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to set up ongoing housekeeping at that busy corner, undeterred by the daily presence of police officers. Lacking a specifically appli- cable ordinance to enforce, the officers are powerless to act. At the same corner, others are permitted to hawk their palm frond "art" unmolested. With the will to do so, Ordinance 30-3 (Obstructing Pedestrian or Vehicular Traffic, for example,) could be "tightened" to prohibit these activities. Pretending that the mere presence of a police officer will deter conduct not specifically prohibited by law is as futile as our present ordinances. Frank Brenner Sarasota LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Leader wel- comes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone num- ber of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Let- ters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other fac- tors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader. the homeless population generally disperses" (emphasis added). His conclusion: "The ordi- nances are effective, but the existing laws need to be enforced." I respectfully disagree. The issue is not one of crowd dispersal alone, nor is it exclu- sively a problem of homelessness rather than vagrancy. In any event, police observation or presence (which an offender is free to ignore) is no substitute for enforcement of specific ordinances. The city attorney's response is a tacit admission that the present ordinances are not up to the job. There is no more public place than the cor- ner of Main Street and Lemon Avenue. Yet, a vagrant of long standing has been permitted Don't have your own subscription to The Sarasota News Leader? Subscribe for FREE and receive a weekly notification when the latest issue is available online. FREE SUBSCRIPTION OPINION Sarasota News Leader June 20, 2014 Page 99