Target of Las Vegas HOA investigation detailed scheme, bribes in secret documents | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Benzer is the alleged "mastermind" of the whole scheme. This report is explosive and Benzer's attorneys went to court to stop the Las Vegas Review-Journal from publishing it. Read it and see how ridiculously easy it is for somebody with money to take over an HOA board.
update: I read the motion Benzer's lawyer filed and this is how the timeline unfolded:
On August 5, one of the co-defendants, Benzer's former attorney Keith Gregory, filed a motion to sever his trial from Benzer's. Then on September 16, Gregory's attorneys filed this previously-secret document in support of the motion, consisting of a report of Benzer's confidential talks with the prosecution in which he explained how the scheme worked. The plea talks fell through, and the statements can't be used against Benzer, but they are very damaging to any defendant. For example, here is how reporter Jeff German relates some statements about Keith Gregory:
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Benzer, 47, admitted he gave his personal lawyer, Keith Gregory, a $10,000 bribe for work on the HOA takeover at the Vistana condominium complex in southwest Las Vegas. Gregory is also under indictment. Benzer recalled paying Gregory from his personal account “as a ‘thank you’ for ‘working with us.’ “When questioned as to exactly what he meant by thank you and whether the payment was more accurately described as a bribe payment, Benzer advised that the term bribe was ‘your language’ and he didn’t like to use that term, but that the answer was ‘basically yes,’ ” reads one report.
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Gregory's attorney asked the court to keep the documents under seal and mistakenly also thought that the government would agree to keeping them secret, but instead the US Attorney's office opposed keeping them secret.
So, on September 17, the court unsealed the documents. The next day, Gregory's attorneys made a motion to withdraw the documents, and asked the court to seal them. The court agreed on September 19, and sealed and struck them from the record.
But it was too late, because during the few days when the documents were in the record of the case, Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German obtained a copy. German has been all over this story like a blanket.
On October 30, the defense attorneys learned that German was doing a story on the secret documents. They went to court that day and filed a motion (you can read it on the LVRJ story that I linked to--the whole motion is there) asking the court to stop the publication. A "prior restraint" on publication is almost never justified, so I don't think it would have been granted, but in any event it is too late for any court to stop the publication. The story is out and you can read it for yourself.
Saturday, November 01, 2014
Homeless women to stay in Frisco home for now after HOA loses motion | Dallas Morning News
Homeless women to stay in Frisco home for now after HOA loses motion | Dallas Morning News
"MCKINNEY — A transitional living program for homeless young women will be allowed for now to continue operating in a Frisco neighborhood. District Judge Jill Willis ruled Friday that a Frisco homeowners association failed to meet its burden for temporary injunctive relief. The PR2 Homeowners Association had sought to keep the nonprofit City House from moving more women into its home while a civil case is pending. Two women and one child live there now. The case filed by the HOA against City House continues. No trial date has been set. Chad Robinson, who represents the HOA board for the Plantation Resort 2 community, declined to comment after the ruling. He said he needed to consult with his clients. Robinson argued during Friday’s hearing that the HOA’s deed restrictions require that homes be used for single-family residential purposes only. He said single-family use means people who are related by blood or by law. Texas courts have also allowed other limited uses, such as nannies or an incidental renter. He argued that City House’s transitional living program for up to eight women was not a single-family residential use."
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So this looks like an HOA-flavored NIMBY dispute. The people who want to keep out the "undesirables" have CC&Rs to use as their legal lever.
"MCKINNEY — A transitional living program for homeless young women will be allowed for now to continue operating in a Frisco neighborhood. District Judge Jill Willis ruled Friday that a Frisco homeowners association failed to meet its burden for temporary injunctive relief. The PR2 Homeowners Association had sought to keep the nonprofit City House from moving more women into its home while a civil case is pending. Two women and one child live there now. The case filed by the HOA against City House continues. No trial date has been set. Chad Robinson, who represents the HOA board for the Plantation Resort 2 community, declined to comment after the ruling. He said he needed to consult with his clients. Robinson argued during Friday’s hearing that the HOA’s deed restrictions require that homes be used for single-family residential purposes only. He said single-family use means people who are related by blood or by law. Texas courts have also allowed other limited uses, such as nannies or an incidental renter. He argued that City House’s transitional living program for up to eight women was not a single-family residential use."
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So this looks like an HOA-flavored NIMBY dispute. The people who want to keep out the "undesirables" have CC&Rs to use as their legal lever.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Myrtle Beach area HOA owners complain
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2014/10/30/4571043/myrtle-beach-area-hoa-complaints.html
Guess what? There was another public meeting about possible legislation at which people living in HOAs and condos complained about developers and board members making their lives miserable.
If I am reading all this correctly, they can be assured that more legislative tinkering will take place at some point in the near future. That is all.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Developer buys scores of Detroit's worst houses in $3.2million 'blight bundle'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2813166/The-blight-bundle-6-300-Detroit-s-worst-houses-real-estate-developer-just-bought-3-2million.html
"Anywhere else, a property developer who buys a bundle of foreclosed houses, abandoned factories and disused churches for a mere $500 a piece would be hailed as a genius.
But this is Detroit. And Herb Strather's $3.2million purchase of 6,350 homes is being called foolhardy. To be sure, there are plenty of gems in the city's 'blight bundle.' A 170,00-square-foot factory that's still in good shape, a three-story brick home built in 1915 that most recently sold for $185,000, a lovely Tudor-style house that's ready to move into and a five-bedroom that simply needs a new roof. But city officials tell the Detroit News that 2,000 of the properties are vacant lots. More than 3,000 will need to be torn down immediately...The city put strenuous rules on the buys of the 'blight bundle' requiring the buyer to either demolish and clean up all 6,350 properties within the next six months or offer a development plan. 'Now what we have to do is find out if indeed this group is serious about taking on such a task. And if they're willing to do so, we're willing to listen,' Wayne County Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski told the Huffington Post.
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And at an estimated cost of $10,000 for each demo, the development group could have to pay up to $30 million just to clear the ground--almost ten times their current investment. Is that how things will unfold, or is there a plan to cherry-pick the nicest properties and profit from them piecemeal? The city is looking at major redevelopment, but private investors may well be thinking about making money off the good stuff.
"Anywhere else, a property developer who buys a bundle of foreclosed houses, abandoned factories and disused churches for a mere $500 a piece would be hailed as a genius.
But this is Detroit. And Herb Strather's $3.2million purchase of 6,350 homes is being called foolhardy. To be sure, there are plenty of gems in the city's 'blight bundle.' A 170,00-square-foot factory that's still in good shape, a three-story brick home built in 1915 that most recently sold for $185,000, a lovely Tudor-style house that's ready to move into and a five-bedroom that simply needs a new roof. But city officials tell the Detroit News that 2,000 of the properties are vacant lots. More than 3,000 will need to be torn down immediately...The city put strenuous rules on the buys of the 'blight bundle' requiring the buyer to either demolish and clean up all 6,350 properties within the next six months or offer a development plan. 'Now what we have to do is find out if indeed this group is serious about taking on such a task. And if they're willing to do so, we're willing to listen,' Wayne County Chief Deputy Treasurer David Szymanski told the Huffington Post.
-------------------------
And at an estimated cost of $10,000 for each demo, the development group could have to pay up to $30 million just to clear the ground--almost ten times their current investment. Is that how things will unfold, or is there a plan to cherry-pick the nicest properties and profit from them piecemeal? The city is looking at major redevelopment, but private investors may well be thinking about making money off the good stuff.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Marin County HOA nixes solar panels. Because.
http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_26758081/marin-resident-denied-solar-panels-by-homeowners-association
Same old story. The HOA has virtually unfettered discretion to say no. They did.
Same old story. The HOA has virtually unfettered discretion to say no. They did.
Monday, October 27, 2014
Flagpole fight attracts attention of Hancock County prosecutor - 13 WTHR Indianapolis
Flagpole fight attracts attention of Hancock County prosecutor - 13 WTHR Indianapolis: HANCOCK COUNTY - There's a new twist in a veteran's fight to keep his flagpole despite threats by his homeowners association. The homeowner says it stands for freedom, but the homeowners association says it violates policy.
The story generated hundreds of comments on WTHR's social media pages. Now it appears the prosecutor in Hancock County could join the front yard feud with a civil lawsuit.
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This is the first known instance of a local prosecutor jumping into an HOA flag flap amid the usual negative media attention and public comment directed at the HOA. According to the report, the prosecutor's office is giving the HOA until November 1st to back down.
The story generated hundreds of comments on WTHR's social media pages. Now it appears the prosecutor in Hancock County could join the front yard feud with a civil lawsuit.
