Controversial stickers being sold in Ocean Beach have been joined by hats and t-shirts.
"All over, all over. People are coming from out of town to buy these stickers," business owner Tony Chavez said.
On Newport Avenue, business is booming for The Black Head shop, at least for a few items in particular. They're down to their last couple hats and t-shirts and of the 3,000 stickers with the same message, not one remains.
But the message they bare is more than some can bear.
The stickers read, "Please Don't Feed Our Bums." It’s a message that business owners and residents, like Chavez, say reflects an increasing amount of trash and violence.
A case in point is a running brawl among transients near the Ocean Beach pier on Labor Day, 2007, caught on home video by a local resident who can be heard wailing "Oh my God, what is with you? You guys are sick!" as she recorded the scenes.
The "Don't Feed Our Bums" message is aimed directly at Good Samaritans who serve the homeless food in various forms, and under conditions that don't comply with county health laws -- leaving trash behind, and more transients flocking to the area.
On the other side of the street, another side to the issue. Darlene Clark has lived on the streets of OB for ten years.
"It really causes a problem, especially with the way the economy is, we need all the money we can get here," Clark said. "You know, it's the new people that run in and out of here that only spend a week or two that are being aggressive to the business owners."
