Better late than never....

Wow. The Baltimore Scofflaws have been in existence for one week, and we’re already making progress. I’ll quickly bring everyone up to speed so future posts will be more current.

March 9th

- Called the Baltimore Sun to see if they were interested in the story. The Day Editor for the City Desk said he hadn’t heard anything about this, and a reporter would look into it on Wednesday. He mentioned that he liked the angle of people using the internet to unite for a common cause.

- Called my state delegate’s office to see what his people thought about the situation we found ourselves in. His Annapolis phone number went straight to voicemail and told me to call his local office. So I called his local office number….which went straight to voicemail and told me to call his Annapolis office. Hilarious.

- Called my state senator’s office. I was shocked when I actually talked to his secretary, and wasn’t given the voicemail two-step. I explained our situation, and she even admitted there are probably a lot of people within our ranks who were wrongly accused. Despite the likely injustices, she informed me the senator probably would not be able to help, as our situation was under the purvey of city regulations, and the senator only makes laws. I wondered aloud, “What if I find the city’s regulations to be unjust, and a law needs to be made to change them?” Silence. “You should probably just send an e-mail to the senator.” Again, I wondered, “Who answers the senator’s e-mail?” To which she promptly replied, “I do!” Awesome.

- Called my US Congressman. Left a message and they called me back later that afternoon. They were very forthright about giving me the proper contact information. If I wanted the congressman to get involved, I’d need to send a letter to his Chief of Staff. Easy enough.

March 10th

- Started e-mailing different websites in the Baltimore Blogosphere to see if they were interested in the story. Within an hour, Stephen Janis from investigativevoice.com e-mailed me back.

March 11th

- Talked with Stephen on the phone, and explained our plight. He was very interested in the story and wanted to meet.

March 12th

- Met with Stephen, he took a few pictures and took any information that I had gathered regarding ticket amnesty programs, the numbers I’d crunched concerning the city’s clever attempt at extortion, and any stories I’d gathered so far of other people screwed along the way.

March 13th

- The first report of our story hits the web, thanks to Stephen Janis. He also mentioned I should join him on the Ed Norris Show this Tuesday morning. No problem.

Word has it our story may have stirred the pot, so keep telling other Baltimore Scofflaws about our burgeoning community, and stay tuned for the latest. Thanks for everyone’s support, advice, and commitment thus far.