St Louis ,2018 Halloween ; Pastor Raymond Redlich and Christopher Ohnimus, both employees of New Life Evangelical Center in St. Louis; believe it is their duty to help feed the hungry .
So they get a bunch of bologna sandwiches and go to a park to distribute the food to the homeless.
They get citations that say that there is probable cause for arrests for distributing food without a permit .

The city at least had the good sense to not prosecute the charges . Still the 2 sued .


Redlich v. City of St. Louis, 550 F. Supp. 3d 734 | Casetext Search + Citator (https://casetext.com/case/redlich-v-city-of-st-louis)

They wanted to continue feeding the hungry and now knew that they would be cited and perhaps charged the next time.
But the US District Court in St Lois ruled for the city's ban. This year the 8th Circus court confirmed the lower court ruling .

Panel rules against church leaders who gave bologna sandwiches to homeless | Courthouse News Service (https://www.courthousenews.com/panel-rules-against-church-leaders-who-gave-bologna-sandwiches-to-homeless/)


How could they have distributed balogna sandwiches to the homeless within the proper terms of the ordinance ? They couldn't .
The law requires them to provide a 48 hour notice to the city . The law mandates the purchase of a $50 temporary food service permit to distribute "potentially hazardous foods". It requires the presence of a handwashing station, potable water, and "food-grade washtubs."
The law prohibits the serving of any sandwiches that contain meat, poultry, eggs . But the law allows for hamburgers and hot dogs ; foods that "only require seasoning and cooking."

G:\FinalOrdinances_Session09-10\68597x00.wpd (stlouis-mo.gov) (https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/upload/legislative/Ordinances/BOAPdf/68597x00.pdf)

Maybe they should've fried the bologna and added salt.

The real bottom line in this is that it is permissible to provide food for the homeless. But the politicians of the city need to wet their beaks first .

The two men must keep up with the times. They should have been out there distributing free coupons for sex-change operations or passing out free needles to addicts.

The real bottom line in this is that it is permissible to provide food for the homeless. But the politicians of the city need to wet their beaks first .

This sure reads like a bizarre story as you are reporting it. I'm sure you got your facts right, but I didn't understand the part about the politicians "wetting their beaks". I get the phrase, just not how it applies in this instance.

a $50 permit fee

a $50 permit fee

Thank you. I agree with you.

Years ago, I started a small business and had to pay $5 to register the name. When I asked the clerk what the $5 was for, she said, "To pay for the office to register the name". I was dizzy with the Kafka-esque answer, and went to the nearest saloon to get the kinks out of my brain.

We definitely agree with that . The best example of this I can find is the price of a yellow taxi medallion in NYC . What it does is deny opportunity for people moving up the ladder to improve themselves .

2014 they were selling for $1 million a piece . Then the yellow cabs got competition from Uber and Lyft. The price of the medallion dropped to $25 thousand . Still way too much.

What was on the bologna sandwiches? Hellman's or Miracle Whip?

We definitely agree with that . The best example of this I can find is the price of a yellow taxi medallion in NYC . What it does is deny opportunity for people moving up the ladder to improve themselves .

2014 they were selling for $1 million a piece . Then the yellow cabs got competition from Uber and Lyft. The price of the medallion dropped to $25 thousand . Still way too much.

In my day growing up in the Bronx, the medallion was 40K. Or maybe 400K - can't remember.

It's an excellent example of government attempting to fix and regulate and prevent problems that needed frequent oversight to account for changing circumstances. The medallion owners became powerful and prevented government intervention. Then Lyft and Uber arrived and blew the whole mess out of the water.

A case study of a government program that was good but turned bad when it abrogated its responsibility - AND how the people that were initially helped got greedy. Both sides - right and left - screwed up. The free market - Lyft and Uber - resolved the issue, an example of good capitalism.


What was on the bologna sandwiches? Hellman's or Miracle Whip?

Mustard, of course! Mayo on bologna? Gaaaaggghhhhh

Back before medallions an immigrant would save their money ;buy a car ,put a taxi sign on the car ,and be in business. When he made enough money he would buy more cars and hire his brother friend or other family . Soon he had a fleet .

Then a bunch of them got together and decided to lobby local pols ;classical rent seeking stuff to PREVENT competition . The medallion became the coin of the realm. Now the immigrant who wanted to drive a cab for a living has no chance to become a taxi driver in the city ... that is until the yellow cab again had competition. Mark may words . Government intervention will screw that up too,

Mark may words . Government intervention will screw that up too,Excessive regulation usually comes from a serious problem of some sort that the government claims to have the answer to. Then we find that the answer itself is worse than the problem. The whole silly issue of "hate crimes" is a perfect example. I kill someone, but if that person is white, male, and straight, then it is assumed it was not a hate crime. But is a "hate crime" murder somehow more serious than a non-hate crime murder? Wouldn't it be better to simply enforce the law and not pretend to be able to examine the intent of a person's heart?