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This is the first known instance of a local prosecutor jumping into an HOA flag flap amid the usual negative media attention and public comment directed at the HOA. According to the report, the prosecutor's office is giving the HOA until November 1st to back down.
Worst abuse of adhesion contracts ever?
http://www.citylab.com/work/2014/10/mapping-where-jimmy-johns-ex-employees-are-forbidden-to-make-sandwiches/381634/
Jimmy John's makes the kids who slap sandwiches together sign a non-competition agreement that effectively makes them unemployable in the fast food industry for two years after they quit.
Jimmy John's makes the kids who slap sandwiches together sign a non-competition agreement that effectively makes them unemployable in the fast food industry for two years after they quit.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Armored vehicle helps collect civil judgment in small town
Armored vehicle helps collect civil judgment in small town
"When officials in the tiny Town of Stettin in Marathon County went to collect a civil judgment from 75-year-old Roger Hoeppner this month, they sent 24 armed officers. And an armored military vehicle."
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The police chief says that while Mr. Hoeppner was not known to be violent, he was "argumentative." That's why the police are not apologetic for this ludicrous show of military force. The old police motto "To Protect and Serve" only makes sense these days if you realize that the police are protecting and serving themselves much of the time.
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Overmyer v. Frick--new theory for HOA rights?
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=405&invol=174
The Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives from the 11th District in Pennsylvania is a civil rights attorney named Andy Ostrowski. He has a theory that HOAs violate a principle he sees in the US Supreme Court case of Overmyer v. Frick, which is linked above. The issue in the case involved an Ohio law that allowed people--usually debtors trying to get one more chance from their creditor--to give up all their due process rights and confess judgment in advance, if they defaulted one more time. This was legal under an old doctrine called "cognovit." The Supreme Court ruled that cognovit notes were not unconstitutional, provided that the waivers of due process were adequate. Ostowski thinks that maybe HOAs and condos require inadequate notice and the agreements are unconstitutional. Interesting theory, but I think it is far-fetched. The problem is that the court ultimately ruled in favor of cognovit.
Here is Ostrowski's statement of how he thinks this applies:
https://www.facebook.com/Floridiansact/posts/637732836340842
And here is the court's explanation for upholding the cognovit provision. You be the judge.
The Democratic candidate for the US House of Representatives from the 11th District in Pennsylvania is a civil rights attorney named Andy Ostrowski. He has a theory that HOAs violate a principle he sees in the US Supreme Court case of Overmyer v. Frick, which is linked above. The issue in the case involved an Ohio law that allowed people--usually debtors trying to get one more chance from their creditor--to give up all their due process rights and confess judgment in advance, if they defaulted one more time. This was legal under an old doctrine called "cognovit." The Supreme Court ruled that cognovit notes were not unconstitutional, provided that the waivers of due process were adequate. Ostowski thinks that maybe HOAs and condos require inadequate notice and the agreements are unconstitutional. Interesting theory, but I think it is far-fetched. The problem is that the court ultimately ruled in favor of cognovit.
Here is Ostrowski's statement of how he thinks this applies:
https://www.facebook.com/Floridiansact/posts/637732836340842
And here is the court's explanation for upholding the cognovit provision. You be the judge.
"Even if, for present purposes, we assume that the standard for waiver in a corporate-property-right case of this kind is the same standard applicable to waiver in a criminal proceeding, that is, that it be voluntary, knowing, and intelligently made, Brady v. United States, [405 U.S. 174, 186] 397 U.S. 742, 748 (1970); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S., at 444 , or "an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege," Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464 (1938); Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S., at 439 , and even if, as the Court has said in the civil area, "[w]e do not presume acquiescence in the loss of fundamental rights," Ohio Bell Tel. Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n, 301 U.S. 292, 307 (1937), that standard was fully satisfied here.
"Overmyer is a corporation. Its corporate structure is complicated. Its activities are widespread. As its counsel in the Ohio post-judgment proceeding stated, it has built many warehouses in many States and has been party to "tens of thousands of contracts with many contractors." This is not a case of unequal bargaining power or overreaching. The Overmyer-Frick agreement, from the start, was not a contract of adhesion. There was no refusal on Frick's part to deal with Overmyer unless Overmyer agreed to a cognovit. The initial contract between the two corporations contained no confession-of-judgment clause. When, later, the first installment note from Overmyer came into being, it, too, contained no provision of that kind. It was only after Frick's work was completed and accepted by Overmyer, and when Overmyer again became delinquent in its payments on the matured claim and asked for further relief, that the second note containing the clause was executed.
"Overmyer does not contend here that it or its counsel was not aware of the significance of the note and of the cognovit provision. Indeed, it could not do so in the light of the facts. Frick had suggested the provision in October 1966, but the first note, readjusting the progress payments, was executed without it. It appeared in the second note delivered by Overmyer's own counsel in return for substantial benefits and consideration to Overmyer. Particularly important, it would seem, was the [405 U.S. 174, 187] release of Frick's mechanic's liens, but there were, in addition, the monetary relief as to amount, time, and interest rate.
"Overmyer may not have been able to predict with accuracy just how or when Frick would proceed under the confession clause if further default by Overmyer occurred, as it did, but this inability does not in itself militate against effective waiver. See Brady v. United States, 397 U.S., at 757 ; McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 772 -773 (1970).
"We therefore hold that Overmyer, in its execution and delivery to Frick of the second installment note containing the cognovit provision, voluntarily, intelligently, and knowingly waived the rights it otherwise possessed to prejudgment notice and hearing, and that it did so with full awareness of the legal consequences.
Insurance Co. v. Morse, 20 Wall. 445 (1874), affords no comfort to the petitioners. That case concerned the constitutional validity of a state statute that required a foreign insurance company, desiring to qualify in the State, to agree not to remove any suit against it to a federal court. The Court quite naturally struck down the statute, for it thwarted the authority vested by Congress in the federal courts and violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause."
Delaware ombudsman office getting started
http://www.delawareonline.com/story/news/local/2014/10/20/ombudsman-weigh-homeowner-association-disputes/17639817/
This legislation is only a few months old. One more state goes the ombudsman route, giving unit owners someplace to turn other than the courts. It is a necessary reform, but not sufficient to address the unmet needs.
This legislation is only a few months old. One more state goes the ombudsman route, giving unit owners someplace to turn other than the courts. It is a necessary reform, but not sufficient to address the unmet needs.
You need this condo pony
http://www.npr.org/2014/10/21/357816986/you-definitely-need-this-condo-pony-and-other-products-from-skymaul?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2045
And to think I never knew there was such a thing as a condo pony.
And to think I never knew there was such a thing as a condo pony.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Property manager accused of stealing $180,000 from HOAs
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/chamblee-man-allegedly-stole-50000-homeowners-asso/nhpD3/?ref=cbTopWidget
"A Chamblee property management company owner is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from homeowner’s associations.
So far, police in Dunwoody and Chamblee tell Channel 2 Action News reporter Mike Petchenik they’ve filed charges against Michael Sisson, and they say more charges are possible. Darwin Johnson told Petchenik his Midtown condo association hired Sisson a few years ago to manage their property near Piedmont Park."
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There have been so many such incidents around the country that I have lost count. Industry representatives invariably say these are "isolated incidents," which would be true if you stretch the meaning of "isolated" to include every state where you find a significant number of HOAs and/or condos.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Sarah Jessica angers homeowners association - Yahoo Maktoob News
Sarah Jessica angers homeowners association - Yahoo Maktoob News: Parker returned to the building earlier this month to stage a photoshoot for her footwear brand, placing the shoes on the steps and posting pictures of them on her Instagram.com page.
However, the stunt has infuriated the local homeowners association, who claim the actress failed to obtain proper permission to gain access to the steps, reports contactmusic.com.
Gerald Banu, president of the Perry Street Association, said: "I heard about the shoot. They didn't get the permission from the owner. The situation with 'SATC' visitors is still very intense.
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Sex, shoes and the HOA. Maybe this will lead to a Hollywood production. Been a while since the Falls at Arcadia X-Files episode.
However, the stunt has infuriated the local homeowners association, who claim the actress failed to obtain proper permission to gain access to the steps, reports contactmusic.com.
Gerald Banu, president of the Perry Street Association, said: "I heard about the shoot. They didn't get the permission from the owner. The situation with 'SATC' visitors is still very intense.
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Sex, shoes and the HOA. Maybe this will lead to a Hollywood production. Been a while since the Falls at Arcadia X-Files episode.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Veteran not backing down after homeowners association says his flag pole must go | Fox 59
Veteran not backing down after homeowners association says his flag pole must go | Fox 59: “We do not tell anyone they cannot fly a flag. What we are having a problem with is the flag pole. Flag poles are not allowed in this association,” said Kaye Eckert, president of the Fieldstone HOA board.
