Common Sense Prevails; Melrose Avenue Vendors Allowed To Stay

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 11:01 AM CDT in Iowa Hawkeyes Football

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In a shocking bout of common sense, Iowa City city councilors rejected a bid to ban the vendors on Melrose Avenue in favor of more regulation in the form of permits. The city already issues temporary-use permits for other local events (i.e., Jazz Fest, Arts Fest, the Friday Night Concert Series, etc.), so they'll look at those events for guidance in developing a permit system for the Melrose tailgating scene.

"We're a Big Ten university town — athletics, whether you like it or not, are very, very important to this community," Councilor Susan Mims said. (emphasis added)

No shit. At least someone recognizes the golden goose and doesn't want to kill it.

They also voiced a common opinion among opponents of the Melrose vendor ban:

Connie Champion, however, was among the council members who said Kinnick's neighbors shouldn't be surprised by gameday activities.

"They knew when they bought their property that it was across the street from the stadium," said Champion, who opposed any regulation.

Meanwhile, it won't just be the vendors along Melrose that will be impacted by the new permit system. Watch out, dude selling "Iowa Fucking City" shirts -- you're next:

The council also looked into the regulations for other vendors throughout the city, more notably those scattered throughout the city selling profane T-shirts out of cardboard boxes.

In any event, none of this means that the Evanston endgame described by Pat the other day isn't still in play (the trends relating to tailgating are still pretty clear, especially if you read The Director's excellent FanPost), but it does mean that it won't be upon us in the near future. For the forseeable future, it should be business as usual with the Melrose tailgating scene and that's very good news indeed.

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Comments

For what it’s worth, that dude’s hat looks nothing like a big ass turkey leg.

by txhawkeye on Apr 19, 2011 11:05 AM CDT reply actions

You mean it's not a poop hat?

Twitter

by The Mexican't on Apr 19, 2011 11:07 AM CDT up reply actions

I keep thinking it looks like a penis.

"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions

That was my thought

Immediately followed by, oh god, what the hell is wrong with it ow ow ow

It never gets to be easy.
Why the fuck doesn't it ever get to be easy?

by chitownhawkeye on Apr 19, 2011 11:13 AM CDT up reply actions

If that's what your idea of a penis looks like

You really need to get that checked out. Try a Z-pack.

I will give you the end kind of looks like a cross section of testicles, however.

by HawkgirlSTL on Apr 19, 2011 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions

Hey, I never said it looked like a HEALTHY penis...

"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions

I remember hearing what I thought

was you coaching yourself up from inside of my restroom. Now I understand.

Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.

by Kyle McCann't on Apr 19, 2011 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Too Easy:

by The Final Gun on Apr 19, 2011 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions 6 recs

NOW he has a penis on his head

and no, it is still not a healthy penis

"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable

by ClaybornSmash on Apr 19, 2011 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions

That penis has one huge genital wart

"Make it tasteful, but dongier" - Blackheartnopants

by Kluginator on Apr 19, 2011 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions

i used to get the dickhead award

at dicks last resort
a chain featuring ribs and
beer in quarts
and dixieland
oh so long ago,,,,,
they would roll up butcher paper they used
for table cloths
in the shape of a penis
always out of town,,,
i wont it a total of seven times
it became a challenge

Long Live the Pellican Whore - like FOREVER

by OhioHawk on Apr 19, 2011 8:04 PM CDT up reply actions

There is a Dick's Last Resort in San Diego

smack in the middle of the trendy/upcoming Gaslamp district. Loved that place and its affordable beer, but it was NOT the place to go if you were looking to find a young or attractive lady friend.

I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.

by therealCatnuts on Apr 19, 2011 8:08 PM CDT up reply actions

the other thing i remember about dick's

if you gave the waitress a buck
she would go into the men room
buy a condom, then teach you how to blow it up
over your head
basically get it over your nose
and inflate from there
leaving your mouth for oxygen
intake
oh the things i did in my youth
and i can give bocou rec’s
on woman who are neither young or attractive
but hey, i breathe through pvc

Long Live the Pellican Whore - like FOREVER

by OhioHawk on Apr 20, 2011 5:34 AM CDT up reply actions

Long Live the OhioHawk

I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.

by therealCatnuts on Apr 20, 2011 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions

I've gotta say

I was expecting Rambler to post that. Nice work

It never gets to be easy.
Why the fuck doesn't it ever get to be easy?

by chitownhawkeye on Apr 19, 2011 4:40 PM CDT up reply actions

If "The Thing" from Fantastic4 had a penis

I imagine that’s what it would look like. No wonder his wife left him.

by KegMaster on Apr 19, 2011 12:44 PM CDT up reply actions

Why? He's always hard.

Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.

by Kyle McCann't on Apr 19, 2011 3:10 PM CDT up reply actions

Looks like Garfield with his eyes closed.

Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa

by Not Marv Cook on Apr 19, 2011 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Haha! YES

by HawkgirlSTL on Apr 19, 2011 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Permits

I don’t have any problem with permits as long as they are just being used to uphold health and safety standards and not to clamp down on “indecent” merchandise like the “Iowa Fucking City” shirts. The much grayer area is with stuff like “Muck Fichigan” shirts where it’s clearly not a liscensed product but could very well fall under the parody section of “fair use”, not that you can stop those guys anyway.

"If you need a rah-rah speech at halftime, you’re playing the wrong sport." - Pat Angerer

by Flakbait on Apr 19, 2011 11:27 AM CDT reply actions

They should really look out

Those lawyers from Fichigan are cut-throat!

Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa

by Not Marv Cook on Apr 19, 2011 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions

I don't have any problem with permits

as long as they aren’t prohibitively expensive

Brunettes not fighter jets

by rockyh on Apr 19, 2011 4:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Completely unrelated.

I just realized that the photo’s caption should be “Pop! Pop!”

Twitter

by The Mexican't on Apr 19, 2011 11:39 AM CDT reply actions

You're just saying that because Chuck Ford is black, aren't you?

"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions

For Prez!

"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable

by ClaybornSmash on Apr 19, 2011 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe because Chuck has a "magnetic attitude".

Either way, better to avoid Magnitude’s TM lawyers.

by KilometersDavis on Apr 19, 2011 12:06 PM CDT up reply actions

Iowa Public Radio did a small piece about this, this morning.

I was so fucking pissed. They kept saying bullshit like “The residents directly across the street from the stadium don’t want the vendors in their yards anymore” (maybe that’s paraphrased, but it’s damn close to the direct quote). Mainly they implied or directly stated (like four or five times) that it was the folks in the shadow of the stadium who were causing this problem. BHGP has the scoop all over IPR. A quick check would have shown that it’s folks that don’t like directly across the street who are making the fuss, and a little more research (not much) would have shown that the residents are the ones that allow the vendors to be there in the first place. Journalism indeed. Dean Borg, you, while having an awesome name, should be ashamed.

They also referenced the gas line, which I’m sorry but, again, if it was really such a big fucking deal, then why is April the first time I’ve heard about it (I was at the aOSU game). They even said that Kinnick Stadium “nearly had to be evacuated”, but don’t tent stakes usually go in the ground in the morning during set-up? No one would have been in the stadium at the time (unless they meant the players… at like 6 am).

All in all, it seems like someone at Iowa Public Radio went WAY out of their way to spread dis-information. It’s not like these inaccuracies are simple mistakes. With three questions all three of them could have been cleared up in less than five minutes.

I just don’t understand.

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Apr 19, 2011 11:54 AM CDT reply actions

I don't mean this as a "They're out to get us! ESPN and IPR hate Iowa together!" type thing.

Just saying that this kind of inaccurate journalism shouldn’t happen.

Also: “…it’s folks that don’t LIVE directly across the street…”

by Eyeheartfreedumb on Apr 19, 2011 11:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Never, and I mean NEVER . . .

Underestimate laziness and apathy of journalists.

99.9 percent of the time, the conspiracy that “the media” is distorting a story purposefully is actually some reporter just throwing something together as quickly as possible so they can get to the bar sooner.

by Torbee on Apr 19, 2011 1:27 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

Everybody knows that Dean Borg is a complete booze hound.

I mean, look at the guy. He can’t even stop himself from falling out of his chair:

/I’m obviously joking. If you’ve ever seen him on Iowa Press, you’d know what a big joke I’m making here.

We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.

by WaterlooChazz on Apr 19, 2011 9:50 PM CDT up reply actions

The tent stake incident happened Friday evening

I could smell it from my house, and I thought it was a little weird. I saw the fire trucks a little later, and checked the blotter to find out what it really was a couple days later. I guess its a good thing I don’t smoke. The comment that Kinnick almost had to be evacuated is pure media sensationalism.

by DJK's bongwater on Apr 19, 2011 1:44 PM CDT up reply actions

Maybe not

depending on the gas line that got punctured, it could very well mean “evacuate Kinnick”. Gas main explosions are not a joke..

