“If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about’’
Yup, that's the mindset all right -- here in allegedly liberal, tolerant, Democrat Massachusetts.
MEET your NEW METER MAID, Newton!
"Video eye to scan for Newton parking lapses; System will speed ticketing" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | May 10, 2010
NEWTON — Drivers be warned: In the perpetual cat-and-mouse war between parking enforcement and motorists trying to park without getting a ticket in this city, the cat just got a powerful new weapon.
I thought the POLICE were SUPPOSED TO SERVE US, not PREY ON US, American.
Automatic license plate recognition — a kind of RoboCop of the parking world that uses a panoramic video camera, laptop computer, and sophisticated software — detects cars that have been parked too long and sounds an alert to write a ticket.
Remember OH SO LONG AGO when this was about TERRORISTS and PROTECTING YOU, citizen-taxpayer?
You were WARNED at the TIME but HAVEN'T LISTENED!
Maybe you will now, though I doubt it.
The city bought three systems for $50,000 and plans to install them in parking enforcement vehicles this month.
Yup, YOUR TAX DOLLARS at work, taxpayers!
Officials believe the technology could double the number of parking tickets the city writes each year and sharply increase the $1.8 million in annual parking fees it collects.
Yup, YOUR PUBLIC SERVANTS SERVING YOU, citizen of Newton --with the front-paging Globe applauding all the way!
Newton parking officials are delighted by the prospect of machines that will allow officers to rapidly cover large swaths of the city instead of just blocks under the old system.
Drivers are not so pleased.
Hey, WHO CARES ABOUT the CITIZEN-TAXPAYERS today?
NOT the STATE, that's for sure.
“It’s outrageous,’’ Linda Jacobs, a longtime Newton resident and one of many incensed by the development, said on a recent day in Newton Centre.
Yeah, AmeriKans huff and puff then bend over.
Hugh Downing, executive officer of the Newton Police Department, had a ready answer.
“If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about,’’ he said.
Make sure you SIG HEIL the chief as you pass, citizens.
Similar technology has been put to use by a number of police departments across the state in recent years, but largely to enforce outstanding arrest warrants or hunt for serious offenders. Some communities, including Boston, use such a system to locate repeat parking offenders.
But Newton will probably be the first to systematically use the technology to detect everyday violations. Officials in communities that have bought license plate recognition systems for police work seemed bemused by Newton’s move.
Remember when it was only about terrorists and that 9/11 lie, folks?
“To me, that’s a pretty expensive piece of machinery to use for just that purpose,’’ said Brian Gilligan, a captain with the Salem Police Department. “I’ve never heard of that. We use it for law enforcement.’’
Even so, it is not hard to see the appeal of such devices in a job that is typically slow and laborious, often requiring parking enforcement officers to work on foot.
Yeah, the poor cops actually having to walk or work a beat, huh?
I don't get it.
One day the Globe loves 'em, the next day they are blaming them for busting the budget!
All in the AGENDA being SHOVED, I suppose.
In some zones where total parking time is restricted, officers must record license plate numbers and note the time by hand.
Oh the POOR BABIES! Maybe we shouldn't pay them so much!
And what if they just start SENDING OUT BILLS hoping you WON'T CONTEST and will JUST PAY to RAISE REVENUE!
Oh, right, GOVERNMENT would NEVER LIE TO YOU, Americans.
The new equipment liberates them to simply drive, letting the machine collect the information.
Oh, so the POLICE will be LIBERATED to CRUISE AROUND wasting taxpayer money and gassing up the global warming, great.
Getting the TONE of this AGENDA-PUSHING PoS, readers?
When officers repeat their routes at regular intervals, the system sounds an alert whenever it detects a car that has been in a spot too long.
“It’s really pretty slick,’’ said Gina Fiandaca, who directs the parking clerk office in Boston, where two sport utility vehicles use similar equipment to look for “boot-eligible’’ vehicles with five or more overdue tickets. “Very efficient.’’
You know who I would like to give the boot and where, right?
What state are you living in, Massachusetts citizen?
So it will be a FISHING EXPEDITION from the CRUISER!!!
Sig Heil, Bay-Stater.
I'll see you in the funny papers.
Chelsea installed systems last fall to search for cars with many past-due parking tickets, and within 45 days had collected $16,000.
“We’ve towed a ton of cars,’’ said Robert E. Griffin, a Chelsea police sergeant.
Oh, you are GOING to GET TOWED!!
That's always a NICE SURPRISE when getting back from the SHOPPING TRIP!!
Such enthusiasm by parking enforcers is often met with scorn and indignation by drivers.
And usually brought up two-thirds (or further) into the article by the agenda-pushing papers.
And watch them continue with their self-selected and slanted distortions, dear readers.
In Newton, some complain that parking rules are already too strict, with short maximum stays that make it hard to avoid tickets. Others are unsettled by the prospect of local officials gathering information about their whereabouts.
“It almost seems Big Brother-ish,’’ said Sue Mullen, 39. “It has that tone to it, and that’s not supposed to be what Newton is about.’’
Actually, it IS what AmeriKa is about now.
That is why I am angry and annoyed this morning.
Hoping to avoid a revolt, Newton officials are planning to go easy on the parking public for a while.
Yeah, they are going to f*** you slow and boil the frog.
Isn't that nice of YOUR "PUBLIC SERVANTS," taxpayers of Newton?
What, NO REAL CRIMES to SOLVE out there?
Then WHY DO YOU NEED COPS on the CRUISE?
Could SAVE some BUDGET DOLLARS THERE!
“We just want to be careful not to tread too heavily on people,’’ Downing said. “We want to take baby steps.’’
Newton residents said the parking enforcement is plenty efficient. For years, they have watched ticket-writers’ unsparing efforts with pained admiration....
And look what the Globe found for an "objector" in town:
Early Wednesday afternoon, Jacquie Parker, 63, hustled back to her car. Her meter had run out, but the windshield was clear. She had made it. But when she heard about the new system, her relief faded away.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea at all,’’ she said. “I think they should just raise property taxes instead.’’
Yeah, the pro-tax, agenda-pushing Globe can ALWAYS FIND the ONE PERSON in TOWN who SUPPORTS a TAX INCREASE!
Parker had passed up a trip to
That takes a BACK SEAT to TYRANNY and FASCISM, sir!!
Where have you been these last ten years?
Also, the LOCATION in the GLOBE'S STORY tells you HOW MUCH IMPORTANCE they apply to YOUR VIEWS, sig heil!
“You certainly don’t want to discourage people from visiting the villages,’’ said Thomas J. O’Rourke, president of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. “You want people to be able to spend time in the shops and restaurants.’’
Then I BETTER GET the RARE SPEEDY and PROMPT SERVICE and I'M MAKING a SCENE if I am WAITING for SERVICE TOO LONG!!!
NO the "STATE PUBLIC SERVANTS" do NOT SEEM to CARE about that at all -- not when there is $OMETHING EL$E at $TAKE!
Yes, dear readers, PLEASE DO NOT VISIT and NEVER SHOP in Massachusetts!
I BEG OF YOU!!!
I wouldn't want to see you getting a PARKING TICKET from our SMUG, SELF-RIGHTEOUS STATE!!!
