the required inclusion of 'is' irks me.
I like to use an active voice. The inclusion of 'is' in each of these lines creates situations where you have to get creative to avoid using a passive voice (i.e. Joe Baka is standing here.
I feel like the removal of 'is' and allowing people to just do "Joe Baka walks along the street as he begs for handouts." and the like would be better for the game.