Today’s newsletter is presented by Evinco.
Hello, Navajo and College Area!
I have some good news and some bad news about the duplicate parking tickets I received and my quest for parking justice.
Bad news first, because who really wants the good news first anyway: You, my dear readers and neighbors, will not have the pleasure of accompanying me on my fight in parking ticket court…or whatever they call it.
No, I didn’t back down in the face of authority.
As I told myself— unfortunately not out loud since others were around— I was not going to shy away, not again, not ever. I was prepared to take it all the way to the top. I was ready to take it to San Diego’s Chief Parking Administrator, or whoever makes the decision on those who appeal parking tickets. For a brief second, I even wondered whether I should get my late Father’s black briefcase out for the occasion. Nothing intimidates a Top Parking Administrator more than an undersized, bald man carrying a black, fake leather briefcase…or so I have heard, though I forgot where I heard such a thing.
No, my dear newsletter compatriots, shortly after writing my newsletter informing my faithful follower, I’m hoping at least one person is in on this, San Diego’s City Treasurer’s Office sent me a message stating the duplicate ticket has been dismissed.
They said I had paid the second ticket and not the first, which was the reason that my appeal was rejected. While this explanation makes absolutely no sense to me, I plow forward. Briefcase or no briefcase, I was the victor.
While I would have liked to chronicle my parking justice journey, the fight is over…for now.
My experience made me say, out loud to myself this time since I was alone with myself at the time, I wonder how many others were not so lucky in their quest. Maybe they were not equipped with a briefcase. Who knows?
What I do know is parking enforcement officers have written more tickets so far this year than officers did through the same time last year.
City data shows that through July 31 (the most recent update), city enforcement officers wrote 329,030 parking tickets citywide. From Jan. 1 through July 31, 2025, they wrote 290,473. That’s a difference of 38,557.
With more tickets comes more challenges.
Because of this, I told myself, literally, that I will continue my fight, not for me but for you. I refuse to put my briefcase away, just yet. I plan to look at the number of parking appeals, the number of appeals that were denied, and the outcome from the city’s top parking administrator. More on this to come.
Dorian Hargrove
Mission Times newsletter host
Navajo, College Area story spotlight
Shop the Trails: Holiday Marketplace Returns to Mission Trails Nov. 14–15
By Thaïs Giraudet • Times of San Diego
Mission Trails is bringing back its annual holiday marketplace on Nov. 14 and 15, offering San Diegans an alternative to crowded malls and online holiday shopping.
Mission Times Courier thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.
More Navajo, College Area news
Mission Times Courier thanks our corporate sponsors. Find out more about sponsorships and advertising opportunities here.