More Fear & Loathing in Pioneer Park

[News] Ted McDonough's recent story on Pioneer Park featured several businessmen with a sanguine approach to sharing the park with the homeless. Some businesses near Pioneer Park, however, aren't so sure when it comes to such citizens appearing on their doorsteps.

"Hit the fucking street," a man shouted several weeks ago as he stormed past the open door of fashion boutique Filthy Gorgeous on West Pierpoint Ave. He was haranguing a middle-aged derelict. "No begging on this street," the young man yelled. The offender mumbled self-defensively, then wheeled round.

Filthy Gorgeous' owner, the muscular young Keith Bryce, said the man evicting the derelict was the boyfriend of a nearby shop owner. "The homeless are harassing us," Bryce says. He tries to be cordial, he explains, but when he says he doesn't have anything to give them, several homeless people who have entered his store have become angry and shouted at him how broke they are. (Stephen Dark)