SB 33 Senate Bill - INTRODUCED

SB 33 Senate Bill - INTRODUCED: THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 53395 of the Government Code is amended to read: 53395. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that the state and federal governments have withdrawn in whole or in part from their former role in financing major, regional, or communitywide infrastructure, including highways and interchanges, sewage treatment and water reclamation works, water supply and treatment works, flood control and drainage works, schools, libraries, parks, parking facilities, open space, and seismic retrofit and rehabilitation of public facilities. (b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the methods available to local agencies to finance public works often place an undue and unfair burden on buyers of new homes, especially for public works that benefit the broader community. (c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the absence of practical and equitable methods for financing both regional and local public works leads to a declining standard of public works, a reduced quality of life and decreased safety for affected citizens, increased objection to otherwise desirable development, and excessive costs for homebuyers.
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This bill if enacted could help reverse the trend of the past four decades to shift the burden of infrastructure costs to homebuyers and mandatory membership common interest developments that effectively impose a second layer of residential property taxation via HOA assessments.

Adolf Hitler stumping for votes in Indian election

News from The Associated Press: GAUHATI, India (AP) -- Adolf Hitler is running for election in India. So is Frankenstein.
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And here I thought this was about an HOA election.

Snowplow driver covers up cars and blocks driveways—on purpose | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News

Snowplow driver covers up cars and blocks driveways—on purpose | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News: The snowplow driver calling himself Dogg has been ticking off a lot of people.

Mark Hussey, who plows the streets of Lowell, Mass., for a private contractor, made a video of himself as he buried cars in the white stuff and blocked driveways by pushing back the snow shoveled off of them. The worst part: He's loving every minute of it.
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As the perfessor would say, ain't privatization grand?

Zombie foreclosures: Borrowers hit with debts that won’t die | KDVR.com – Denver News, Weather & Sports from FOX 31 News in Denver, Colorado

Zombie foreclosures: Borrowers hit with debts that won’t die | KDVR.com – Denver News, Weather & Sports from FOX 31 News in Denver, Colorado: NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Borrowers are discovering that their foreclosed homes are coming back to haunt them — long after they have moved out.

In these “zombie foreclosures,” borrowers move out after their bank schedules a foreclosure auction only to learn months or years later that the auction never took place or the bank never transferred the deed. That means the borrower still technically owns the house and is on the hook for property taxes, fees and homeowners’ association dues.
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Zombie mortgagees team up with HOA Frankensteins.  You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.

Rumble at California country-club meeting - Associated Press - POLITICO.com

Rumble at California country-club meeting - Associated Press - POLITICO.com: RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Fists of fury flew in ritzy surroundings in the Mojave Desert this weekend. The latest big fight in Las Vegas? Nope. A homeowners’ association meeting at a Palm Springs-area country club.

The meeting at the seemingly genteel Springs Country Club, a private golf and tennis club and gated community in Rancho Mirage, turned into an all-out brawl that hospitalized two people when members threw punches - and even chairs - over a board of directors election.
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Another account of the rumble in Privatopia.  You want somma dis?

Brawl breaks out at HOA meeting in Rancho Mirage | The Desert Sun | mydesert.com

Brawl breaks out at HOA meeting in Rancho Mirage | The Desert Sun | mydesert.com:
"According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Myling Bordeau, at about 4 p.m., deputies responded to numerous calls regarding a fight at The Springs’ clubhouse at 75 Columbia Drive. The brouhaha erupted after the results of the board member election were announced, Bordeau said. “Some people were upset that a certain person won and began yelling at him and pushing him,” Bordeau said. The yelling and pushing quickly escalated to chair throwing, fist fighting and tackling."
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And a security guard drew his gun.  Fun and games all the way around.

Cactus Springs board members claim HOA president misused funds - www.ktnv.com

Cactus Springs board members claim HOA president misused funds - www.ktnv.com:
"It looks like fraud," explained Cactus Springs board member Rain Liu. Rain and another board member, Linda Laine, filed a lawsuit in January because of what they call a massive fraud perpetrated against the HOA. The lawsuit calls Hays the mastermind of ring of thieves who are accused of using up more than $300,000 of homeowners money in just seven months.

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After so many incidents of fraud and embezzlement across the nation, some running into the millions of dollars, you might think that state legislatures would be writing laws to create oversight of HOA and condo association finances. You might think they would be concerned about protecting owners who are at risk of losing a great deal of money from unaccountable board members, officers, and professionals. You might think the massive Las Vegas fraud ring alone would be enough to wake up legislatures. But you would be wrong.

Suspects Arrested In Connection With Grate Thefts Along Interstate 95 � CBS Philly

Suspects Arrested In Connection With Grate Thefts Along Interstate 95 � CBS Philly
Ain't privatization grand?  Guess who has been stealing the metal grates that cover big gaping drains on the interstate highway?

"According to PennDOT, they have been “mysteriously disappearing” over the last year, putting drivers in danger. Then came news of an arrest on Tuesday of four men, subcontractors hired by PennDOT to maintain the highways."

The Era Of Giant Chain Stores Is Over - Business Insider

The Era Of Giant Chain Stores Is Over - Business Insider
From James Kunstler:


"Though the public hasn't groked it yet, WalMart and its kindred malignant organisms have entered their own yeast-overgrowth death spiral. In a now permanently contracting economy the big box model fails spectacularly. Every element of economic reality is now poised to squash them."

Kabul’s ‘Car Guantanamo,’ Where Vehicles Rot and Trust Goes to Die - NYTimes.com

Kabul’s ‘Car Guantanamo,’ Where Vehicles Rot and Trust Goes to Die - NYTimes.com

Car Gitmo.  Sounds like a bad dream out of George Staropoli's "New America of HOA Land."

The Orwellian world of Privatopia

Check out this proposed Arizona legislation that bars local governments from generally mandating common interest developments -- unless they choose to do so for a specific development.  Loophole.  Mack truck.

you guys are weird: I think I would rather live in a haunted house than one governed by a Homeowners' Association

you guys are weird: I think I would rather live in a haunted house than one governed by a Homeowners' Association
Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for this link. It's a funny reaction to the Washington Post article linked below.