Free Republic

KEENE, N.H. — In most places, the parking enforcement officer reflects the municipal compact. Armed only with a gadget that can spit out a ticket at the forgotten drop of a dime, the officer quietly serves civic and commercial life by ensuring that meters are fed. In most places, yes. But not here in charming Keene, where parking officers figure in a philosophical tug of war between a small band of activists who live by the motto “Free Keene,” and the great majority of residents who were unaware that their city was in bondage. Keene’s two parking officers, both women,...

The city of Keene, New Hampshire, is suing a group of do-gooders for allegedly topping off parking meters of strangers. The group, which calls itself "Robin Hood and his Merry Men," likes to leave notes on the windshields of cars that are in danger of getting a ticket due to an expired meter, according to the Union Leader.

The clown, who gained international notoriety 15 years ago after he was cited for feeding quarters into other people's expired parking meters, arrived back in the Santa Cruz, Calif., area Tuesday after spending the previous six years in Las Vegas, a city he says is known for being "fun for the whole family" but whose economy the recession has devastated. While there, Mr. Twister _ aka Cory McDonald _ worked for Fairfield Resorts while also performing as a clown at pool parties, DJ'ing various events and "showing off certain skills within the latex manipulating world." But after going from earning...

I spent last week staring at parking meters. And wondering if I was witnessing the beginnings of a boycott. Boycott is probably too strong a term. Quiet rebellion may be more like it. Whatever the word, on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. there were at least 10 open parking meters down one short block of Clark Street next to Lincoln Park. At noon in Wicker Park, where Milwaukee Avenue is usually packed with parked cars, there were open meters waiting. And at 2 p.m. around the Sheraton Hotel on Columbus Drive, a place where normally you can't crowbar your car into...