Packaged liquor isn’t the problem

Peter McMurran, Henderson

Wednesday, July 16, 2014 | 2 a.m.

The recent decision by the Las Vegas City Council to restrict package liquor sales in an effort to clean up the Fremont district is akin to placing a Band-Aid on a sucking chest wound. As my wife and I walked Fremont on a busy Wednesday night in May, we were astounded at the number of street “performers,” “carnival acts,” homeless vagrants and semi-nude “artists” assaulting our senses. It was horrific.

We had a dozen out-of-town family members with us who had heard of the renaissance of the Fremont area. We had not walked Fremont since 2012, so we decided to give it a look. Some of the “acts” on hand that night: showgirl contortionists; the “Reno PD” shorts guy; a pirate lady showing her considerable flotation devices; someone who thought he looked like “Rocky”; Captain Jack Sparrow, who looked more like an ensign; women in bikinis; three guys in diapers; and, of course, the Joker.

So the city council can now pat itself on the back and say, “We sure are cleaning up Fremont.”

No you are not. Get the trash off the street. Do these street “performers” have business licenses to conduct their cash “business” of photos by tourists?

Perhaps the mayor, the city council and the Las Vegas city attorney can relegate these street “performers” to one storefront location.

We can then call it the Fremont zoo.