26034 replies to this topic

[m0nkyman]

Feel free to drop by http://www.punkhistorycanada.ca Visionary, I'd be pleased to help you enjoy a more gloves off approach to forums there.

:twisted:

hehe.

[Ms. B. Havin]

A couple of replies in today's T-C "letters" section:
[url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/letters/story.html?id=a3f9f811-2be2-4f40-88e3-d2fb7c5b2665:b84f5]No one has a right to endanger others[/url:b84f5] by Bruce Carter, chief executive officer, Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce, and [url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/letters/story.html?id=fe61ff71-ca1f-4d47-b988-e15b1c9279a2:b84f5]It's for people, so keep it clean[/url:b84f5].

Carter's letter goes straight to the point:

(...)
Businesses are not "abusing the poor." And we appreciate the argument of individual people having rights. However, when is it OK for the rights of an individual to infringe upon the rights of others?

It is not OK to occupy the doorway of a private property and to defecate, urinate and leave drug paraphernalia and garbage in your wake. It is not OK to put at risk the health and safety of other members of society because you feel you have a "right" to do all of the above. And it is not OK to jeopardize the ability of business owners and their employees to make a living by threatening the return of their customers.

This is not an issue of "abusing the poor." Our community, unfortunately, has many poor people who are not involved in any of these circumstances. This issue is about a core group of problematic and often substance-dependent individuals who don't care about anyone's rights but their own.
(...)

[TheVisionary]

Feel free to drop by http://www.punkhistorycanada.ca Visionary, I'd be pleased to help you enjoy a more gloves off approach to forums there.

:twisted:

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Yes! That http://www.punkhistorycanada.ca forum site is my kind of place. It's flaming hot!

I'm already engaged in a chat about using Star Wars Emperor Palpatine as the model for potential world leaders of Earth to bring peace and order to the warring factions of the world. Palpatine he's our man! If he can't do it, nobody can! Palpatine is the Anti-christ, I bow before your Throne of darkness. :evil: :evil: :evil:

[Holden West]

Old article from the good old days when booze was the main drug of choice to dull the pain:

[ Don't drink under the apple tree .... ]

Ken MacQueen, Southam News. CanWest News. Don Mills, Ont.: Mar 24, 1992.

VICTORIA -- It is the clear-eyed start of a fine spring day. A breeze rocks the boats of the inner harbor and shakes the trees. Blossoms rain down on passers-by.

Even the weedy apple tree under the Johnson Street bridge offers up a half-hearted floral tribute for the street people who live and die beneath a tarpaulin hung in the tiny stand of trees.

It is the deaths -- two men already this year and another suffering a seizure -- that have focused attention on this muddy spit of land; on the tree, the tarp and the bad apples that collect underneath.

Uncomfortable questions are being asked: Is there anything to be done to divert the people who flop here? Would more shelters help? More government money? Is the answer simply more acts of pure kindness, like the local waitress who raised funds for a portable toilet, and the group that periodically cleans up the worst of the broken bottles and debris.

This makeshift shelter was largely out of sight and out of mind until a reporter from the local Times-Colonist newspaper and then other media began to chronicle the lives of the so-called Apple Tree Club.

Its survival along a waterfront that includes Victoria's picturesque boat basin, its heritage business district and the looming presence of the legislature buildings has largely depended on its discrete location. Only the most intrepid tourist is likely to cross the railway tracks. Only the most foolhardy would scramble down the embankment to the underbelly of the bridge.

The apple tree is bad news. Rod and Mickey can tell you that with the clarity that comes with drinking the morning's first bottle of Listerine.

They were there yesterday, they say. Twelve guys sharing four bottles of Peking Ginseng Fine Brandy, a potent tonic that can be had in nearby Chinatown for $6 a bottle.

"You get the odd guzzler. The next thing you know, there's conflicts," says Mickey, sitting by the water near a fishing boat called Elusive Destiny.

Pass out on that ginseng stuff and you might not wake up, adds Rod who keeps the Listerine in an inside pocket of a blood -stained parka. If you do, your ID or tobacco or your false teeth might be gone.

"You lose your glasses if you're wearin' 'em," says Mickey, who jokes he's 110, says he's 39 but looks closer to his first estimate. "They'll steal the eyes out of your head and come back for the holes."

