Whether you're a CAR novice or an old pro, city parking ticket records offer a wealth of story opportunities.
Ron Brown of the Roanoke Times & World-News investigated his city's "Car Wars" in a series published earlier this year. (Call the IRE/NICAR resource center, 314-882-2042 for a copy.) With the help of computerized municipal records, Brown found how much Roanoke is earning from parking tickets, how many it dismisses, and the top 10 blocks for parking violations. Other statistics included the top grossing police officers and a list of the most common types of violations.
But even better, Brown also found a few surprises on his list of frequent offenders.
The police officer assigned to drive former Mayor Raymond Flynn had every parking ticket issued to his personal car, a 1987 Jaguar, dismissed. The tickets totalled $355.
At the top of the list was Roanoke's Chief Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Betty Jo Anthony - someone, Brown wrote, who makes a living enforcing the rules.
And before she could be identified, Times & World-News columnist Kathleen Wilson stepped forward with her own admission of excessive fines.