Seattle is scuttling it's automated public toilets. Apparently they couldn't put the advertising on them so that they city did not have to pay the costs of maintenance.
Lance Oishi , the toilet prince of Los Angeles , ( 0nly because Jeff Catalano of Jan Perry's office is the toilet king) says that the only problem that Los Angeles is having is the problem of :But opposition to advertising is hampering the effort in Los Angeles. In 2002, the city gave CBS Outdoor and JCDecaux a contract to sell advertisements on bus shelters, kiosks and newsstands in exchange for 150 automated toilets. Thirteen are operational so far, with two more coming this fall, said Lance Oishi, who leads the project for the city. Six of the units are downtown near Skid Row, but others sit near transit stations or shopping areas, Mr. Oishi said, and, contrary to Seattle’s experience, all 13 have remained clean and largely crime free.
Neighborhood groups are blocking construction of new structures on which to place advertising, however, and that means there is not enough revenue to support additional toilets, Mr. Oishi said.
“I do feel some frustration that things are not moving as fast as I’d like,” he said.
To me it is very interesting this debate over the automated toilets. We are having success in skid row with them. It seems as if the only toilet that has a drug problem is located on Los Angeles and 5th Street.
I used the toilet at the North Hollywood station for the first time las t Week and I and some other person were jumping around waiting on the person inside to get finished. He was in there forever. You could smell the odor of crack coming from around the door. We banged on the door for this guy to hurry up, Once that old guy , who was smoking crack , walked out , the toilet had to clean itself. I swear it didn't take us long to do our business in there.
I do agree with the new York Times article though that these toilets are still susceptible to people using drugs in them. Overall , though, with people wanting to actually use the toilets and frequent them I can honestly say that, for the most part, people are actually in them doing their personal business.
I watch as the homeless in skid row line up at the toilet on 5th street and San Pedro to do what we all do in the morning and that is to take that morning leak and dump.
In the evenings, though, the toilet on Los Angeles Street becomes a place where people sell drugs around that one. And people buy their dope and then are escorted to the toilet to use that dope. What we need on that corner are brighter lights on both sides of the street.
For some odd reason when I heard news that my childhood friend was killed in a car accident I thought of another friend we used to get together with and sing this song and others. We were all a bunch of christian rednecks. Didn't drink , smoke, use drugs and searching for wives and not whoring around. Richard Feagin introduced me to the world of anime. HE went on to beome a master karate instructor. Who would have thought. He was a close friend that helped me work out lot's of questions I had in puberty. Girls and all that. Kept us out of trouble to be two guys who were waiting for the right girl to marry. HE leaves two young children and a beautiful wife. None of the renditions of this song on the internet even come close to the ozark type of twang we used. I can still sing like that. Raised on that Southern Baptist Gospel Music. I will give alist of my favorites. We used the banjo a lot. This is not my home On the wings of a dove- this is the version I remember growing u...
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