Last night the men broke tradition and slept inside at Victoria's Gateway emergency shelter. But Gateway has the funds for only limited hours, though there is pressure for a 24-hour shelter. Mickey and Rod are out at dawn facing a whole day of nothing.

"We get kicked out at quarter to seven this morning, and we're sick. We're drinkin' this crap, right," says Rod. "If we could come and go as we wish, we wouldn't be drinking this crap, and I wouldn't be drinking half the ginseng because the liquor store would be open."

Mickey considers this: "I'd still fall back." Says Rod: "Yeah, but not as bad, right?"

The image of people dying, sad gruesome deaths doesn't sit well in scenic Victoria: not with the downtown merchants; not with New Democrat MLAs still trying to keep their idealism intact in the early days of a new legislative session.

Already Health Minister Elizabeth Cull has given Victoria a $20,000 grant to develop a community plan for the homeless in the downtown core. And the throne speech has promised low-cost housing and preventive health measures through better community care and mental health services.

But the throne speech also said that money is tight.

So tight, that Salvation Army workers here, members of the B.C. Government Employees Union, are on strike, tired of living on an average wage of $8 an hour. That shut the soup kitchen and 24 dormitory beds that could go to apple tree club members on rare nights when they're neither too drunk nor too belligerent.

Victoria's woes are tame stuff by the standards of most major cities though the individual stories are no less wrenching. There are perhaps 350 to 500 homeless in Victoria. A core of about 30 sleep outside. A hierarchy of shelters takes the rest: Streetlink, the Sally Ann, if you're sober enough, the Gateway and the police drunk tank. The apple tree is rock bottom.

The airy new Streetlink emergency shelter, just a few hundred metres from the bridge, is an example of the throne speech ideal of community-level care. Operated as a non-profit charitable organization, it also includes a kitchen, a clinic and Swift House, 26 low-income apartments where former street people try to regain their independence -- many with remarkable success.

But the people under the bridge rarely stay at Streetlink, says manager Phil Ward. They arrive occasionally seeking a shower, a lunch or some first aid, but they are unwilling or unable to trade their ginseng or cooking wine or Listerine for a shot at a better life.

But there is a dignity even under the apple tree, and the deaths hit hard, says Ward. "Just like any other family would, there's a grieving process: a sense of loss and anger and outrage."

Down by the water, Mickey seems oblivious to a badly running nose as he describes the last days of his buddy Gatlin Baker, who died under the tree on Jan. 27.

Rod fumbles in a pocket and hands Mickey a crumpled tissue. It is an oddly touching gesture.

Mickey continues, describing how Gatlin would say almost daily that this was his day to die. And Mickey was always telling him, "Not today. Today is too nice."

But the 27th wasn't very nice at all, and Gatlin had been into the sauce. "He says, `I'm tired. I'm going to go to sleep.' So I covered him up, put a blanket over him. Made sure he was nice and warm."

Maybe he was already dead when Mickey left him. Maybe he was just passed out. Mickey tells it two different ways. In both versions, though, Mickey watches from a distance as the ambulance arrives and Gatlin is finally proved right.

In both versions, a person's destiny is sacred. It is not to be judged, or to be altered. It is to be accommodated.

Rod figures that Gatlin just didn't care if he died.

"It's not that he didn't care," Mickey quietly corrects him. "He wanted to."

[Holden West]

A vibrant downtown benefits all of us
City businesses working hard to address the needs of all citizens

Darlene Hollstein and Ken Kelly
Special to Times Colonist

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Re: "Abusing the poor doesn't make city safe," column, April 14. The thoughtless acts of a relatively few create perception problems for downtown Victoria. This tarnishes our image and threatens the viability of individual businesses while reducing the appeal and economic strength of our downtown.

That is bad news for the entire capital region.

Downtown is the heart of the region. Visitors and potential investors form their impressions of our community largely from what they see downtown. If it looks healthy and vibrant, the community is seen in that light. If it is perceived to be challenged, then it reflects poorly on the region.

It is in everyone's interest to have a thriving downtown.

Downtown businesses have demonstrated a generous spirit in providing contributions to assist the marginalized, to accommodate their sleeping in doorways and tolerate lounging in front of businesses. We have little patience, however, for those who abuse our goodwill and contravene municipal laws.

In its two-year existence, the Downtown Victoria Business Association has established solid working relationships with partners in our community and invested in the downtown's future.

It is important to have a healthy and welcoming downtown, not only for those who work and live here, but for the community at large.

