Parking Fines

THE PROBLEM -- Lack of information about parking fines and violations. THE BACKSTORY -- Alexander D. Mitchell IV doesn't dispute that he parked on Lancaster Street in Fells Point a few minutes longer than the two hours allowed. What he wants to know is whether the parking officer cited him for the correct offense. But trying to research his case to determine whether it's worth challenging, Mitchell ran into a roadblock: He couldn't find a complete list of parking violations and corresponding fines.

Baltimore is planning to hand over delinquent parking tickets to a Texas-based collections firm in an effort to recapture more than $100 million the city is owed in back fines and late penalties, city officials said yesterday. More than 107,000 vehicle owners with tickets that are at least six months overdue received notice from the city last week that they need to pay up or their cases will be turned over to the agency, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, for collection. For the first time, however, violators will be given the option of paying parking tickets on an installment plan and, as long as they continue to make those payments on time, will not incur additional late-payment penalties, city officials said.

Nearly three years after the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, College Park sought records of parking fines of student athletes, the state's highest court yesterday told the school it must turn them over.In a unanimous 24-page opinion, the Court of Appeals said student basketball players' accumulated campus parking fines and correspondence between the university and the National Collegiate Athletic Association on a player's disciplinary violations are not what the federal government had in mind when it said education records must be kept private.

The Diamondback, the University of Maryland's student newspaper, went looking for basketball stars who might have racked up thousands of dollars in parking fines and ran into a brick wall with university officials.Now, the paper's staff is hoping the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, will force the university to give up parking fine records for basketball team members in what could be a watershed case on student records.The arguments, scheduled Oct. 7 in Annapolis, have attracted the attention of five national journalism organizations that have filed briefs in support of the newspaper, as well as the U.S. Department of Education and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which support the university's position.

PARKING VIOLATORS aren't cheering, but the new parking system for Ellicott City's historic district has generated a windfall since it took effect last July. Parking enforcers have dished out $85,514 in tickets, plus change, from new meters. Parking spaces are easier to find to the delight of shoppers and tourists, at least to those who don't overstay their welcome.Except for special occasions, there never has been a lack of parking spaces in the historic district. The area has 1,050 spaces, including 180 on Main Street.

Judges of the state's highest court pointedly grilled the lawyer for the University of Maryland yesterday as she argued that federal law bars the school administration from releasing records of campus parking fines assessed to student athletes.Three of the seven judges challenged Dawna Cobb's assertion that parking fine records are educational records protected by federal law, asking why they weren't considered criminal records, which would be public.One judge wondered if it is fair to other Marylanders that the university guards the secrecy of student parking fine records but tells the Motor Vehicle Administration about other unpaid violations.

PLENTY OF things deserve the protection of confidentiality. Parking fines are not among them.When parking spaces are as rare as they are at University of Maryland College Park, the competition for finding one can be as fierce as an NCAA basketball play-off.So imagine how students, faculty and administrators must have felt to learn a couple of years ago that a basketball player had found his own way of shutting out the competition by parking pretty much as he pleased -- accumulating more than $8,000 in fines in the process.

ON BEHALF of parking ticketees everywhere I wish, like Spiro Agnew, to plead nolo contendere. There, is everyone happy? I once set a college record for most parking tickets in a single semester, and if anyone around here should be blushing, it ain't me, and maybe it shouldn't be those basketball players pursued by the University of Maryland student newspaper, the Diamondback.You read about this, didn't you? Yesterday we carried it on the front page of this very newspaper. The Diamondback wants to reveal names of basketball players at College Park who may have racked up big money in campus parking fines, and the university says, "Mind your own business."

Ellicott City's new parking plan appears to be working -- judging from its first eight months of receipts -- but merchants will have to wait before they can reap the economic benefits they were promised.The controversial plan, which began in July, includes meters in some public lots, tough enforcement in tow-away zones and a private firm to ticket motorists in the historic commercial district, which has long been troubled by parking problems.Many merchants opposed the plan, fearing that the ticketing of errant parkers would scare off customers.

COLLEGE PARK -- The day after Maryland point guard Duane Simpkins publicly apologized for accepting an improper loan to pay campus parking fines, he received another ticket.Simpkins, a senior who sat out the final game of a three-game, NCAA-imposed suspension last night, received a $20 ticket Feb. 17 for parking in a space not assigned to him. According to parking records obtained by The Sun, he has received 17 tickets and incurred $290 in fines since he discussed this problem with coach Gary Williams in November.

