The Asheville Police Department met with concerned citizens about refocused efforts to deal with a spike in violent crime downtown. Advocates for the homeless opposed the force’s Giuliani-esque approach of hauling off, for example, people cited multiple times in a single day for public urination. While the economy continues to recover, and Asheville is on target to totally eradicate homelessness in a couple years – more and more people are winding up on the streets. Some have great desires to work and contribute, but they can’t find anybody willing to feed them in return. There is a sense that the entire homeless population is being called out so as not to single out a few bad apples.
by Leslee Kulba
Wild West blogger