Eckert said the association has tried to compromise.
In September, they sent a letter saying the couple could keep the flag pole, if they paid a $500 fine to cover legal costs. Bob Willits would not budge.
“That flag is very personal to me,” said Willits, “That means a lot to me.”
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More bad press for Privatopia, Indiana secktor. Film at 10 on Fox 59, Indianapolis.
Eckert said the association has tried to compromise.
In September, they sent a letter saying the couple could keep the flag pole, if they paid a $500 fine to cover legal costs. Bob Willits would not budge.
“That flag is very personal to me,” said Willits, “That means a lot to me.”
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More bad press for Privatopia, Indiana secktor. Film at 10 on Fox 59, Indianapolis.
HOA troubles? Legislators want to hear them : News : CarolinaLive.com
HOA troubles? Legislators want to hear them : News : CarolinaLive.com: Have any concerns, questions or issues with your homeowners' association?
The Horry County Legislative Delegation will host a public hearing on homeowners' association issues on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in Horry Georgetown Technical College's Burroughs and Chapin Auditorium.
Connie Turner, administrative assistant for the delegation, said the format will be question and answer.
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Trouble in Privatopia, South Carolina sector? The Legislature wants to know.
The Horry County Legislative Delegation will host a public hearing on homeowners' association issues on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. in Horry Georgetown Technical College's Burroughs and Chapin Auditorium.
Connie Turner, administrative assistant for the delegation, said the format will be question and answer.
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Trouble in Privatopia, South Carolina sector? The Legislature wants to know.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Least subtle walling out of the poor award
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2799262/no-entry-haves-wealthy-michigan-suburb-erect-fences-middle-streets-stop-detroit-nots-driving-city.html
Building a brick wall across the street sends the message: if you are from Detroit, you aren't welcome in Grosse Pointe Park.
Building a brick wall across the street sends the message: if you are from Detroit, you aren't welcome in Grosse Pointe Park.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Pay to Prey: Report on privatization
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2014/10/12620/pay-to-prey-governors-facilitate-the-predatory-outsourcing-of-americas-public-services
This is a report on the way Republican governors have allowed corporations to profit from privatization deals at the expense of the public and the people who are supposed to be receiving the services. Some of the stories are pretty lurid. From the report:
This is a report on the way Republican governors have allowed corporations to profit from privatization deals at the expense of the public and the people who are supposed to be receiving the services. Some of the stories are pretty lurid. From the report:
"Outsourcing of public services is a big business. Some experts estimate that $1 trillion out of the $6 trillion the federal government, together with state and local governments, spend annually are handed over to private contractors. In 2010, an electoral landslide ushered in a new breed of governors. Aided and abetted by corporate-funded legislative and lobbying groups, such as the American Legislative Exchange Counsel (ALEC), these governors pushed the envelope of outsourcing and privatization, selling public services to for-profit firms with their powerful political lobbies and related campaign contributions. In this process, transparency and accountability are lost and the public loses its ability to influence decision makers through normal democratic channels. Shared prosperity also suffers when good middle class jobs are lost to low-road, low-wage employers. In states across the country, schools, health care, prisons, prison food, water services, road services, state liquor sales, state economic development authorities, legal services, and even child support services were outsourced to private, for-profit companies. While the governors spoke of tight budgets and cost savings, a pattern emerged of influential corporate lobbyists and deep-pocketed campaign contributors In this effort to shrink government and sell off the prosperous parts to private interests, the winners are large corporations with a phalanx of lobbyists and campaign coffers big enough to buy political influence. All too often, taxpayers find themselves on the losing side."
Friday, October 17, 2014
The Making of Ferguson, MO
http://www.epi.org/publication/making-ferguson/
"In August 2014, a Ferguson, Missouri, policeman shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. Michael Brown’s death and the resulting protests and racial tension brought considerable attention to that town. Observers who had not been looking closely at our evolving demographic patterns were surprised to see ghetto conditions we had come to associate with inner cities now duplicated in a formerly white suburban community: racially segregated neighborhoods with high poverty and unemployment, poor student achievement in overwhelmingly black schools, oppressive policing, abandoned homes, and community powerlessness."
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This is a detailed and balanced account of how Ferguson became what it is today. Public policies, real estate industry practices, and other institutional factors contributed to the situation. My colleague Dennis Judd's article about segregative practices is cited.
"In August 2014, a Ferguson, Missouri, policeman shot and killed an unarmed black teenager. Michael Brown’s death and the resulting protests and racial tension brought considerable attention to that town. Observers who had not been looking closely at our evolving demographic patterns were surprised to see ghetto conditions we had come to associate with inner cities now duplicated in a formerly white suburban community: racially segregated neighborhoods with high poverty and unemployment, poor student achievement in overwhelmingly black schools, oppressive policing, abandoned homes, and community powerlessness."
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This is a detailed and balanced account of how Ferguson became what it is today. Public policies, real estate industry practices, and other institutional factors contributed to the situation. My colleague Dennis Judd's article about segregative practices is cited.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
SFR Investments v. US Bank
The Nevada Supreme court has ruled that:
"NRS 116.3116 gives a homeowners' association (HOA) a
superpriority lien on an individual homeowner's property for up to nine
months of unpaid HOA dues. With limited exceptions, this lien is "prior to
all other liens and encumbrances" on the homeowner's property, even a
first deed of trust recorded before the dues became delinquent. NRS
116.3116(2). We must decide whether this is a true priority lien such that
its foreclosure extinguishes a first deed of trust on the property and, if so,
whether it can be foreclosed nonjudicially. We answer both questions in
the affirmative and therefore reverse."
The result is that an investment company bought a house for peanuts at an HOA foreclosure sale, and the sale wiped out the first mortgage on a house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wow. I have placed the full opinion on mckenzie-law.wikispaces.com for anybody to download.
"NRS 116.3116 gives a homeowners' association (HOA) a
superpriority lien on an individual homeowner's property for up to nine
months of unpaid HOA dues. With limited exceptions, this lien is "prior to
all other liens and encumbrances" on the homeowner's property, even a
first deed of trust recorded before the dues became delinquent. NRS
116.3116(2). We must decide whether this is a true priority lien such that
its foreclosure extinguishes a first deed of trust on the property and, if so,
whether it can be foreclosed nonjudicially. We answer both questions in
the affirmative and therefore reverse."
The result is that an investment company bought a house for peanuts at an HOA foreclosure sale, and the sale wiped out the first mortgage on a house worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wow. I have placed the full opinion on mckenzie-law.wikispaces.com for anybody to download.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Construction company builds dream home--on the wrong lot
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2793069/couple-outraged-construction-company-built-680-000-oceanside-dream-home-wrong-lot.html
I've heard of banks foreclosing on the wrong house, but this is a first.
I've heard of banks foreclosing on the wrong house, but this is a first.
Bad news for builders?
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/talking-numbers/this-chart-spells-trouble-for-home-builders-215720049.html
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a financial story about an exhange traded fund (ETF) that includes the home building industry. Bad news for builders?
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a financial story about an exhange traded fund (ETF) that includes the home building industry. Bad news for builders?
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'They may be called home builders,but this year their stocks are portfolio wreckers.Those who had the misfortune of buying the ETF that tracks the home builders (trading under the ticker symbol XHB) at the beginning of the year are in the red by 14 percent.The XHB is now trading at its lowest levels this year and according to the charts, it could get a lot worse."
Friday, October 10, 2014
New city policy in Whitefish prohibits gated communities | Missoula Local News - NBCMontana.com
New city policy in Whitefish prohibits gated communities | Missoula Local News - NBCMontana.com: City leaders say gated communities just don’t match the city’s vision for growth.
There are currently two gated communities. One of them, Grouse Mountain Estates, wants to add more gates. They currently have two gates inside the subdivision and want to expand with more gates at the front. It would eliminate public traffic to the roads.
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Gates are for ranches, not communities.
There are currently two gated communities. One of them, Grouse Mountain Estates, wants to add more gates. They currently have two gates inside the subdivision and want to expand with more gates at the front. It would eliminate public traffic to the roads.
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Gates are for ranches, not communities.
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Out of control federal deficit? Not so much.
Here are the facts from the Congressional Budget Office on the federal budget deficit that every Republican in America says is spiraling out of control:
"Relative to the size of the economy, that deficit—at an estimated 2.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—was slightly below the average experienced over the past 40 years, and 2014 was the fifth consecutive year in which the deficit declined as a percentage of GDP since peaking at 9.8 percent in 2009."
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49450
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/49450
Fired doorman shoots property manager
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/news/local/va-hospital-called-police-on-condominium-shooting-/nhcRf/?__federated=1
Seems that the property manager fired him as doorman.
