As the economy continues to flounder, panhandling continues to be an issue in the Tampa Bay area.
Officials in Pasco County say there has been a noticeable influx of those soliciting for money on city streets since the winter of 2009, and on Tuesday, the Pasco County Commission gave preliminary approval to an ordinance banning panhandlers and newspaper hawkers from the county's roadways and intersections, except on Sundays.
Such a compromise has been proposed in Tampa in recent months, but rejected because by (now former) city attorney Chip Fletcher because he said it showed favoritism to a certain class of people, whereas such a ban had to be uniform.
But an attorney with Pasco County – Kristi Wooden – tells CL that after she offered the same legal advice initially to Pasco Commissioners, her office was told to dig harder to find a way to accommodate such solicitors in a way that would withstand a legal challenge.
This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2011.