops...

West Anchorage Assemblyman Dan Sullivan has introduced his second anti-panhandling ordinance, saying he wants the city to curb “aggressive” panhandling and put the kibosh on, in his words, “people who won't take no for an answer.” People who watch the government will remember Sullivan's 2003 anti-panhandling ordinance that generated much discussion about curbside panhandling before the assembly passed it. The law is now in effect, making it illegal for panhandlers to leave the curb and step into traffic. The law has also introduced a violation-type ticket for any driver who lures a panhandler into the road. Sullivan doesn't think the...

Impersonating a veteran now a crime akin to pretending to be a police officer OLYMPIA _ Everyone's seen the cardboard signs clutched by panhandlers at intersections, freeway exits and supermarket parking lots. "Will work for food." "Pregnant." "Anything helps." "God bless you." There's one common panhandling sign, however, that state lawmakers hope to soon see a lot less of: "Veteran." This week, Gov. Gary Locke approved a law making it a crime to profit by falsely claiming to be a military veteran. Among the bill's targets: people wrongly seeking hiring preferences or educational benefits, con men preying on people's sympathies...

<p>CINCINNATI — These days identification cards are needed for everything from driving to renting movies, and now the Cincinnati City Council has passed a new ordinance that requires people who want to beg for money to register with the city.</p>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The spare change collected by panhandlers is more likely to go toward food than drugs and alcohol, according to a study of Toronto panhandlers. Researchers found that, contrary to the beliefs of some, the largely homeless panhandlers they surveyed made little money, and when they did have cash the priority was food. "Some believe panhandlers must beg because they have fallen through the social safety net, but others have suggested that panhandlers make considerable amounts of money and spend most of it on their addictions," note Rohit Bose and Dr. Stephen W. Hwang of the...