Begging

Dueling versions of aggressive anti-panhandling laws appeared at Los Angeles City Hall late Friday, as politicians scrambled to jump on a popular issue less than three months before they face the voters April 8.

Calling abusive panhandling "a quality-of-life crime that compromises the safety and livability of our communities," Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Tuesday signed one of the nation's strictest anti-solicitation ordinances into law. The law bans begging at bus stops, public parking lots and buildings, on street medians and freeway offramps, and within 15 feet of any bank or automated teller machine.

Every day when Don Hungerford opens his store in downtown Memphis, panhandlers demand money from him. Sometimes, they beg in front of his clothing shop on South Main Street. "There is not a day that goes by that I am not approached," Hungerford said. "I just keep walking and don't look at them." Unlike Hungerford, the city of Memphis has decided to stop looking the other way and to crack down on panhandlers.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California filed a federal lawsuit Thursday in an effort to block enforcement of Los Angeles' tough new panhandling law. The civil rights group contends that the ordinance, which was adopted by the City Council on July 2 and signed into law by Mayor Richard Riordan two weeks later, violates free-speech rights guaranteed by the federal and state constitutions.

Don't look now, but here comes that mumbling mountain man again, pushing his loaded-down shopping cart along the Venice Beach boardwalk, stabbing a muscular finger into the lotion-laden summer air. Just like always, he's got his dog on a short leash, and it's still wearing that miniature clown's uniform. With quick meandering little steps, the animal is following the cart, which holds a 20-gallon aquarium filled with small, minnow-size fish.

A City Council member and an anti-crime group are pushing for an ordinance that would require panhandlers to obtain a city business license, an issue that may stir arguments over the constitutional right to beg. Councilman Frank Feldhaus and leaders of the group "Somebody" say the city's 100 regular panhandlers operate daily, often in the same spot, making their activity a small business that should be licensed.

As tens of thousands of rush-hour commuters jostled each other out of the subway Friday morning, few noticed the shabby, gray-haired man named Bill who stood alongside a doughnut stand in Grand Central Station, wordlessly jingling coins in a battered paper cup. Occasionally, someone would pause and drop him a nickel or a quarter. At this rate, Bill said, he would probably make $4 in the next few hours.

Those considering the merits of Los Angeles' proposed crackdown on panhandlers were getting conflicting messages Monday on Blaine Street. Tommy Thompson yelled his as he walked between lines of cars stopped on the busy street west of the downtown business district. "Bless you!" Thompson said, jingling coins in an empty soda cup. "Thank you, man!" Businessman Donald LoBue's came from a sign he has bolted to the side of his printing supply business: "Don't be Fooled. Give to a Charity."

Los Angeles and other California cities and counties may bar the Hare Krishnas and other groups from panhandling at airports, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday. The state high court, reviving a 1997 Los Angeles ordinance aimed at LAX, ruled that bans on soliciting at airports do not violate state constitutional guarantees of free speech. Lawyers for Los Angeles said that about 100 individuals representing at least 15 groups solicit money regularly at LAX. Thursday's ruling is expected to lead other airports to consider ordinances similar to L.A.'s law, which would ban solicitations in the interior terminals, parking lots and adjacent sidewalks.