September 18, 2003

• Radio, radio
  The jump from commercial TV to public radio has made WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay much happier. He even finds the controversies more interesting.

• Summer cram courses move to fall
• Service changes aim to lure riders
• U.S. falls on social progress index

• Research: The skinny on the French? They eat less
• Faculty Feature: Teacher helps students go native in Russia
• Staff Q&A: Call it luck or call it craft, but Amy Calhoun has managed to float into her perfect job

• Ask Benny: Permit-holder asks why car was towed
• Course raises doctors' cultural consciousness
• A song in the key of LIFE
• Eternal vigilance is the price of security
• Give it up for Aaron!
• Out and About: Beyond belief

• Event Listings
• Editor's Pick: You gotta believe
• People's Choice: Shops we'd like to see

• News Briefs
• Bookquick from the University Press
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• At Work with...Caroline Couture
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ASK BENNY

Permit-holder asks why car was towed

Illustration by Bo Brown

Dear Benny,
I have a permit to park in Garage 14 at 38th and Spruce streets. In the past, if you drove a car without your permit sticker into the garage, you received a warning. This time, my car was towed and I was charged $100. When I appealed the bill, they denied my refund. You cannot enter this garage without a key card, so why was my refund denied?
— Stuck in Park

Dear Parking Space Cadet,
The answer to your question can be found in the rule book you received when you gave Transportation and Parking the license plate registration for the car that actually has the Garage 14 permit, according to the people I spoke with in that office.

Even though Penn’s permit-only garages have secure key card access, people determined to park without authorization have found ways to do so. This is why Transportation and Parking requires permit holders to notify them beforehand if they plan to drive a car other than the one attached to the permit into a permit-only garage. Since you failed to do this on the day in question, your car was towed and you are responsible for the towing charge, as stated in the rule book.

Dear Benny,
There used to be a fine minimalist sculpture called “We Lost” on the grass triangle between the library and College and Logan halls. Has it ever been re-sited?
— Fine Art Fan in Biddle Law Library

Dear Art Patron,
When last I looked into this question (“Ask Benny,” Current, March 28, 2002), the new site for “We Lost” had not yet been chosen. University Architect Charlie Newman now tells me there is one: along Locust Walk west of St. Mary’s Church. The sculpture will be placed there as part of the landscape component of the high-rise College House renovation project. Newman could not give me a specific date for its return, but said it would be before the end of the project.

Got a question for Benny? You can ask Benny about benefits, worklife issues, University history or trivia, or other matters pertaining to life at Penn. Send it via e-mail to current@pobox.upenn.edu or via regular mail to the Current, 200 Sansom Place East, 3600 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6106. A Current coffee mug goes to those whose questions we publish.