"Police apprehended the man who allegedly shot a Palm Beach property manager in the head Friday morning after the suspect went to the VA Medical Center Hospital in Riviera Beach for medical treatment, Public Safety Director Kirk Blouin said Sunday."
Seems that the property manager fired him as doorman.
"Police apprehended the man who allegedly shot a Palm Beach property manager in the head Friday morning after the suspect went to the VA Medical Center Hospital in Riviera Beach for medical treatment, Public Safety Director Kirk Blouin said Sunday."
Florida Couple Keeps Statues of Jesus, Virgin Mary on Property Despite Threat of Legal Action by HOA
Florida Couple Keeps Statues of Jesus, Virgin Mary on Property Despite Threat of Legal Action by HOA: A couple in Florida will be allowed to keep statues of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary on their property after initially being told by a homeowners' association that they could not.Enock and Ines Berluche of Kissimmee will not have to remove the statues, after being told by the Shingle Creek Reserve at the Oaks Homeowners' Association that they had to do so.
The Berluches were given legal help by the Orlando-based conservative law firm the Liberty Counsel, which was founded by Mat Staver.
Sunday, October 05, 2014
Why the shocking growth of economic inequality in the US is not a big political issue
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/why_economic_inequality_is_not_a_bigger_political_issue_20141003
Because, says David Sirota, Americans have no idea how huge the gap really is, and that makes the Democratic Party afraid to use this as an issue in the 2014 election. But the way I see it, this timidity is what leaves the Democratic base dispirited, and that leads to low turnout, and that means a repeat of 2010. Republicans aren't afraid to rally their base, but Democrats are.
Because, says David Sirota, Americans have no idea how huge the gap really is, and that makes the Democratic Party afraid to use this as an issue in the 2014 election. But the way I see it, this timidity is what leaves the Democratic base dispirited, and that leads to low turnout, and that means a repeat of 2010. Republicans aren't afraid to rally their base, but Democrats are.
"If critics of income inequality are wondering why the growing gap between rich and poor hasn’t been a more potent political issue in the upcoming elections, a new study offers some answers: Americans grossly underestimate this inequality. That’s one of the key findings of a survey showing the gap between CEO and average worker pay in America is more than 10 times larger than the typical American perceives. In the report, Harvard University and Chulalongkorn University researchers analyzed survey data from 40 countries about perceptions of pay gaps between rich and poor. In every country, respondents underestimated the size of the gap between CEO and average worker pay. In the United States, for example, the researchers found the median American respondent estimated that the ratio of CEO to worker income is about 30-to-1. In reality, the gap is more than 350-to-1."
"The country simply can't go on like this"
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Man_With_The_Disease
From Charles Pierce, writing about the ebola fear-mongering by right wingers, in which science and medical opinion are simply ignored:
From Charles Pierce, writing about the ebola fear-mongering by right wingers, in which science and medical opinion are simply ignored:
"The country simply cannot go on this way, with one of our two political parties completely insane, and with a counter-cultural universe that claims the right to promulgate its own science as equal to the science produced by actual scientists, and with this dangerous lunacy treated as legitimate by powerful people who ought to know better. As I once wrote, it doesn't matter how many people vote for the anti-gravity party, you still can't flap your arms and fly to the moon. A dangerous disease is not a matter of debate. Your profitable fantasy and the reality of the disease do not deserve an equal place in the discussion of what we as a society will do about the disease. The response is going to have to be precise and empirical. It is going to have to be impatient with cant, and immune to the delusions on which demented ideology feeds. And, most important of all, we are going to have to trust each other, and we are going to have to trust our government, which is the political manifestation of all of us, no matter what 30 years of Reaganite heresy has taught us. We are going to have to trust ourselves as individual citizens, and we are going to have to trust ourselves as partners in the creative act of self-government. I am afraid we will not, because there is one side of our politics who will stand in the way, and another side of our politics that is too frightened or too polite to call dangerous nonsense to account, and to shun the people who are promoting it. And that is what scares me the most about the man in Texas with the disease."
Friday, September 19, 2014
Nevada high court makes key ruling on HOA liens | WashingtonExaminer.com
Nevada high court makes key ruling on HOA liens | WashingtonExaminer.com: LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that a lien held by a homeowners association can override a deed of trust involving a first mortgage on the property.
Real estate investors in Las Vegas who have been buying foreclosed property at bargain prices claimed a victory in the ruling on Thursday.
The state Supreme Court overturned an earlier Clark County District Court decision and ruled in favor of SFR Investments Pool 1, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported (http://tinyurl.com/pupczsg).
Homeowners associations can place liens on properties within their communities for unpaid fees. Unpaid association dues land in a super-priority lien that must be paid off first when a foreclosed home is sold.
Real estate investors in Las Vegas who have been buying foreclosed property at bargain prices claimed a victory in the ruling on Thursday.
The state Supreme Court overturned an earlier Clark County District Court decision and ruled in favor of SFR Investments Pool 1, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported (http://tinyurl.com/pupczsg).
Homeowners associations can place liens on properties within their communities for unpaid fees. Unpaid association dues land in a super-priority lien that must be paid off first when a foreclosed home is sold.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Ayn Rand-style libertarian paradise fails to produce bliss
http://www.salon.com/2014/09/16/ayn_rands_capitalist_paradise_lost_the_inside_story_of_a_libertarian_scam_partner/
Well, I'm just shocked--shocked, I tell you--to hear that Galt's Gulch didn't pan out.
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Well, I'm just shocked--shocked, I tell you--to hear that Galt's Gulch didn't pan out.
-----------------------------
"In Rand’s novel the great, throbbing “motor of the world” (it’s made of executives, remember?) retreats to an Atlantis-like idyll known as “Galt’s Gulch.” Without their ingenuity and drive the nation descends into chaos, leading many long pages later to their triumphant return and anointment as leaders of a new libertarian order. Which gets us to the fraud charges now swirling around a venture called “Galt’s Gulch of Chile.” Its website is currently down, but it’s still being promoted as a real-world retreat for the world’s movers and shakers. “Yes, you read that right,” the organizer chirps cheerily. “Those who become one of GGC’s Founders will be paid back … within three years of the consummation of their Founders Club participation (please contact GGC for the fine print and T&Cs). In what should be an unsurprising outcome, it didn’t turn out very well. That news comes (via Metafilter and Gawker) from a blogger named Wendy McElroy, who writes that she bought some property in Galt’s Gulch with her husband and then learned that it never had legal rights to the property in the first place. A visit to Chile revealed that many of the area’s local vendors had also been defrauded by the Galtians."
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Illinois Supreme Court: Contract? What contract?
Spanish Court Two Condominium Association v. Carlson: Spanish Two sued a unit owner for failure to pay assessments. In Illinois, condo associations can do that in landlord-tenant court, and evict the owner without needing to foreclose. The owner alleged an affirmative defense of failure to maintain and repair the common elements and asked for a set-off, something that tenants do in landlord-tenant disputes over rent. The trial court struck the defense, but the Appellate Court reversed, saying unit owners could avail themselves of the same failure to maintain defense against condo associations, just as tenants do against landlords. The Illinois Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Court, saying the trial court was right--
http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2014/115342.pdf
It is interesting to read the language where the Supreme Court dances around the claim that the association-unit owner relationship is based on contract, something we hear all the time from advocates of strictly enforcing the DD&RS: It's a contract, they say, and if you didn't like it you shouldn't have entered into it. But now the shoe is on the other foot--an owner wants the rights that go with a contract: the party claiming back assessments hasn't lived up to its part of the bargain, so the owner, like a tenant, should have the benefit of that breach. But no, the court says, now that contract language isn't to be taken so literally. You see, it's more accurate to say that it is largely based on statute. From the IL SC opinion:
¶ 21 Although contract principles have sometimes been applied to the relationship between a condominium association and its unit owners based on the condominium’s declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations (1 Gary A. Poliakoff, The Law of Condominium Operations § 1:23 (1988 and Supp. 2012-13)), the relationship is largely a creature of statute, defined by the provisions of the Condominium Act (765 ILCS 605/1 et seq. (West 2008)). Under that Act, the board of managers, through whom the association of unit owners acts (765 ILCS 605/2(o) (West 2008)), has the duty “[t]o provide for the operation, care, upkeep, maintenance, replacement and improvement of the common elements.” 765 ILCS 605/18.4(a) (West 2008). The Condominium Act also addresses the “[s]haring of expenses” among unit owners, and establishes that: “It shall be the duty of each unit owner *** to pay his proportionate share of the common expenses.” 765 ILCS 605/9(a) (West 2008).2 Although these duties may also be reflected in the condominium declaration and bylaws, as they are in this case, they are imposed by statute and exist independent of the association’s governing documents. Accordingly, a unit owner’s obligation to pay assessments is not akin to a tenant’s purely contractual obligation to pay rent, which may be excused or nullified because the other party failed to perform.