Direct the anger at parking scofflaws Many of us who live in the city are quite angry about those who park in our parking spaces with impunity ("Pricey tickets, bad reviews," April 20). We believe that these parking scofflaws should pay up in full, and the law is on our side. Parking laws exist to promote fairness. In residential areas, for example, motorists may occupy spaces for specific periods of time, which allows for equity, especially at times of peak demand. Parking is regulated because demand exceeds supply, and time restrictions help foster fairness.

A recent push by a city-hired collections agency to haul in roughly $132 million in overdue parking tickets has sparked complaints from some who say the fines - averaging $721 - are excessive. The agency, Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, has collected $11.6 million for Baltimore in fines and late penalties from parking scofflaws since late 2006. In its latest collections effort, which started in February, the Texas-based agency sent out 80,000 notices to people with long-unpaid tickets.

The $1.4 billion budget plan unveiled yesterday by County Executive Ken Ulman curbs spending compared with last year, but residents face increased parking fines and rises in water, trash and other fees to help pay for the proposal. The 5 percent increase in spending compared with last year is "the lowest in the last decade" with the exception of 2003, Ulman said before presenting his proposal -- the second of his administration -- to the County Council yesterday. That figure refers to general fund revenues that come from taxpayers.

THE PROBLEM -- Lack of information about parking fines and violations. THE BACKSTORY -- Alexander D. Mitchell IV doesn't dispute that he parked on Lancaster Street in Fells Point a few minutes longer than the two hours allowed. What he wants to know is whether the parking officer cited him for the correct offense. But trying to research his case to determine whether it's worth challenging, Mitchell ran into a roadblock: He couldn't find a complete list of parking violations and corresponding fines.

Baltimore is planning to hand over delinquent parking tickets to a Texas-based collections firm in an effort to recapture more than $100 million the city is owed in back fines and late penalties, city officials said yesterday. More than 107,000 vehicle owners with tickets that are at least six months overdue received notice from the city last week that they need to pay up or their cases will be turned over to the agency, Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, for collection. For the first time, however, violators will be given the option of paying parking tickets on an installment plan and, as long as they continue to make those payments on time, will not incur additional late-payment penalties, city officials said.

AN INCREASE IN parking fines is not normally a cause for celebration, but in the case of Ocean City, we must make an exception. As of July 1, parking at an expired meter could result in a $15 ticket. It used to cost $5. But here's the problem with the old fine: Since meters charge $1 per hour, it was actually cheaper for the all-day beach-goer to save his quarters and take the ticket. Drivers can moan about the expense, but at least balance has been restored to the resort's parking economics.

For thousands of Annapolis-area residents incorrectly billed last month for parking violations, the end may finally be in sight. Citation Management, the Milwaukee-based company recently hired by the city to process its parking tickets, has nearly finished frantic efforts to correct accounting problems after mailing two successive waves of erroneous bills to area drivers who had been ticketed for parking violations. Working closely with city officials, Citation hopes to set things right by mailing final correction letters to affected drivers this week.

If you're planning to illegally park at a Baltimore Ravens game this season, it's going to cost you a whopping $240 fine - nearly five times what it cost last year. Fines on illegally parked cars around M&T Bank Stadium were $52 in the 2002 season, which some fans considered a reasonable price to pay for parking, according to city officials. Fans who arrived four and five in a car would split the fine rather than observe signs only allowing parking with a special permit. Beginning with the Ravens' first home game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, the city will impound illegally parked vehicles instead of relocating them near the stadium as was done last season.

The Baltimore City Council is set to vote today on a proposal to create an amnesty for parking violators that would allow anyone to pay old parking tickets without any penalties or interest. The two-day grace period would kick in before Sept. 1, when the cash-strapped city will raise parking fines in an effort to generate $3.8 million more a year to help pay for city services. The fine increase, approved by the council May 27, would raise the fines for a parking meter violation from $18 to $21 and would include a variety of other increases for other offenses.

In Baltimore County City man gets life with no parole for home invasion, killing TOWSON - A Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday in Baltimore County Circuit Court to life without parole for his involvement in an Owings Mills home invasion and murder last year. Irvin Patrick Browne Jr., 19, formerly of the 1800 block of N. Dallas St., was the third man to be convicted for the Feb. 26, 2002, crime. Prosecutors say he and another man terrorized a group of Owings Mills college students and fatally shot Dimas Rodriguez, 20. Prosecutors say Browne was the shooter.