Next... Get Rid Of The %#^*@ Drums

Night of Lights by Charles Dickinson

The news is big folks. Here it is.........................The City Council voted unanimously to ban vendors from the Plaza. Visual art is exempt from this ban since these things are protected constitutionally under the First Amendment. City Commissioner Susan Burk stated that the vendors ''ruined the Night Of Lights". If the St. Augustine Record is reporting correctly, the letters to the editor seem to support her contention. Art In The Market supports free speech and freedom of expression. This does not mean that the selling of cheap trinkets made in Singapore is free expression. This is a slippery slope but there are some guidelines set up by the courts and the City would do well by referencing these prior court cases. Our Assistant City Attorney Robin Upchurch has taken the position that SHE is the arbiter of what qualifies for full First Amendment protection. Since we now have a full time City Attorney named Ron Brown perhaps he will not posture as a decision maker but will actually quote the guidelines which are fairly straightforward (we have gone over this before in previous posts). Link