Solutions are needed that work for businesses, residents, the marginalized and tourists. Solutions are found in developing cohesive, collaborative partnerships.

The DVBA's 12 directors are leaders in the community, voices of business and tireless advocates of change, improvement and success for all constituents.

The relationships we have built with downtown service providers, police and others led to the creation of the Clean and Safe initiative, in which we have worked with these partners to create a more welcoming downtown.

The DVBA Clean Team, comprised of youth facing challenges, works with city crews to keep streets and private property clean by picking up litter, removing graffiti and disposing of drug paraphernalia.

During the winter, the DVBA donated $5,000 to help with short-term accommodation at St. John the Divine, an initiative led by the police. We have worked closely with Our Place, neighbouring businesses, the police and the city to ensure this drop-in centre continues to provide critical services to the marginalized and extend its operation to seven days a week.

Additionally, we promote to our members the use of Cool Aid's casual labour pool for short-term employees. The DVBA has used these services for the past two years in refurbishing downtown Christmas decorations.

The downtown is the economic centre of our region. About 24,000 people work downtown. It is critical that they have a safe and vibrant working environment and it is equally critical that the customers and clients of almost 2,000 businesses feel they are safe and welcome.

Downtown is for all people. It's not "us and them," it's everyone. We invite everyone to be part of the solution, whether you are a resident, a business, government or the media.

The private property signs that have upset columnist Iain Hunter and David Johnston are simply one element in our ongoing effort to work with our partners to create a safe and vibrant downtown.

They reflect a reality, but they should not be seen in isolation.

Darlene Hollstein is chairwoman of the Downtown Victoria Business Association. Ken Kelly is its general manager.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

[gumgum]

How many homeless were there in 1992?

[Icebergalley]

Is Vibrant Victoria ready to become The Humane Victoria....?

NEAL PEIRCE Recent columns

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The 'Humane Metropolis'
-- Are We Ready?
April 1, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Cities were once celebrated as ports of trade, railway hubs, seats of smoke-belching industries. Then they became known as office and banking centers. In the late 20th century, each big town had to have its own aquarium and stadiums. Recently there's been a new mantra -- cities as magnets for ``young creatives'' in arts and entrepreneurship.

Now, another idea has surfaced. It's called ``The Humane Metropolis.'' A book with that title, edited by Rutherford Platt, was recently published by the University of Massachusetts Press and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. A conference on the topic was held a week ago in Pittsburgh.

So what is a ``humane metropolis''?

The key words seem to be green, healthy, sociable, civic, and inclusive.

A metropolis (i.e., metro region or citistate) is considered green if it fosters humans' connections to the natural world -- an idea Anne Whiston Spirn promoted in her seminal 1984 book ``The Granite Garden.'' Spirn rejected the idea -- easily absorbed if one watches too many ``concrete jungle'' films, or even televised nature documentaries -- that the natural world begins beyond the urban fringe. ``Nature in the city,'' she wrote, ``must be cultivated, like a garden, rather than ignored or subdued.''

That means renewed attention to welcoming urban parks, from entire ``green necklace'' systems within metro areas to the emerald-green sanctuary of small vest-pocket parks. Community gardens, green roofs, street trees and planted medians all count -- and today more than ever as antidotes to the ``urban heat island'' phenomenon and the spread of global warming-inducing greenhouse gases.

Recovery of barren industrial ``brownfields'' is one companion strategy; another is creating ecological habitats on such bleak sites as sanitary landfills. There's even an experiment now to nurture biodiversity atop a literal landscape of death -- the Fresh Kills landfill on New York’s Staten Island, where the World Trade Center debris was deposited.

Closely allied are ``green blue'' strategies -- handling urban water in more sensitive, planet-protecting ways, by ``daylighting'' streams once enclosed in concrete pipes and by filtering stormwater more slowly through swales and other forms of landscaping that avoid big engineering solutions in favor of nature's more modest but ecologically sound ways.

Peoples' health is the next key to a humane metropolis: to reduce asthma-inducing auto, truck and industrial pollution, and now to attack the obesity epidemic impacting American society. Public health researcher Anne Lusk calls for linear urban parks to encourage not just walking and biking but such energetic activities as running, skating and rock climbing. She also suggests ``health enterprise zones'' to encourage gyms, stores offering fresh produce and other health-oriented businesses in rundown areas.

