Great News for L.A.'s Homeless Population: 'Second Phase' of City's Plastic Straw Ban Now Underway

A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, CA. Screen grab via Fox News.

Los Angeles - homeless problem

A homeless encampment in Los Angeles, CA. Screen grab via Fox News.

The long-running housing crisis and homeless problems in California’s big Democrat-run cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have been well-documented. But the tens of thousands of those living on the streets in L.A. can rest a little easier this week as the ‘second phase’ of the city’s straw ban has gone into effect.

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KABC reports:

The first phase of the “Straws on Request” initiative went into effect in April on Earth Day, and applied to restaurants with more than 26 employees. The second phase expands the ordinance to include restaurants of all sizes, including fast food and sit down businesses.

Under the city ordinance, restaurants can only provide plastic straws if a patron asks for one.

Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell and the city’s Bureau of Sanitation held a press conference Monday morning in Echo Park to remind restaurants of the law.

O’Farrell said the law seeks to reduce “single-use plastic waste from littering our beaches and waterways.”

Per the L.A. County website, “non-compliance may result in notices of violation and $25 fines for each day the business is in violation, not to exceed $300 annually.”

CBS Los Angeles notes that the L.A. version of the straw ban goes even further than a similar law already in place at the state level:

The Los Angeles ordinance is more restrictive than a state law that bars full-service restaurants from automatically giving out single-use plastic straws because it applies to fast food restaurants and is the latest in a series of moves to by several other cities and organizations to cut down the use of plastic straws.

City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell (D), who led the effort to get the straw ban in place, told a journalist during a news conference this week that in his opinion people didn’t really need straws to drink with anyway. He also provided smoothie drinkers with some helpful advice:

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Twitter users had a some thoughts and questions after reading the news about Phase Two of the straw ban and O’Farrell’s suggestion:

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Fox News took an in-depth look at the homeless crisis in Los Angeles back in August. Watch their report below to find out just how bad it is, and what L.A. is (not) doing about it:

Infuriating.

(Hat tip: Twitchy)

Flashback –>> Disabled Woman Tweets Epic Thread Demonstrating the Absurdity of Plastic Straw Bans – and Her Rant Goes Viral

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— Based in North Carolina, Sister Toldjah is a former liberal and a 15+ year veteran of blogging with an emphasis on media bias, social issues, and the culture wars. Read her Red State archives here. Connect with her on Twitter. –

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