That pipeline failed just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 14. The natural gas it released blew into a fireball that scorched an area 1,125 feet in diameter, leveled two homes and injured five people, according to preliminary findings in the federal investigation. Some 100 homes were damaged in the blast,

"If you need a rah-rah speech at halftime, you’re playing the wrong sport." - Pat Angerer

by Flakbait on Apr 19, 2011 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions

And now

I see the part where you said it happend Friday evening.

1) How big was that tent stake?
2) You’d think they’d bury a gas line deeper than that…..

"If you need a rah-rah speech at halftime, you’re playing the wrong sport." - Pat Angerer

by Flakbait on Apr 19, 2011 2:20 PM CDT up reply actions

This

is exactly what I was thinking. Gas lines are normally at least 3 feet down, so it makes no sense for a tent stake to puncture it

"I shoot, I score. He shoots, I score." - Dan Gable

by ClaybornSmash on Apr 19, 2011 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions

a really big-ass tent stake?

seems logically

"Sometimes the truth gets in the way of a good story" - KF

by The Bacon Explosion on Apr 19, 2011 3:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Will they require permits for the empty can collectors

those people are scary and will cut you if you fuck with their cans.

"Make it tasteful, but dongier" - Blackheartnopants

by Kluginator on Apr 19, 2011 11:58 AM CDT reply actions

I think you just answered your own question.

"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions

They're actually very friendly

if you give them $5 and ask them to drink the contents of one of their bags.

by Ray Finkle on Apr 19, 2011 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions

Can collectors > Mountains of litter

Jack Trice Stadium - Easily one of the Top 10 Stadiums in Central Iowa

by Not Marv Cook on Apr 19, 2011 12:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Last time I was in Iowa City

…they had a piano in the ped mall where a homeless guy used to be. I guess that’s progress.

Ma'am, you're dealing here with a fully qualified male strumpet. I service the entire Quad Cities area: Moline, Rock Island, Davenport and Bettendorf. Why don't you give it a whirl? What have you got to lose? - Fred Garvin, Male Prostitute

by tigerhawk00 on Apr 19, 2011 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions

The pianos are back this year.

and the best thing is seeing an indigent playing one well. It’s funny the things that some people can still do in advanced stages of mental illness.

by PackerHawk on Apr 19, 2011 7:29 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

But they always play the same song: the theme from "The Sting."

Something, something, drifters and grifters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hig3CLNla2M&feature=related

We will become more intensity!!! --What Reading Rambler thinks Tom Brands should do.

by WaterlooChazz on Apr 19, 2011 9:57 PM CDT up reply actions

The can collectors do me a favor by cleaning shit up.

Some of them actually clean up some garbage when they take the cans.

by DJK's bongwater on Apr 19, 2011 1:45 PM CDT up reply actions

I haven't seen them clean garbage

But I definitely agree with you and Not Marv Cook that they serve a valuable purpose. The peanut brittle kids, however, I’m pretty sure are a scam.

I spent half my life's earnings on wine, women & song. The other half I wasted.

by therealCatnuts on Apr 19, 2011 7:57 PM CDT up reply actions

For whatever reason

"Watch out, dude selling “Iowa Fucking City” shirts — you’re next:" made me laugh unnecessarilly hard.

by Ray Finkle on Apr 19, 2011 12:19 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

I love when they accidentally pan to a guy wearing that shirt in the front row, then quickly switch cameras.

It happened at one of the basketball games this year.

by DJK's bongwater on Apr 19, 2011 1:46 PM CDT up reply actions

If anything Ross gives that dude too much credit

He doesn’t even have a box, he just wanders around with a armful of them screaming “IOWA FUCKING CITY.” Which I can say from personal experience is a very effective sales pitch when you’ve been drinking for 8 hours.

by NorseHawk on Apr 19, 2011 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions

The last time I saw him, he was camped out by the spiral bridge near the law school with a garbage bag full of shirts.

If I’d had $20 on me at the time, I almost certainly would have bought one.

"I want to be a cowboy. I don't want to be a panda. Pandas are boring, stupid and boring. Bad panda!"

by RossWB on Apr 19, 2011 9:04 PM CDT up reply actions

So the IC City Council isn't the COMPLETE enemy of fun...

I feel like some people who live in IC haven’t realized that they live in a college town.

"I know that I know nothing." - Socrates

by the mandenberg on Apr 19, 2011 12:23 PM CDT reply actions

You're missing the conspiracy.

If they eliminate all fun, then there is no intoxication. If there’s no intoxication there are no public urination citations. No citations = NO REVENUE.

by tigerhawk00 on Apr 19, 2011 12:38 PM CDT up reply actions