|
"Where a condominium association brought a forcible entry and detainer action against a unit owner for failure to pay assessments, the affirmative defense of alleged failure to repair and maintain common areas was properly stricken as not germane to that summary statutory proceeding." |
http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/SupremeCourt/2014/115342.pdf
It is interesting to read the language where the Supreme Court dances around the claim that the association-unit owner relationship is based on contract, something we hear all the time from advocates of strictly enforcing the DD&RS: It's a contract, they say, and if you didn't like it you shouldn't have entered into it. But now the shoe is on the other foot--an owner wants the rights that go with a contract: the party claiming back assessments hasn't lived up to its part of the bargain, so the owner, like a tenant, should have the benefit of that breach. But no, the court says, now that contract language isn't to be taken so literally. You see, it's more accurate to say that it is largely based on statute. From the IL SC opinion:
----------------
Spanish Court maintains that the appellate court’s recognition of a nullification defense rests on an ill-fitting analogy, namely, that the association-unit owner relationship is, for purposes of the forcible statute, analogous to the landlord-tenant relationship. See 2012 IL App (2d) 110473, ¶¶ 16, 26, 46. We agree with Spanish Court.
¶ 20 The relationship between a landlord and tenant is contractual. See generally 24 Ill. L. and Prac. Landlord and Tenant § 1, at 157 (2009). Although aspects of that relationship may be governed by state and local landlord-tenant laws, the relationship is created through the agreement of the parties. When a landlord breaches the terms of the agreement (the lease) by failing, for example, to comply with the implied warranty of habitability, cases have traditionally applied contract remedies, including damages, rescission, reformation, or abatement of rent. Glasoe v. Trinkle, 107 Ill. 2d 1, 15-17 (1985). Cf. Mohanty v. St. John Heart Clinic, S.C., 225 Ill. 2d 52, 70 (2006) (“Under general contract principles, a material breach of a contract provision by one party may be grounds for releasing the other party from his contractual obligations.”).
¶ 21 Although contract principles have sometimes been applied to the relationship between a condominium association and its unit owners based on the condominium’s declaration, bylaws, and rules and regulations (1 Gary A. Poliakoff, The Law of Condominium Operations § 1:23 (1988 and Supp. 2012-13)), the relationship is largely a creature of statute, defined by the provisions of the Condominium Act (765 ILCS 605/1 et seq. (West 2008)). Under that Act, the board of managers, through whom the association of unit owners acts (765 ILCS 605/2(o) (West 2008)), has the duty “[t]o provide for the operation, care, upkeep, maintenance, replacement and improvement of the common elements.” 765 ILCS 605/18.4(a) (West 2008). The Condominium Act also addresses the “[s]haring of expenses” among unit owners, and establishes that: “It shall be the duty of each unit owner *** to pay his proportionate share of the common expenses.” 765 ILCS 605/9(a) (West 2008).2 Although these duties may also be reflected in the condominium declaration and bylaws, as they are in this case, they are imposed by statute and exist independent of the association’s governing documents. Accordingly, a unit owner’s obligation to pay assessments is not akin to a tenant’s purely contractual obligation to pay rent, which may be excused or nullified because the other party failed to perform.
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Sunday, September 14, 2014
More details revealed in Las Vegas HOA fraud case
http://m.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/new-details-revealed-hoa-fraud-case
What this massive fraud reveals is how vulnerable HOAs and condo associations are to being taken over or manipulated into becoming ATMs for fraudsters. Insurance companies were taken to the cleaners. I haven't even tried to list all the embezzlement cases. I have a notebook three inches thick of press clippings reporting them. Then there were the developer and converter frauds. Here in Chicago at least 200 fraudulent condo conversions shoveled millions of dollars from banks into the pockets of crooks, cost investors a fortune, and victimized hundreds of tenants who were paying rent to somebody who didn't own the building.
And all that criminality is in addition to the non-criminal practices of underfunding reserves that exposes owners to enormous risk, and vendors charging ridiculous fees for doing nothing and locking associations into terrible adhesion contracts.
Why is it so hard to put all this together and reach the obvious conclusion that the money side of CIDs is not working? The media have a frame for reporting on the social control conflicts that happen in associations--flags, pets, political signs, religious symbols--but they can't seem to see the pattern when it comes to the enormous financial problems that leave millions of Americans vulnerable to major economic loss.
It makes no sense to put untrained, uncompensated, and often unqualified volunteers in charge of billions of dollars, based on a bogus ideology of privatism.
What this massive fraud reveals is how vulnerable HOAs and condo associations are to being taken over or manipulated into becoming ATMs for fraudsters. Insurance companies were taken to the cleaners. I haven't even tried to list all the embezzlement cases. I have a notebook three inches thick of press clippings reporting them. Then there were the developer and converter frauds. Here in Chicago at least 200 fraudulent condo conversions shoveled millions of dollars from banks into the pockets of crooks, cost investors a fortune, and victimized hundreds of tenants who were paying rent to somebody who didn't own the building.
And all that criminality is in addition to the non-criminal practices of underfunding reserves that exposes owners to enormous risk, and vendors charging ridiculous fees for doing nothing and locking associations into terrible adhesion contracts.
Why is it so hard to put all this together and reach the obvious conclusion that the money side of CIDs is not working? The media have a frame for reporting on the social control conflicts that happen in associations--flags, pets, political signs, religious symbols--but they can't seem to see the pattern when it comes to the enormous financial problems that leave millions of Americans vulnerable to major economic loss.
It makes no sense to put untrained, uncompensated, and often unqualified volunteers in charge of billions of dollars, based on a bogus ideology of privatism.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
DURHAM: City threatens to cut off water to apartment complex - WNCN: News, Weather
DURHAM: City threatens to cut off water to apartment complex - WNCN: News, Weather: The president of the homeowners group, Greg Jones, said he learned of the possible disconnection from the city via email. From there, he said, he spoke with the tenants association, which prompted the letter left on doors.
Jones said Bentwood Park started getting behind on payments in December because some of the units' 90 different owners began falling behind in paying their dues, in particular one who owns multiple units.
"I have two small kids in here that go to school every day, and we need water to bathe and to drink," said renter Latoyia Edwards. "They need to find the man that created this problem and make him pay for it, or somebody just has to deal with it."
------------
Conflicts of interest abound when the HOA becomes a super landlord but doesn't pay the water bill.
Jones said Bentwood Park started getting behind on payments in December because some of the units' 90 different owners began falling behind in paying their dues, in particular one who owns multiple units.
"I have two small kids in here that go to school every day, and we need water to bathe and to drink," said renter Latoyia Edwards. "They need to find the man that created this problem and make him pay for it, or somebody just has to deal with it."
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Conflicts of interest abound when the HOA becomes a super landlord but doesn't pay the water bill.
Thursday, September 04, 2014
Condo president buys car, pays himself, with association funds
http://www.local10.com/news/community-president-buys-car-pays-self-salary-with-neighborhood-money/27853208
"Ed Ryan, a long-time condominium president in Fort Lauderdale, has been violating the law for years by paying himself tens of thousands of dollars -- and even buying himself a car -- out of neighborhood funds, according to state records. In September, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation alleged Ryan was illegally managing the association without a license and issued a cease and desist order to stop him from paying himself after he'd received $45,000 in the first nine months of the year alone. But Ryan, president of Georgian Court North Apartments, hasn't missed a beat, admitting to Local 10 News that he's still paying himself. "
------------------------------
One of the cool parts about volunteer private government: having access to all that money!
"Ed Ryan, a long-time condominium president in Fort Lauderdale, has been violating the law for years by paying himself tens of thousands of dollars -- and even buying himself a car -- out of neighborhood funds, according to state records. In September, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation alleged Ryan was illegally managing the association without a license and issued a cease and desist order to stop him from paying himself after he'd received $45,000 in the first nine months of the year alone. But Ryan, president of Georgian Court North Apartments, hasn't missed a beat, admitting to Local 10 News that he's still paying himself. "
------------------------------
One of the cool parts about volunteer private government: having access to all that money!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Bill addresses watering in homeowner associations - SFGate
Bill addresses watering in homeowner associations - SFGate: SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Homeowner associations would be prohibited from requiring residents to pressure-wash their driveways or other areas when droughts are declared locally or across California, under a bill sent to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen of Gerber says some homeowners are caught in bind. They face fines under state regulations that prohibit washing driveways, as well as fines from their associations if they don't follow its rules.
