St. Petersburg council member Karl Nurse wants the city to require gas stations and convenience stores to remove all window signs in the wake of a series of violent store robberies. Without the poster advertisements, there is a greater chance criminals could be seen from the street during robbery attempts, Nurse said. For years, the Police Department has advised store owners to remove the signs, with little success. The council voted Thursday to discuss a potential ordinance in a future committee meeting. — St. Petersburg Times, Talk of the Bay, 01/09/09
Karl’s idea may sound like small potatoes to some, but I think it’s an important issue, and not just for its implications to public safety. I personally hate how trashy so many convenience stores look with their barrage of ads for Marlboro and Natural Light, so whatever the city does to clean them up, I’m for it. Having spoken with Council Member Nurse about this issue, he says that his proposal will be discussed in Council Workshop on February 6.
