Panhandler not deterred

Photo: Colton Davies

UPDATE 1:30 p.m.

Paul Braun says he isn’t going to be deterred by a pair of trash cans the city placed on the spot he’s been panhandling at for the past four years.

“This is asinine,” he said Tuesday. “This is the city saying, ‘I’m taking my ball and going home.’”

Braun is being prosecuted by the city for eight unpaid bylaw tickets for obstruction panhandling within 10 metres of a breezeway, a matter going to a three-day trial in September.

“This takes up more room than I do,” Braun said, "and how much intelligence does it take to realize, solar-powered garbage cans should be in the sun, not the shade.”

City lawyer Troy DeSouza released the city’s final settlement offer to Braun on May 3, which demands compliance with the bylaw and $88.

Pro-bono defence lawyer Paul Varga blasted the release as a public relations stunt, and said they declined the offer, in part, because Braun would face jail time if caught violating the bylaw in the future.

—with files from Colton Davies

ORIGINAL 9:40 a.m.

The City of Penticton’s fight with a well-known panhandler has taken a slightly passive-aggressive tone with the installation of two trash cans where Paul Braun has been a regular for the past four years.

The garbage and recycling bins appeared Tuesday morning at the breezeway on the 200 block of Main Street.

The city has been prosecuting Braun for eight unpaid bylaw tickets for panhandling within 10 metres of a breezeway, a matter set to go to a three-day trial in September.

The bylaw states “no person shall panhandle in a manner to cause an obstruction.”