Editorial: ‘Sweeping’ solution must end

Thursday, March 21, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

If progressive plans by the city of Las Vegas for homeless people were to be charted on a graph, there would mostly be a flat line until the early 1990s, when the administration of Mayor Jan Jones spoke sympathetically about the issue and supported the creation of MASH Village downtown. The line would streak upward until Oscar Goodman took over as mayor in mid-1999, when the flat line would resume.

With the exception of inspiring a homeless task force, which is fixated on long-term solutions that may never materialize, Goodman's record on the homeless has been abysmal. Haranguing these unfortunate individuals during public forums and ordering city staff to sweep them from one street to the next for three years does not register as progressive leadership. The mayor is charming when he jokes that he wants to be king so he can solve all of Southern Nevada's problems without worrying about jurisdictions. But the charm wears thin when no workable plan ever materializes for a major issue over which he does have jurisdiction.

On Wednesday the mayor who would be king announced that he does have a plan for the problem that he and his administration have created at Foremaster Lane and Main Street, where dozens of homeless people swept out of other areas have regrouped. He would not disclose details but did say the plan would be activated within days and that the situation will be dealt with "legally and humanely."

We empathize with downtown patrons who complain about the unhealthy and unsightly spectacle at that intersection. Lack of a coherent city plan has created much of the problem. We hope Goodman's plan won't leave us again asking: Where is the city going to sweep them to this time?