The humane metropolis advocates would have modern cities rethought -- from street plans to entire neighborhood layouts -- to be more sociable, civic and inclusive.

Gated communities, writes Edward Blakely (now development director in New Orleans), are a prime enemy of social and shared urban experience. These areas have expanded rapidly in recent decades. Asks Blakely: ``If there is little contact, then where is the social contract? If there is no social contract, then who will support the 'public' needs of society, affordable housing, parks, health care and education?''

Sheer urban sprawl, with the long and often grueling commutes it requires, creates some of the same separation and potential polarization -- racial, economic and social -- across America's fast-growing metro regions. And as Deborah and Frank Popper write, the result of the regionwide population explosion of the last half century has been to make more and more of America's gathering places privately owned, from regional shopping malls to conference hotels to industrial parks, ``each designed to be reliably predictable and controllable.''

The ``humane metropolis'' advocates, bent on shared streets and spaces, have no single solution. Their idea is simply to protect and create all possible natural areas -- parks, greenways, forest tracts -- fostering a shared sense of ``ecological stewardship.'' They're strongly for promotion of urban gardening and farm markets. They support efforts toward environmental justice, so that low-income areas are not burdened with undue, damaging pollution.

And, of course, they aim to create welcoming, green places in cities -- nature within urban places that will draw people together to rub shoulders, recreate, have fun and, with luck, even get to know each other. Adding, they hope, social justice: as Ford Foundation official Carl Anthony writes, ``issues of race and poverty, social environmental justice, must be central to the way we envision a truly humane metropolis, bringing together people and nature in the 21st century.”

Platt sums it up: ``In the decades ahead, the emphasis must shift from limiting 'urban sprawl' to making the resulting metropolitan fabric as green, habitable, and humane as possible.''

Neal Peirce's e-mail address is mailto:nrp@citistates.com.

[Rorschach]

Could a program like this work if instituted Canada-wide?:

Kendra's Law

This is New York's law and I think they have something similar in California too.

[Holden West]

Iain Hunter, watch out because Alan Lowe is kicking your butt.

---

City, businesses tackle homeless problem

Alan Lowe, Special to Times Colonist
Published: Sunday, April 22, 2007

In his column on April 14, Iain Hunter asked: "What is the matter with the shopkeepers and business professionals in Victoria? When will they learn that their taxes and licences don't entitle them to boss everyone else around? When will Mayor Alan Lowe tell them to get a life?"

Well, I would like to respond by asking, "What is the matter with some writers of newspaper and magazine columns? When will they learn that their job doesn't entitle them to write articles that are filled with naive and simplistic comments? When will they take the time to understand all aspects of an issue before writing an article that reflects their opinion?"

Hunter continues to comment that he can "hear His Worship's chain rattling" because someone bedding down somewhere in the open in his town must concern him. Hunter is correct. I am concerned.

I am concerned that the downtown is expected to not only deal with the lack of affordable housing in this region but also the lack of effective mental-health and addictions services that are sorely needed in our community. I am concerned that because of the lack of detox and treatment beds, and emergency and transitional housing, the city is seeing more requests for gates, signs and police -- yet we know these are not the real solutions.

The city will continue to work with agencies and other levels of government to provide assistance to those in need. And we will continue to work to find more funding to support creative solutions to these problems. However, we will also continue to work with our business community to address their needs and concerns as well.

Thriving businesses mean a thriving community and we have a responsibility to provide them with a safe environment to conduct their business. The city of Victoria supports a vibrant community for all!

The city of Victoria gives grants to social agencies to assist in the work they do, and we have also provided grants to assist with the building of affordable housing. Our city has been instrumental in introducing a cold and wet weather strategy that is used each year to expand our inventory of emergency shelter beds. Our city police worked with St. John the Divine Church to provide more shelter beds last year and through my participation on the Premier's Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions, we were able to secure millions of dollars in funding for the Our Place shelter.

If Hunter feels that these initiatives show that we abuse the poor, then he is incorrect.

Hunter shows a lack of understanding of these complex issues. While he is quick to champion individual rights, he neglects to mention that with rights come responsibilities. We would welcome him to join our public works street-cleaning staff to assist with the removal of needles, urine and excrement in the doorways. We would welcome him to join our police department in assisting businesses in moving people on so that they can open every morning, and we would welcome him to spend a day with any of our social agencies to see how he can really make a difference in our community.

