Your article from many years ago states, in part: “City squirrels are inordinately fond of rabies and other diseases…”
I take issue with the “rabies” assertion. It is well known that squirrels, as well as other rodents, rarely catch or transfer rabies (I’m assuming that “fond of” means that they commonly/frequently have the disease). Of course, the “other diseases” portion of the response could very well be correct (I didn’t check on it), and city officials generally frown on hunting in city limits, so your advice to avoid hunting city squirrels is probably well taken overall. But we don’t need a bunch of people out there fearing every squirrel that they see in city parks, because your chance of catching rabies from them is probably about as great as your chance of being hit by a meteor (no, I didn’t look up the stats, just making a semi-educated guess).
Link to column: How do you clean and cook a squirrel? - The Straight Dope