Parade Organizers Drop Meter Martyr
Yielding to police criticism, organizers of a parade to celebrate the opening of the Cincinnati Reds baseball season Tuesday have dropped the city’s parking meter-feeding grandmother as an honorary parade marshal.
Parade coordinator Jeff Gibbs said Saturday that Sylvia Stayton, 63, would not take part in the parade. “The last thing we wanted to do is to make everybody upset,” he said.
Stayton gained notoriety when she was arrested last year for putting coins in the expired meters of two cars as they were being ticketed. She was convicted by a Hamilton County Municipal Court jury of obstructing official business and fined $500.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
