Last week, the municipality took a major step against dog owners who do not clean after their pets.
By PEGGY CIDORSAFRA SQUARE is cracking down on delinquent dog owners.(photo credit: FLICKR)
Who’s job is it?What happens when different authorities try to shift responsibilities between them? In one particular case, the result is a scenario where a desperately needed 400-space parking lot in the city center is built and ready… but is still closed to the public.The large parking lot, which can hold up to 400 cars, has been ready for use for least three months, but cannot be used due to lack of permits from the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC). The IEC cannot deliver the permit because the contractors that worked on it haven’t finished, so the municipality is prevented from delivering the special permit required (Tofes 4).Officially, some of the work on the electrical equipment has been postponed because the teams needed to work on them were busy preparing schools for the start of the school year. However, a source at Safra Square said that a lack of manpower is strange, considering that the IEC is one of the largest companies in the country.Regardless, it has been over two months since the school year began, and even the High Holy Days have long since passed. And yet, those precious 400 parking spaces are still inaccessible to the public.Stinky harvestLast week, the municipality took a major step against dog owners who do not clean after their pets. On one day, municipal supervisors sat and waited for dog owners in certain areas to catch anyone breaking this law, and ended up giving out 25 fines. A fine can cost thousands of shekels. The municipality has stated that supervisors will sit waiting for dog owners in locations across the city, but did not disclose where and when.The fine against dog owners that don’t clean up after their pets was first put into legislation by mayor Uri Lupolianski about 12 years ago, but there is a general consensus at the municipality that they have been too lax in enforcing it, which has caused the situation to get out of hand.Space for youthA new center has opened in Talpiot, designed to offer improved early clinical intervention for the city’s young residents, as Eytan Halon reported earlier this week in The Jerusalem Post.Already operating a center in Bat Yam and over 100 centers in Australia, "headspace" is the perfect place for young people to feel safe and secure in seeking help and talking to a professional about what is on their mind. Anyone feeling depressed or in crisis can come and get the help they need at headspace, free of charge and bureaucracy – just for the asking.Please contact headspace at headspace.org.il or call 054-929-9740.Aaron Reich and Eytan Halon contributed to this report.
