WRT the homeless, when my wife worked downtown she would remark every night that her journey up the 16th street mall every day reeked of "Pot and piss." I know one of the local news channels did some reporting on the violence and panhandling on the mall and I guess the DPD is or was going to try and crack down on it, or so they say.

Haven't really spent much time downtown in years. I know during big events the DPD pretty much clears the bums out in order to make the city look nicer but as soon as they're done, the homeless come back. I know if I was an owner of a business along the mall I'd be pretty unhappy with the city and probably looking to relocate to somewhere that is both more accessible (i.e. free parking) as well as less infested with panhandlers and druggies.