Lake Worth dismisses legal question, bans panhandling downtown | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

You can read Mr. Persaud's review of the meeting last night by clicking the title for a link. He got it mostly right. There are a couple odd recollections in it from the meeting. Former Commissioner Jennings made comments on the ordinance at the podium. She may have written something on the card that you submit to speak, but no one read from the card at the meeting. You can see this plainly in the video. He also comments that there were "several people argued against" the ordinance at the meeting. Several in this case was two. There was Cara Jennings and then, after some delay and after public comment closed, Pangiotti Tsolkas addressed the Commission.

There were two other people that came in with Mr. Tsolkas, but they did not speak. Again, the video clearly shows this. Not that big a deal, but it does make me question the acuity of Mr. Persaud's hearing and eyesight. The dictionary defines "several" (the term used in the article): being more than two but fewer than many in number or kind.

Also, it was interesting to note that City Attorney Torcivia pointed out that he had worked side-by-side with Attorney Jim Green on a number of issues and he had not received a call from him regarding any concerns with the ordinance. Again, watch the video to see what actually happened. This is how Mr. Persaud treats that part of the discussion.

Attorney James Green, with the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, has called the proposal unconstitutional because the First Amendment protects the homeless’ right to panhandle.
But city attorney Glen Torcivia has argued that similar laws passed around the country have held up in court. He mentioned Indianapolis and Worcester, Mass.

Here's the short video which will show what really happened. The Mayor gave a solid response to their concerns and enumerated the many programs the city and PBSO have initiated to deal with the homeless situation in the city.