Las Vegas Sun

December 1, 2009

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NLV works with street vendors

Bob Shemeligian

Friday, March 28, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

When it comes to dealing with illegal street vendors, North Las Vegas Fire Chief Michael Massey believes the old axiom that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Code enforcers, under the jurisdiction of the fire department, have begun handing out literature to street peddlers warning them that they could be cited if caught selling goods without a business license.

"I thought, why not treat this like we would a fire, and the least devastating fire is the one that doesn't happen," said Massey, meaning that it's better to try to educate street vendors rather than cite them.

North Las Vegas is one of several area cities that have experienced problems in recent months with growing number of illegal street vendors, many of them peddling ice cream and hot snacks from hand carts.

While area officials acknowledge that many of these vendors are impoverished immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries who are trying to earn a living, they point out that the businesses are often not sanitary and never licensed.

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