Hunter ends his column by saying, "Damn it, downtown is for people. All of them." If Hunter was really the caring individual that he professes to be, he would ask his mayor and council to approve a shelter, some supportive housing and perhaps a drop-in centre in his neighbourhood, since "all of them" should be welcome in all communities and not just the downtown.

Alan Lowe is mayor of the city of Victoria.

© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

[VicHockeyFan]

That reminds me, I walked thru Centennial Square twice Saturday morning, it was in very bad shape, lots of garbage, lots of urine. And this was at 11am.

[KublaKhan]

How many homeless were there in 1992?

Re: your signature...

So who's the unreasonable man in this story?

[Holden West]

T/C editorial

[url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=2a0b9a32-72fa-4470-a957-63f2daccf5ba:44cc2]Finding a solution to homelessness[/url:44cc2]

There are still significant problems, including the shortage of affordable and supported housing.

But addressing that shortage is well within our fiscal capacity. All that's needed is the will and a decision that, as a community, we don't think it's acceptable for people to be unnecessarily forced into homelessness.

That's the missing element. Governments talk about task forces and meetings and studies and spending increases.

But other communities, like [url=http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Hall/Business+Units/Community+and+Neighbourhood+Services/Social+Research+Policy+and+Resources/Affordable+Housing+and+Homelessness/Homelessness+From+Prevention+to+Cure+.htm:44cc2]Calgary[/url:44cc2], have taken action, using approaches proven in other centres. We have not.

And as a result people are suffering and we face far higher long-term costs because of our failure.

[Holden West]

This letter deals with more than homeless issues but I'll post it here anyway.

Downtown life turns threatening

Times Colonist
Published: Monday, April 23, 2007

I write this letter with sadness. I love my City of Victoria, however am beginning to lose hope for its future. My wife and I live in a turn-of-the-century home close to the Cathedral -- one of very few homes left on this street block and so close to the downtown core. We see the homeless and feel compassion, however fear is beginning to dominate.

Downtown has become a place we venture less and less even in broad daylight. More and more often we are being threatened by some of those who choose to frequent the downtown -- not necessary the homeless, yet no doubt some are.

- On Boxing Day last year just after the noon hour, four of us were challenged aggressively and threatened physically because we were not willing to meet the demand for change on Broad Street directly across from the Bay Centre. We beat a hasty retreat into the centre.

- This past Saturday standing outside a women's shop waiting for my wife at Douglas and Broughton streets I was verbally threatened when I turned my head in response to one person shouting to another whether they wanted a hit. I quickly retreated into the dress shop.

- Our company held a staff retreat on a recent Monday at a meeting centre on Fisgard. A number our staff commented they felt threatened and most uncomfortable walking along Douglas Street by City Hall to catch a bus during rush hour.

- When I walk to and from work in Rock Bay (only when there is lots of daylight) I avoid walking along Douglas, Pandora, Johnson, View and Yates at all. Now we understand the needle exchange may be coming to Rock Bay.

We have decided to sell our building and move our Victoria office, with a good chance of leaving the city proper. We know what it did to businesses operating around the present location of the needle exchange.

I travel frequently to Regina, Edmonton, Calgary and Olympia, Wash. My clients who have recently visited Victoria consistently comment on similar experiences. As tourists they no longer feel safe. As a resident I am dismayed.

It is easy to say call the police, however I am not inclined to, nor are our tourists. In most cases, the situation does not justify calling 911 and a call to a non-911 number can mean quite a wait for a response.

Tourists have better things to do and so do residents. The tourists don't return nor the friends they share their experiences with and, I as a resident retreat to the suburban malls where I feel safe.

There are those who will say I am exaggerating and an alarmist. I say I am not, nor are the tourists who increasingly find our city undesirable and are becoming fewer in number.

Sometimes it is hard to see the trees when you live in the forest, however things are not good in our downtown.

Yes, compassion for the homeless and building more residential downtown is important but we also need it balanced with a stronger police presence on foot that takes an assertive stand against the type of behaviour that is now more common than not.

I seldom see any police presence when I am in the downtown, and when I do officers are normally in a vehicle.

Paul Brown,

Victoria.
=======
Not to downplay this guy's concerns, but...

