panhandler

16 Stories

He Blamed Panhandler for Killing Wife, but Lie Fell Apart

Keith Smith convicted of murder in Baltimore; daughter helped him concoct fake story

(Newser) - Update: A Maryland man has been convicted of murdering his wife before trying to pin it on a panhandler. Keith Smith, 55, was found guilty Thursday of stabbing Jacquelyn Smith in 2018, reports the Baltimore Sun . Smith told police a panhandler killed his wife while trying to steal her purse,...

Teacher Begs on Street Corner for Classroom Supply Money

Tulsa's Teresa Danks says she spends up to $3K of her $35K salary on supplies

(Newser) - She probably could've tried GoFundMe , but Teresa Danks came up with a different plan for raising money to buy supplies for her third-grade classroom: Stand on a corner in Tulsa, Okla., and beg for it. FOX23 reports on the unusual crowdfunding effort by the teacher, who says she spends...

Guy Gives 'Panhandler' $3, Gets Fined $175

Homeless guy was actually an undercover cop

(Newser) - A Canadian man has learned the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished—in fact, it sometimes comes with a $175 price tag. Dane Rusk was driving in Regina, Saskatchewan, when he "saw this homeless guy holding a sign" near a stop sign, per CTV News . He grabbed...

Panhandler Expects Ticket, Gets Lunch

Passerby snaps a photo

(Newser) - Lynn Murphy, a homeless mother of four, was panhandling on a road in Fall River, Mass., when she noticed a state trooper driving toward her. She was thought she was going to get a citation. Instead, she got lunch, ABC News reports. Trooper Luke Bonin, in plainclothes as he returned...

Mass. High School Student Begging for College Tuition

That's not an exaggeration

(Newser) - Emily Stutz is begging to get into college—as in really begging. On Saturday, the high school senior from Lowell, Mass., was at a shopping center holding a sign that read: "H.S. Senior. No $ for College. Anything helps," reports CBS Boston . "My first day outside...

Cops: Boy Hugs Beggar, Beggar Swipes His iPhone

'God bless you,' the man reportedly said

(Newser) - A teenage boy is regretting hugging a panhandler after giving the man some spare change in Harlem. Police say the 14-year-old Bronx boy gave $1 to a man who looked to be in his 30s while waiting for a train home from school around 6pm on Thursday, per DNAInfo New...

Business Owner Shames Panhandlers With Own Sign

The photo is going viral

(Newser) - Two panhandlers at a busy intersection in Muscatine, Iowa, had a sign claiming they were "broke and hungry." But when a nearby business owner offered them a job to make some cash, they declined ... so he wrote a sign of his own. "Offered these guys a job....

Hip SF Guy Gives Panhandlers New Signs

Anthony Bustos tries to help homeless with better signage

(Newser) - Would you give change to a homeless guy carrying the shabby sign, "Poor, hungry"? San Francisco social entrepreneur Anthony Bustos saw such a man and "had no inclination to give alms" to him, he says—but realized he might feel differently if he'd seen a better...

Cashless Society May Doom Panhandlers
Cashless Society
May Doom Panhandlers
OPINION
Apr 8, 2014 4:54 PM CDT

Cashless Society May Doom Panhandlers

People are carrying less money on them in the digital age: Megan McArdle

(Newser) - If you're like most, you carry fewer dollar bills and coins around these days than in the past. We're edging ever closer to a cashless society, and Megan McArdle at Bloomberg observes that this trend could take a toll on a group that often doesn't get much...

Panhandler Gets $86K for Returning Diamond Ring

Missouri woman raises money to thank homeless man

(Newser) - Honesty paid off for a panhandler in Missouri who found a diamond ring in his change cup—and gave it back to its owner, the Huffington Post reports. Sarah Darling was so grateful to have the ring again that she raised more than $86,000 to thank Billy Ray Harris...

To Curb Panhandling, San Francisco Tries ... Puppies

It will pay panhandlers a stipend to care for shelter's pooches

(Newser) - San Francisco is taking a novel approach in its never-ending fight to limit panhandling in the city: In a word, puppies. As the Chronicle explains, the city will soon start a program in which panhandlers get paid a small stipend, say $50 a week, to forgo their begging and instead...

Oakland Schoolkids Sent to 'Panhandle' Daily

Students parked on streets to raise $175 a day

(Newser) - Kids from a private religious school in Oakland are parked on San Francisco streets up to 4 hours daily to "panhandle," a local investigation has found. Students boast they make up to $175 a day selling snacks for the St. Andrew Private School, which is run out of...

Panhandlers More Often Pros Than Cons
 Panhandlers More Often 
 Pros Than Cons 
ANALYSIS
Sep 22, 2008 4:21 PM CDT

Panhandlers More Often Pros Than Cons

It's a full-time gig for some, and cities make little headway with efforts to stop begging

(Newser) - Panhandling has turned professional, with determined and resourceful "spangers"—spare-change artists—overwhelming street corners throughout the country, some pulling in as much as $40,000 a year, Steven Malanga writes in City Journal. Beggars can even turn to the web for shakedown tips. If that seems like an...

SF Meters Will Take Coins for Homeless

City, aiming to cut panhandling, will give change to non-profits

(Newser) - San Francisco’s got a new plan to address panhandling: The city is installing old parking meters in popular begging areas where passers-by can drop their spare change rather than giving it to panhandlers. The money will go to local non-profits to help the homeless, the Chronicle reports. “We're...

Panhandler Reunited With Missing Dog

Concerned public helps give distraught owner new leash on life

(Newser) - A now famous Chicago panhandler said he was "speechless" yesterday during his ecstatic reunion with his 12-year-old mutt, Reba.  A sympathetic public mobilized into action last week after learning that Tom Finley had lost Reba and was too upset to eat or sleep, the Chicago Tribune reports. A...

Panhandler Begs For Lost Pooch, his 'Best Friend'

Anti-cruelty society and locals rally behind itinerant owner

(Newser) - A Chicago panhandler has gone from begging for loose change to asking after a lost pal, the Chicago Tribune reports. Sixty-nine year-old Tom Finley says he last saw his canine "best friend" outside a McDonald's, and believes someone took her in the hope of giving the dog better care....

16 Stories