[Mpls] John Olson: How come Minneapolis doesn't clean itself up?

[Terrell Brown]

>From today's Strib
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/5077456.html

Possible taking a blame it on the city page from a resident of North
Oaks, Olson claims:
"But here on this side of town, we've found another obstacle course:
angry drunks and meth heads who beg in traffic and trail our female
coworkers to their cars. 

"The City Council also voted to protect this activity, citing that
other amendment that promises angry drunks and meth heads the right to
trail female office workers to their cars."

[TB] Seems it was a District Court, not the Council that said begging
is protected speech.  What the Council actually did was propose a new
ordinance to ban "aggressive begging."

The effectiveness of an aggessive begging ordinance might be open for
debate, however, it is an issue that the Council has attempted to deal
with.

To a certain extent I needed to smile and admire the honesty of a guy
whose sign said "need money for beer", honesty he learned neither from
an advertising guy or a politician.



Terrell Brown
Loring Park