Arrest made at park (for feeding homeless)

[NVMojo]

This is a followup breaking story from Las Vegas to this story relating to LV city banning the feeding of the homeless in city parks. A protest has been filed by the ACLU

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2401436

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July 31, 2006

Las Vegas city marshals cited a radio station employee for feeding the homeless in a public park this morning, marking the first enforcement since a controversial ordinance went into effect. The citation was one of a number of legal actions at Frank Wright Plaza.

Four apparently homeless people were cited for being in the park before it opened; another was arrested for the same infraction. A cameraman and a reporter for KLAS-TV Channel 8 were also given citations, after they refused to move their news van from inside the park before it opened, according to a city spokesman. The radio station employee of KKLZ, 96.3 FM, was also cited for driving the wrong way on a one-way street near the park and for driving without a driver's license, officials said.

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/index.html

more details here:

Las Vegas marshals ticket 7, arrest 3 amid homeless protests

snip...

Officials, led by Mayor Oscar Goodman, say they want a long-term solution to homelessness rather than stopgap measures in a city with limited resources for those living on the streets.

"Rather than giving someone a sandwich once a day, the city supports efforts to end the cycle of homelessness and address the issues that keep these individuals on the streets," the mayor's office said in a statement Monday. It calls for the homeless to seek aid at social service agencies.

Activists and civil libertarians called the crackdown unfair and unconstitutional.

"They are treating people in public spaces in a way that is inconsistent with the First Amendment and our nation's history," said Lee Rowland, American Civil Liberties of Nevada public advocate in Las Vegas. She promised a lawsuit challenging the city law.

Linda Lera-Randel El, longtime executive director of Straight from the Streets, a Las Vegas area homeless advocacy group, said she distributed water, sandwiches and bus tokens at the City Hall park Monday, but was not issued a summons.

"I'm not saying feeding people in the park is the answer," she said. "But I don't think people in power can just pass an ordinance every time they don't like something or they're frustrated by the inability to fix it."

more...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2006/jul/31/073110578.html