Apparently Fort Lauderdale commissioners approved new restriction on when and how charitable organizations can feed the homeless.
The commission didn't take up the issue until 2 a.m. and passed the new law at 3:30 a.m.
Hmm, I wonder how often the commissioner "work" until such times. One might suspect that they were hoping for less media coverage by doing this in the wee hours of the morning.
The new rules say that feeding sites cannot be within 500 feet of each other, that only one is allowed in any given city block and that any site would have to be at least 500 feet away from residential properties.
Commissioners agreed to permit most churches to have indoor feeding programs, even those close to residential neighborhoods.
Yeah, gotta be careful with the churches -- freedom of religion and all that.
The quote from Ron Book, a city lobbyist who is also chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, speaks volumes as to what the Homeless Trust's mission is. The fact that a city lobbyist is also the chairman of said Trust is interesting too.
Feeding people on the streets is sanctioning homelessness. Whatever discourages feeding people on the streets is a positive thing.
Yes, I strongly support or "sanction" every individual that has "elected" to be homeless. What planet are these people from?
The commission voted 4 to 1 to approve the measure. Dean Trantalis voted no. Why?
...his opposition wasn't with the feeding restrictions but with other parts of the law that would greatly concentrate social service facilities in Flagler Village and a few other downtown neighborhoods.
Wanting to keep them away from tourists? Perhaps someone should figure out where the commissioners live.
My attention was drawn to this not by the vote itself, but its consequences:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/browa ... story.html
For the second time in four days, 90-year-old activist Arnold Abbott was cited by police for a violating a new city ordinance designed to stop him and others from feeding the homeless in public spaces.
Mr. Abbott is not only an activist, he's a World War II vet and apparently founded a culinary school.
News reports of Sunday's incident went viral. Abbott said he has fielded telephone calls and received emails from several continents.
So much for those clandestine meetings in the wee hours.
