Roughly 90 tickets have been issued since March to volunteers with the loosely organized Food Not Bombs, which serves meals to people in need.

Too many of the potential jurors said that even if the defendant, Elisa Meadows, was guilty, they were unwilling to issue the $500 fine a city attorney was seeking, said Ren Rideauxx, Meadows’ attorney.

  • calypsopub@lemmy.world
    524·
    9 months ago

    The place this group chose to feed people was creating a nuisance and they were asked to move it elsewhere. They were given an acceptable place just a few blocks away, and refused to move. The story has been sensationalized to make it seem Houston is against helping the homeless.

    • Euphorazine@lemmy.world
      162·
      9 months ago

      Yeah, think of the property values. Move all the homeless a few blocks away and lower their property values until a developer buys up the whole block and then push them somewhere else. Rinse and repeat.

      • calypsopub@lemmy.world
        11·
        9 months ago

        More like blocking the sidewalk and spilling out into the streets right in front of the main library and city hall, so please move a couple of blocks to a parking lot.

    • mob@sopuli.xyz
      12·
      9 months ago

      I dont think that’s the full story?

      and in Houston, they’d been doing so outside Central Library downtown for roughly two decades. In 2012, the city passed a law against giving free meals to people in need without permission, but Mayor Annise Parker’s administration gave permission to Food Not Bombs. That position was reversed by former Mayor Sylvester Turner.

      • calypsopub@lemmy.world
        1·
        9 months ago

        Right. People complained about the library location blocking the sidewalk, so they were asked to move. The city in no way is against feeding the homeless.