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UPDATE: Whittier activist Joe Marsico dies Thursday at 69 - Whittier Daily News



I have never met a man more passionate about something he believed in, even when all those around him thought he was insane...


Rest in peace Joe, you will be missed.

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Sir-Ex

I can make from the article is that he is a "Whittier" activist...


what sort of activist is that?

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Smile

Ditch the cigs!!!!!!

Waves

an activist who is extremely quick and clever with his tongue

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On this life that we call home
The years go fast and the days go so slow

osirus2020

lol

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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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Well, when I first met Joe, I was all of maybe 12 years old. He lived up the street from me in a large ramshackle house, left over from the orchard days, probably belonged to one of the Quakers that littered this town way back when. Joe was a local who was rather fed up with our fine city and the way they made money, see in the lower income neighborhoods they have parking restrictions in place for 'street sweeping' days, one morning it's one side and the next morning the other. Now what Joe was fed up with was back in the day they didn't send out an officer with a ticket book, they sent out a bunch of tow trucks and if you were unfortunate enough to have left your car on the wrong side of the street it was off to impound, although more times than not it was released after the 'hook up fee' was paid to the driver.

By the way, did I mention the police chief and the tow company owner were old high school buddies?

Anyway Joe would drive around in front of the trucks in one of his fleet of classic junkers depending on the weather, with a bull horn and a dozen kids who would alert the neighbors who had indeed left their cars out that the pirates, I mean the tow trucks were coming. Like a modern day Paul Revere warning 'the tax man cometh'.

Well after a few years and a considerable amount of bad press, the city relented and now sends officers with ticket books and has done so for many years since. Joe thought it was fair, at least you came out to a ticket and not an empty space and an ever growing bill.

But that left Joe without a mission so it was on to local public transportation where he campaigned to have the city begin some sort of local bus type service and he thought nostalgic looking trolley buses should replace the three bus lines we already had serving the city. Joe did once again lead the horse to the trough but indeed as with city government, the horse had to come up with the idea to drink all on it's own. Whittier did have it's own bus line for several years using small buses capable of getting our old folk and our students a lot closer to home for a really low price but alas with three major bus companies already parading through town it was an ultimate money loser so the buses were sent off to our awesome dial a ride service.

Joe ran for office many times and I can say proudly that I voted for him more than once, ultimately his frustration with the city government turned him sour on politics even though he was perpetually on the ballot and attended city council meetings almost religiously with his prepared notes and ideas, politely (and sometimes not so politely) using his time.

After he was evicted from his home in 2008 Joe lived his remaining years in the trolley bus that friends gathered the money to buy to give to him so he could at least achieve his dream of seeing the trolleys on the streets of Whittier, even if it was his own. He refused offers of a home insisting he would never burden anyone with Joe, it wasn't his style. Joe nearly lost his trolley to the city on more than one occasion due to parking tickets and registration but his friends and sometimes total strangers would pitch in to bring Joe back his home.

Ironically it was a fall from the very trolley he loved that caused him to break a rib or two, which sent him to the hospital where he ultimately passed due to poor health and complications.


Not sure where the damned bus is right now, someone needs to do him right and find someone who wants to bury him in it.

R.I.P. Mr. Marsico, it will definitely be a little less colorful without you here...

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Mafoo

whittier is a place.


RIP joe. those street sweeper laws are the biggest joke going. around my hood, the cops drive around right behind the street sweeper, dispensing tickets to everyone parked on the street

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PLUR
For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return

Roach

in pittsburgh the street sweepers have radio communications with the police.

alot of the streets are alternate parking on alternate sides of the street on alternate days also.

but only during the summer months.

a simple law requiring all apartment houses/buildings to provide off street parking in order to be allowed to rent each unit, would solve the problem.

but that would cost the city in lost fines and impound/towing fees. In pittsburgh it's $250.

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