3rd World City Councilor

[swake]

Totally agree Conan.  When I read the article in my morning World, I said to myself that Mautino was going to get a lot of flack for those comments.  I basically agree with him, although I may not have put it into those words.  IMO, racism has nothing to do with it and I get so sick of people screaming that invalid argument.

You agree with him? Which part?

[PonderInc]

Street vendors aren't "third world" unless NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and every other big city in America is "third world."  I think street vendors add character, variety, and interest to the cityscape. 

"Third World" does apply to many things about Oklahoma... our teen birth rate, our infant mortality rate, our incarceration rate for women, our rate of domestic violence, our decreasing lifespan, our state government theocracy... but street vendors?

I agree that street vendors need to follow health and food safety rules, but other than that, we shouldn't create barriers against entrepreneurs who are helping create something local and unique. 

[PepePeru]

Totally agree Conan.  When I read the article in my morning World, I said to myself that Mautino was going to get a lot of flack for those comments.  I basically agree with him, although I may not have put it into those words.  IMO, racism has nothing to do with it and I get so sick of people screaming that invalid argument.

So, you agree with Mautino's comments but say race doesn't have anything to do with it?
Where does your problem lie?

Let's see:
People trying to make their own living and support their own families?
People trying to get a piece of that American dream?
Maybe you have a problem with the entrepreneurial spirit these people are showing?

What if one of these guys makes killer food, saves up enough money to get a real restaurant and employs people in his neighborhood.
Do you see that as a problem?

So in Steve's & Mautino's world, if your skin is brown you're not entitled to those dreams right and you're merely trying to assimilate all the scared old white men into your culture?

[RecycleMichael]

I am confused about the different levels of permitting, zoning, oversight, etc. I don't know the health department, the city code enforcement, nor BOA/TMAPC/INCOG... see them differently.

What is the similarities and differences in the law and enforcement for each of those areas in each of these examples?

1) The hotdog guy on a sidewalk in front of the bus station (70 yards from Coney Islander)

2) The ice cream truck parked all day at RiverParks

3) The tamale guy in a parking lot of a closed business in east Tulsa

4) The kettle corn guy outside in the walkway at the Bass Pro shop

[shadows]

I am confused about the different levels of permitting, zoning, oversight, etc. I don't know the health department, the city code enforcement, nor BOA/TMAPC/INCOG... see them differently.

What is the similarities and differences in the law and enforcement for each of those areas in each of these examples?

1) The hotdog guy on a sidewalk in front of the bus station (70 yards from Coney Islander)

2) The ice cream truck parked all day at RiverParks

3) The tamale guy in a parking lot of a closed business in east Tulsa

4) The kettle corn guy outside in the walkway at the Bass Pro shop

The city is understaffed to where intertwining duties of the inspectors cannot be on the eyeball basis.  We need more city employees to keep checking on sales tax collections and to  see if there is more grants that we are missing out on.  After all we have only one city employee for every 100 live bodies.  We surely can find some more unneeded positions to fill.

There is one parking ticket writer that the city must negotiate with his union if we were to change his status quo.

During the great depression many citizens drank coffee out of tin cans in the survival camps with out health inspectors approval.