Newspaper delivery crew hampered by tickets

Despite several attempts to clear a parking ticket, Cal State Long Beach student Laura Head has been given the run-around by school officials.

"It's a catch 22," said Laura Head, a senior art major.

Head, who is the lead technician for the Forty-Niner circulation department, is responsible for delivering all 10,000 printed newspapers.

She also maintains the racks, which includes fixing the posters on the racks, and restocks the racks at noon and before the evening classes start.

In the past year, Head and her co-worker Joyce Qualls, a senior liberal studies major, have received between eight and 10 parking tickets.

Each time the tickets were dismissed; however, the last ticket Head received was not.

"It's a hassle because she has received so many of them," said Georganne Sparks, business manager for Forty-Niner Publications. "We can't get any good answers. Why is one department enforcing the permit, but not issuing the permits?"

The permit Qualls and Head were assigned to use during this past year allowed them to park in all parking lots and areas on campus, which include alleyways.

"In the morning before 7:30 we can drive on the sidewalks," Qualls said.  "It is hard to do the afternoon deliveries."

"They deserve the tickets," said Alan Moore, field operations manager for Parking and Transportation Services.  "They are abusing the parking permit. They are using the permits when they are in class and that is not allowed."

However, Head and Qualls received the tickets while delivering the papers, they claim.

"Each time we got a ticket the permit was valid; we weren't in class at those times," Qualls said.

At first the reason the tickets were given was because the permit was not valid, the students said. Then, the reason given was that they did not have a student permit.

"Even if our classes were canceled, do we have to get a note from our teacher?" Qualls asked.

Qualls and Head said they showed a copy of their class schedules to Parking and Transportation Services; however, they were unconvinced.

"It is only for parking when they are delivering the paper, not when they are in class," Moore said.

Head and Qualls said they do not park on campus when they are in class.

"I am an art student, so I park on the street because it is closer to my classes," Head said.  "If I do park in one of the student lots while I'm in class, then I buy a day pass and take the shuttle to upper campus."

The last ticket Head received stated her permit was not valid.

University Police Sgt. Madonna Gage issued a permit to Head and Qualls that states "For Forty-Niner Delivery."

"She is a student and we should treat her that way," said Gage, who has been heavily involved in this issue since the fall 1999 semester. "They are doing a service to the community."

On the CSULB campus, parking violators have three weeks to appeal the citation, said Nash Carrillo, associate director of Parking and Transportation Services.

Parking and Transportation Services issues the parking citations on campus; however, Facilities Management issues the parking permits for vendors and delivery people.

Facilities Management issues temporary parking permits to contractors and vendors, said Rob Quirk, Director of Plant Operations.  The department also drafts policy concerning driving regulations on campus.  This is to maintain the campus by restricting access to certain parts of the campus.