-------
Government already regulates many private sector industries. The community association industry fine machine is now getting a greater degree of regulation.
Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen of Gerber says some homeowners are caught in bind. They face fines under state regulations that prohibit washing driveways, as well as fines from their associations if they don't follow its rules.
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Government already regulates many private sector industries. The community association industry fine machine is now getting a greater degree of regulation.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Drought debate: Homeowner fined for replacing grass with drought-tolerant plants - Inside Bay Area
Drought debate: Homeowner fined for replacing grass with drought-tolerant plants - Inside Bay Area: SAN RAMON -- Fran Paxson figured to get a little credit and admiration when she replaced the old lawn around her suburban San Ramon home with drought-resistant plants.
Her public water supplier is even rewarding her with a rebate.
But her homeowners association -- drought and a new state law be darned -- is punishing her with a fine.
Paxson's plight is turning up the heat in the conflict between the aesthetics and the thirst of water-hungry green lawns as California struggles through a third year of drought.
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Another perennial story in the litany of bad press for Privatopia: enforcement actions over flying flags, holiday lights and this recurring story of HOAs at odds with local governments over watering restrictions.
Her public water supplier is even rewarding her with a rebate.
But her homeowners association -- drought and a new state law be darned -- is punishing her with a fine.
Paxson's plight is turning up the heat in the conflict between the aesthetics and the thirst of water-hungry green lawns as California struggles through a third year of drought.
-------------
Another perennial story in the litany of bad press for Privatopia: enforcement actions over flying flags, holiday lights and this recurring story of HOAs at odds with local governments over watering restrictions.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Fox sets up plan to create utopia
http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/fox-gambles-on-big-bold-and-expensive-vision-of-utopia-1201288541/
Well, if anybody can create utopia it would be Fox. Rupert Murdoch has it all figured out.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Hoa fines owner for lawn removal during drought
http://m.sfgate.com/news/science/article/Lawn-removal-in-parched-California-draws-fine-5706307.php
With the state of California authorizing fines for wasting water, this Hoa is fining people for not wasting water keeping their lawns green.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
'Remove flags or be fined' homeowner told by HOA | AccessNorthGa
'Remove flags or be fined' homeowner told by HOA | AccessNorthGa: GAINESVILLE - A Gainesville woman has been told by her homeowners' association that she must remove the Israeli and American flags on display in her front yard or face a fine.
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Flag flap No. 583,762 in Privatopia, Georgia sector.
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Flag flap No. 583,762 in Privatopia, Georgia sector.
Friday, August 15, 2014
Scottsdale HOA sues property management company - CBS 5 - KPHO
Scottsdale HOA sues property management company - CBS 5 - KPHO: SCOTTSDALE, AZ (CBS5) -
Some North Scottsdale homeowners are angry and they want answers.
Their property management company is accused of embezzling more than $3.4 million.
The Edge at Grayhawk Condominium Association has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Eagle Property Management.
The lawsuit claims that Eagle Property Management committed fraud and embezzled millions of dollars in HOA money.
------------
Alleged graft in Privatopia, Arizona Sector. The cops are on the case. Film at 10 on CBS5, Phoenix.
Some North Scottsdale homeowners are angry and they want answers.
Their property management company is accused of embezzling more than $3.4 million.
The Edge at Grayhawk Condominium Association has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Eagle Property Management.
The lawsuit claims that Eagle Property Management committed fraud and embezzled millions of dollars in HOA money.
------------
Alleged graft in Privatopia, Arizona Sector. The cops are on the case. Film at 10 on CBS5, Phoenix.
Thursday, August 07, 2014
Wednesday, August 06, 2014
Sunday, August 03, 2014
ALEC Offshoot Takes Aim at Local Government | PR Watch
ALEC Offshoot Takes Aim at Local Government | PR Watch: "Early reports suggests that ACCE will pursue similar policy objectives as ALEC. According to The Guardian, "An early draft of the agenda for [the] meeting revealingly listed ACCE’s very first workshop under the simple title: 'Privatization' – though in the final version the wording had been sanitized into: 'Effective Tools for Promoting Limited Government'." Privatization has been a long term goal for many ALEC member firms, and ALEC model bills have called for the creation of a special state commission to privatize public services. Other ALEC bills call for the privatization of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, public schools, state pensions and more. Another workshop at the inaugural ACCE meeting is titled "Releasing Local Governments From the Grip of Collective Bargaining," which fits into ALEC's long-standing antipathy towards unions."
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The American Legislative Exchange Council is a corporate-funded group that puts state legislators in the same room with corporate lobbyists, who hand our elected officials pre-drafted bills for them to introduce and pass back home. It's anti-union, anti-environment, anti-consumer, pro-gun, etc. Now, with the American City County Exchange, they are lowering their sights and trying to hamstring and plunder local government the way they have done so effectively in a number of states. Privatization for all, which means taxpayers bear the risk and get turned into fee-paying consumers, and private corporations keep the profits. Thanks to Mystery Reader, who first flagged this story. If you don't know who these people are, you can read more here.
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The American Legislative Exchange Council is a corporate-funded group that puts state legislators in the same room with corporate lobbyists, who hand our elected officials pre-drafted bills for them to introduce and pass back home. It's anti-union, anti-environment, anti-consumer, pro-gun, etc. Now, with the American City County Exchange, they are lowering their sights and trying to hamstring and plunder local government the way they have done so effectively in a number of states. Privatization for all, which means taxpayers bear the risk and get turned into fee-paying consumers, and private corporations keep the profits. Thanks to Mystery Reader, who first flagged this story. If you don't know who these people are, you can read more here.
Friday, August 01, 2014
California Assembly Bill AB 968 - Bill Analysis
AB 968 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis
This bill is intended to clear up the existing ambiguity regarding responsibility for maintenance, repair, and replacement of limited common elements in CIDs. The bill passed the Assembly 73-1, made its way through the Senate committee system, clearing the Commitee on Transportation and Housing by a 10-0 vote, and is now awaiting a third reading on the Senate floor. The bill is opposed by Donie Vanitzian and also by Marjorie Murray and the Center for California Homeowner Association Law.
The full text of the bill is here.
The normal situation is that the association is responsible for the common elements, and the owners are responsible for their separate interest. But what about limited use common elements, such as condominium decks and patios, that are part of the common elements but that can only be used by the individual owner? The existing section that governs this is Section 4775 of the Civil Code. It currently reads as follows (my emphasis), and it is unclear on that subject:
Note that the words "repairing" and "replacing" do not appear in the language about "exclusive use common area," i.e., limited use common elements. So, if the documents don't specify, whose job is it to repair and replace limited common elements?
AB 968 would repeal the existing section 4775 and replace it with this language (again, my emphasis):
This bill is intended to clear up the existing ambiguity regarding responsibility for maintenance, repair, and replacement of limited common elements in CIDs. The bill passed the Assembly 73-1, made its way through the Senate committee system, clearing the Commitee on Transportation and Housing by a 10-0 vote, and is now awaiting a third reading on the Senate floor. The bill is opposed by Donie Vanitzian and also by Marjorie Murray and the Center for California Homeowner Association Law.
The full text of the bill is here.
The normal situation is that the association is responsible for the common elements, and the owners are responsible for their separate interest. But what about limited use common elements, such as condominium decks and patios, that are part of the common elements but that can only be used by the individual owner? The existing section that governs this is Section 4775 of the Civil Code. It currently reads as follows (my emphasis), and it is unclear on that subject:
Section 4775.
(a) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a
4common interest development, the association is responsible for
5repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common area, other than
6exclusive use common area, and the owner of each separate interest 7is responsible for maintaining that separate interest and any 8exclusive use common area appurtenant to the separate interest.
4common interest development, the association is responsible for
5repairing, replacing, or maintaining the common area, other than
6exclusive use common area, and the owner of each separate interest 7is responsible for maintaining that separate interest and any 8exclusive use common area appurtenant to the separate interest.
Note that the words "repairing" and "replacing" do not appear in the language about "exclusive use common area," i.e., limited use common elements. So, if the documents don't specify, whose job is it to repair and replace limited common elements?
AB 968 would repeal the existing section 4775 and replace it with this language (again, my emphasis):
Section 4775 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
14
4775.
(a) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), unless
15otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest
16development, the association is responsible for repairing, 17replacing, and maintaining the common area.
15otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest
16development, the association is responsible for repairing, 17replacing, and maintaining the common area.
18(2) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common
19interest development, the owner of each separate interest is 20responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining that separate 21interest.
19interest development, the owner of each separate interest is 20responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining that separate 21interest.