First off, any voiced threat is an automatic call to 911. Unless it's Saturday night, a call saying you were threatened will get the cops down faster than you would believe. I've called the non-emergency number and have had cars come in five minutes. A complaint like the letter-writer's is high priority.

Panhandlers know that acting in an abusive or threatening manner is a quick way to either a jail cell or a beat-down, depending on who's targeted. Even the cracked-out meth heads comprehend this.

Abusive panhandlers are very rare. I can't help but wonder if this was a two-way dialogue: ("Why don't you get a job?" "Oh yeah? F*** you!")

[gumgum]

How many homeless were there in 1992?

Re: your signature...

So who's the unreasonable man in this story?

Well to begin with: me.

[Caramia]

Nice rebuttal.

[Galvanized]

^^I've been threatened by that same "crew" on Broad St putting change in a parking meter, like most of us I didn't have time to wait around for police so I just went on my way. I've seen these guys a few times, they usually aren't in any condion to get up off the sidewalk.

[aastra]

Victoria's woes are tame stuff by the standards of most major cities though the individual stories are no less wrenching. There are perhaps 350 to 500 homeless in Victoria.

This is classic Victoria-style muddling of an urban issue. Don't worry, Victoria's homeless problem doesn't compare to San Diego's homeless problem. Yeah, no kidding. So try comparing Victoria to a Canadian city Victoria's size, why don't you? Or, better yet, why not pull that familiar stunt they always pull when they want to bend statistics, and compare Victoria proper to Kelowna or Nanaimo or Penticton?

How come nobody ever compares Victoria to much bigger cities when people are calling for relaxed height restrictions or increased densification? By the standards of most major cities (you know, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami...) the tallest proposed Bay tower would barely qualify as a highrise.

I realize this article was written in 1992 but the situation is no different today. Everything in Victoria is politicized and misrepresented into oblivion. This city just can't fess up about itself.

[aastra]

I've called the non-emergency number and have had cars come in five minutes.

One time I called them about a break-in in progress and they showed up an hour later.

[Ms. B. Havin]

Re. Alan Lowe's point that there's a "lack of effective mental-health and addictions services that are sorely needed in our community": the T-C has an "other views" column from Vancouver's North Shore News that highlights the issue, too: [url=http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=e14e1490-dade-465b-aa52-7c10de725b4d:d9917]Other Views - North Shore News[/url:d9917]:

Other Views

North Shore News

Monday, April 23, 2007

The resignation of the clinical head of Lions Gate Hospital's psychiatric department over chronic underfunding should serve as a warning for the provincial government. Our leaders cannot go on ignoring the problems created by lack of mental health funding.

The Lions Gate program is not facing its challenges alone. The problems are system-wide. Cutbacks to Riverview Hospital have left other facilities to pick up the slack. But without additional resources, it is only a matter of time before those facilities begin to buckle. Without dedicated programs, those who struggle with mental illness will be forced to turn elsewhere for help. Inevitably our hospitals and other facilities, not equipped to provide proper treatment, will be forced to step in.

Not only will the patients themselves suffer, but the system as a whole will begin to fail.

When our medical facilities can take no more, many of the most vulnerable individuals will wind up on the street.

Our government imagines that if it erodes mental health services quietly enough, no one will notice their disappearance. But the fact is the problem will resurface elsewhere, in a much more serious form.
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007

[zingzamzoom]

I agree with this letter. Having more police presence makes residents and tourists feel more safe. I live right downtown, and I rarely see police officers walking around. I remember once I was walking to work on Blanshard and a man was on a bike with no helmet on, riding on the sidewalk, on the wrong side of the road, while talking on a cell phone, and a police officer watched the whole thing happen, from his car, and didn't do aynthing. I thought that was funny. Also, I live on Cormorant Street and frequently wake up to people yelling, whether from arguments or just from being so blitzed that the only thing they can do is yell as loud as possible. Well, I call the police every time this happens, because it is a huge disruption in our building and the cops have not once come in time to solve the problem. One time we said the man was screaming that he was going to hurt or kill himself, and even then it took them over a half an hour to come. I don't know. That seems strange to me. I've also been verbally assaulted by panhandlers just because I told them I did not have any money. One morning I was sitting on a bench, eating a hot dog, and this lady in a wheelchair came up to me and asked me if I had a cig, I told her that I didn't smoke. She then asked me if I had a dollar, I said I did not. She said, "I hope you choke on that hot dog," and rolled away.

Aaron