22(3) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common
23interest development, the owner of each separate interest is 24responsible for maintaining the exclusive use common area P3 1appurtenant to that separate interest and the association is 2responsible for repairing and replacing the exclusive use common 3area.
23interest development, the owner of each separate interest is 24responsible for maintaining the exclusive use common area P3 1appurtenant to that separate interest and the association is 2responsible for repairing and replacing the exclusive use common 3area.
4(4) The governing documents may define which items or actions 5constitute maintenance and which constitute repair and 6replacement.
7(b) The costs of temporary relocation during the repair and
8maintenance of the areas within the responsibility of the
9association shall be borne by the owner of the separate interest
10affected.
8maintenance of the areas within the responsibility of the
9association shall be borne by the owner of the separate interest
10affected.
11(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2016.
Let's make this less abstract. Imagine that I own a condo unit, which means I own an airspace and the whole building is common elements. My unit has a deck that is mine and mine alone to use--it is a limited common element. Under the proposed new law, unless my association's declaration says otherwise, I am responsible for maintaining my deck, and the association is responsible for repairing and replacing the deck.
But wait, you say--what if the coating of my deck is worn out and it is leaking. Is that maintenance, which is my responsibility, or repair, which the associaiton would have to pay for, so that the cost is shared by all owners? The bill doesn't define that distinction. Instead, this bill in section (4) says the governing documents may (not must) define "which items or actions constitute maintenance and which constitute repair and replacement." For most associations, there is no such specificiation in the declaration, so they would need to amend their documents if they wanted to clarify that.
Donie Vanitzian says that section (4) doesn't just allow the association to define what it maintenance versus repair and replacement, but also allows the association to amend the documents and reclassify various building components as limited use common elements, and then assign responsibility for them to individual owners. From the column: "AB 968 allows boards to expand, redefine and concoct their own rendition of what 'exclusive use common area' is and then assess the owner to maintain, insure and assume liability for it. If the association has a reserve account, this new obligation does not exempt owners from continuing to fund it. Exclusive use components that associations may add are infinite. Some examples: indoor/outdoor pipes, sprinkler systems, wiring, parking stalls, doors, screens, windows, steps to entryways, outdoor light fixtures, walkways, hallways, fences, mailboxes, balconies, porches, roofs, air conditioners, heating systems, outdoor stairs, patches of dirt touching your property's stucco and more."
Here's how the legislative analyst summarizes the opposition. They say (my emphasis):
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents believe that this bill's
lack of definitions for maintenance, repair, and replacement
does a huge disservice to associations and residents by forcing
associations to devise definitions when even this bill's sponsor
cannot. In addition, opponents argue that this bill imposes
significant new financial obligations on homeowners. First,
this bill newly assigns the repair and replacement of separate
interests to homeowners. Second, having associations define
this bill's terms creates an opportunity to foist new
maintenance duties onto homeowners. These issues are
exacerbated by the lack of clarity in some governing documents
over what is considered exclusive-use common area.
It appears that the opponents see potential for abuse here that the legislature doesn't, given the virtually unanimous votes it has received so far. The bill is subject to amendment before the third reading, and if anybody knows what amendments are being considered, please comment or email me.
Update 8/3/14: the Executive Council oh Homeowners supports the bill.
http://www.echo-ca.org/hoa-advocacy/ab-968-exclusive-use-common-area
Marjorie Murray tells me the Public Interest Law Project and Consumer Attorneys of California oppose the bill. I can't find any reference to the bill on their websites. I will link to their statements directly if and when I can.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Someone call the HOA!
Crop circle in Germany attracts many visitors
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There must be something in the CC&Rs that prohibits crop circles.
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There must be something in the CC&Rs that prohibits crop circles.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Mesa residents still fighting HOA, claim former board members misspent money - ABC15 Arizona
Mesa residents still fighting HOA, claim former board members misspent money - ABC15 Arizona: Mesa, AZ - We've been following the legal battle between Superstition Lakes Condominium Association and its former leadership.
We met with former resident Kathleen Daurio last year. As she dug through board records and said she found nearly $40,000 used for items and meals that she said didn't benefit homeowners. Homeowners accuse board of misspending funds.
"I mean, they bought laundry detergent and almonds and vodka and baby wipes and just about every time they bought air fresheners," said Daurio.
Another resident, Jan Stuart, sued that former board last year. It ended in a settlement agreement that allowed a vote resulting in three members being recalled, and a new board put in place.
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Your HOA assessment dollars at work -- or not. Trouble in Privatopia, Arizona sector. Film at 10 on ABC 15.
We met with former resident Kathleen Daurio last year. As she dug through board records and said she found nearly $40,000 used for items and meals that she said didn't benefit homeowners. Homeowners accuse board of misspending funds.
"I mean, they bought laundry detergent and almonds and vodka and baby wipes and just about every time they bought air fresheners," said Daurio.
Another resident, Jan Stuart, sued that former board last year. It ended in a settlement agreement that allowed a vote resulting in three members being recalled, and a new board put in place.
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Your HOA assessment dollars at work -- or not. Trouble in Privatopia, Arizona sector. Film at 10 on ABC 15.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
PQED: How should people respond to open-carry gun-rights activists?
PQED: How should people respond to open-carry gun-rights activists?:
"The question that concerns me now is how we bystanders should react when people come into a store with guns. There really is no legitimate way of determining intent. Even if the people with guns are carrying a sign claiming to be activists (which they do not do), they could be lying, just setting us all up for slaughter. And since there is no way to know what is on their minds, all we have are our instincts, but as we all should know, our instincts are often racist, classist, and frequently mistaken. So, what should we do?
My proposal is as follows: we should all leave. Immediately. Leave the food on the table in the restaurant. Leave the groceries in the cart, in the aisle. Stop talking or engaging in the exchange. Just leave, unceremoniously, and fast.
But here is the key part: don’t pay. Stopping to pay in the presence of a person with a gun means risking your and your loved ones’ lives; money shouldn’t trump this. It doesn’t matter if you ate the meal. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just received food from the deli counter that can’t be resold. It doesn’t matter if you just got a haircut. Leave. If the business loses money, so be it. They can make the activists pay."
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A philosopher proposes a brilliant way for us to respond to gun bullies.
"The question that concerns me now is how we bystanders should react when people come into a store with guns. There really is no legitimate way of determining intent. Even if the people with guns are carrying a sign claiming to be activists (which they do not do), they could be lying, just setting us all up for slaughter. And since there is no way to know what is on their minds, all we have are our instincts, but as we all should know, our instincts are often racist, classist, and frequently mistaken. So, what should we do?
My proposal is as follows: we should all leave. Immediately. Leave the food on the table in the restaurant. Leave the groceries in the cart, in the aisle. Stop talking or engaging in the exchange. Just leave, unceremoniously, and fast.
But here is the key part: don’t pay. Stopping to pay in the presence of a person with a gun means risking your and your loved ones’ lives; money shouldn’t trump this. It doesn’t matter if you ate the meal. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just received food from the deli counter that can’t be resold. It doesn’t matter if you just got a haircut. Leave. If the business loses money, so be it. They can make the activists pay."
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A philosopher proposes a brilliant way for us to respond to gun bullies.
Poor doors: the segregation of London's inner-city flat dwellers | Society | The Guardian
Poor doors: the segregation of London's inner-city flat dwellers | Society | The Guardian:
"A Guardian investigation has discovered a growing trend in the capital's upmarket apartment blocks – which are required to include affordable homes in order to win planning permission – for the poorer residents to be forced to use alternative access, a phenomenon being dubbed "poor doors". Even bicycle storage spaces, rubbish disposal facilities and postal deliveries are being separated."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for another example of the rich separating themselves from the hoi polloi while enjoying the planning benefits that are supposed to go with mixed income developments. The same thing is happening in New York.
"A Guardian investigation has discovered a growing trend in the capital's upmarket apartment blocks – which are required to include affordable homes in order to win planning permission – for the poorer residents to be forced to use alternative access, a phenomenon being dubbed "poor doors". Even bicycle storage spaces, rubbish disposal facilities and postal deliveries are being separated."
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Thanks to Mystery Reader for another example of the rich separating themselves from the hoi polloi while enjoying the planning benefits that are supposed to go with mixed income developments. The same thing is happening in New York.
Homeowners Association: Veteran Can’t Build Furniture For Military Families In Need � CBS Sacramento
Homeowners Association: Veteran Can’t Build Furniture For Military Families In Need CBS Sacramento:
"Even as a nonprofit, the Vietnam veteran was told he had to get a business permit, which he did in 2012. But this March, the Lake of the Pines Homeowners Association took it away.
“Now they’ve come back to me and said I’m producing odors and noxious fumes,” he said.
Such complaints typically come from neighbors, but those who live nearby have written letters supporting Dennis Kocher and his work.
We tried getting answers from the association’s general manager, but he would not comment."
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"Even as a nonprofit, the Vietnam veteran was told he had to get a business permit, which he did in 2012. But this March, the Lake of the Pines Homeowners Association took it away.
“Now they’ve come back to me and said I’m producing odors and noxious fumes,” he said.
Such complaints typically come from neighbors, but those who live nearby have written letters supporting Dennis Kocher and his work.
We tried getting answers from the association’s general manager, but he would not comment."
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Friday, July 25, 2014
Homeowners Association: Veteran Can’t Build Furniture For Military Families In Need CBS Sacramento
Homeowners Association: Veteran Can’t Build Furniture For Military Families In Need CBS Sacramento: NEVADA COUNTY (CBS13) — A war veteran who builds furniture in his garage and gives it to military families in need could be forced to shut down the saws.
A homeowners association is telling Dennis Kocher he needs to close up shop after years of doing business, or he could be fined between $100 and $1,000.
“I may not paint, sand, cut wood or screw on the property at anytime,” he said.
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More bad press for Privatopia, California sector. Film at 10 on CBS13, Sacramento.
A homeowners association is telling Dennis Kocher he needs to close up shop after years of doing business, or he could be fined between $100 and $1,000.
“I may not paint, sand, cut wood or screw on the property at anytime,” he said.
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More bad press for Privatopia, California sector. Film at 10 on CBS13, Sacramento.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Despite recovery, fewer Americans identify as middle class | Pew Research Center
Despite recovery, fewer Americans identify as middle class | Pew Research Center:
'The nationally representative survey of 1,504 adults conducted Jan. 15-19 found that the share of Americans who identify with the middle class has never been lower, dropping to 44% in the latest survey from 53% in 2008 during the first months of the Great Recession.
At the same time, the share of the public who says they are in the lower or lower-middle classes rose by 15 percentage points, from 25% in 2008 to 40% today."
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Much of this change has taken place in the last two years. One would expect a political backlash aimed at changing the rules of the bipartisan Reaganomics system that is so flagrantly rigged in favor of the rich at the expense of the middle class. But instead we see people obsessed with sports, celebrities, guns, and bizarre conspiracy theories. Young people are getting savaged by this economy: "In 2008, a quarter of all young adults identified as being in the lower or lower-middle class; today about twice as many do (49%), a 24-point increase." And those who venture into college are being placed in lifelong debt servitude. But just wait--on election day in November they will stay home in droves.
'The nationally representative survey of 1,504 adults conducted Jan. 15-19 found that the share of Americans who identify with the middle class has never been lower, dropping to 44% in the latest survey from 53% in 2008 during the first months of the Great Recession.
At the same time, the share of the public who says they are in the lower or lower-middle classes rose by 15 percentage points, from 25% in 2008 to 40% today."
-------------
Much of this change has taken place in the last two years. One would expect a political backlash aimed at changing the rules of the bipartisan Reaganomics system that is so flagrantly rigged in favor of the rich at the expense of the middle class. But instead we see people obsessed with sports, celebrities, guns, and bizarre conspiracy theories. Young people are getting savaged by this economy: "In 2008, a quarter of all young adults identified as being in the lower or lower-middle class; today about twice as many do (49%), a 24-point increase." And those who venture into college are being placed in lifelong debt servitude. But just wait--on election day in November they will stay home in droves.
A deep divide over new condo foreclosure bill - chicagotribune.com
A deep divide over new condo foreclosure bill - chicagotribune.com:
"The Illinois Condominium Property Act allows associations, in case of a judicial foreclosure sale, to recoup up to six months of unpaid common expenses from the next owner of the unit.
These expenses may include special assessments, late fees, fines and attorney fees. Lenders are exempt from making this payment.
The bill would amend the condo act by capping an association's claim to nine months of regular assessments. Attorney and court costs can be recovered as long as the total doesn't exceed the cap.
The Illinois Association of Realtors, which supports the legislation, said the current law is an affordability barrier for buyers.
The extra costs, which can reach several thousand dollars, typically cannot be financed. Buyers often are stunned to discover at closing that they owe sizable sums."
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So under the proposed law, which is sitting on Governor Quinn's desk awaiting signature or veto, the association could receive an amount equal to nine months of back assessments instead of six months, but the tradeoff is that the maximum amount would include the attorney fees and other charges that are always tacked onto the association's claim against the owner. Realtors are in favor of the bill, saying, "We think the way the current law is written has fostered an atmosphere that has allowed outrageous attorney fees to run up and for associations to throw in anything having to do with the prior owner just because they knew they could stick the buyer with it." But association attorneys are not happy with having their meal ticket trimmed.
"The Illinois Condominium Property Act allows associations, in case of a judicial foreclosure sale, to recoup up to six months of unpaid common expenses from the next owner of the unit.
These expenses may include special assessments, late fees, fines and attorney fees. Lenders are exempt from making this payment.
The bill would amend the condo act by capping an association's claim to nine months of regular assessments. Attorney and court costs can be recovered as long as the total doesn't exceed the cap.
The Illinois Association of Realtors, which supports the legislation, said the current law is an affordability barrier for buyers.
The extra costs, which can reach several thousand dollars, typically cannot be financed. Buyers often are stunned to discover at closing that they owe sizable sums."
-------------------------
So under the proposed law, which is sitting on Governor Quinn's desk awaiting signature or veto, the association could receive an amount equal to nine months of back assessments instead of six months, but the tradeoff is that the maximum amount would include the attorney fees and other charges that are always tacked onto the association's claim against the owner. Realtors are in favor of the bill, saying, "We think the way the current law is written has fostered an atmosphere that has allowed outrageous attorney fees to run up and for associations to throw in anything having to do with the prior owner just because they knew they could stick the buyer with it." But association attorneys are not happy with having their meal ticket trimmed.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
The Twin Insurgency - The American Interest
The Twin Insurgency - The American Interest:
"Rights within such spaces accrue to dollars rather than to citizenship. The vision of the future here is of a global archipelago of what Evan McKenzie has called “privatopias”, essentially gated enclaves linked by air and internet to other such spaces, protected by high ramparts from the roiling dystopian ocean of the hoi polloi."
"Rights within such spaces accrue to dollars rather than to citizenship. The vision of the future here is of a global archipelago of what Evan McKenzie has called “privatopias”, essentially gated enclaves linked by air and internet to other such spaces, protected by high ramparts from the roiling dystopian ocean of the hoi polloi."
Housing dispute leaves 97-year-old man homeless
Housing dispute leaves 97-year-old man homeless:
"Each morning, a variety of men and women pass through the doors of Napa’s Hope Resource Center in search for a place in a local homeless shelter that night. On Wednesday morning, one visitor looked no more or less weathered or beaten-down than the others – only more diminutive and older, decades older.
James Farrell arrived at 8:30 a.m., his 5-foot-tall frame arm in arm with a woman who had helped him find an interim place to sleep since a dispute with management cost the ukulele-playing 97-year-old his place at a local retirement home."
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Redwood Retirement Center in Napa, CA, evicted this veteran of three wars. Apparently they didn't appreciate his singing and ukelele playing, and they said his room wasn't clean enough.
"Each morning, a variety of men and women pass through the doors of Napa’s Hope Resource Center in search for a place in a local homeless shelter that night. On Wednesday morning, one visitor looked no more or less weathered or beaten-down than the others – only more diminutive and older, decades older.
James Farrell arrived at 8:30 a.m., his 5-foot-tall frame arm in arm with a woman who had helped him find an interim place to sleep since a dispute with management cost the ukulele-playing 97-year-old his place at a local retirement home."
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Redwood Retirement Center in Napa, CA, evicted this veteran of three wars. Apparently they didn't appreciate his singing and ukelele playing, and they said his room wasn't clean enough.
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Celebrating the life of Patricia Wigginton
Maryland Homeowners' Association, Inc.E-Communicator
For Homeowners in Condominiums, Cooperatives, and Homeowner Associations in Maryland
July 22, 2014
Celebrating the Life of Patricia Wigginton
Patricia Wigginton passed away on July 11, 2014. She was a Board member of the Maryland Homeowners Association (MHA) since 1992 and editor of MHA’s Communicator newsletter. She served as MHA’s president and executive director 1995-1999 and as such shepherded successful passage of the Homeowners’ Bill of Rights in the Maryland legislature and the successful transition of the organization upon the retirement of the founder and executive director, Dorothy Sager. A Celebration of her Life will be held:
Sunday, July 27th at 3 pm at the
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
9601 Cedar Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-493-8300
For directions, go to http://www.cedarlane.org/
Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church
9601 Cedar Lane
Bethesda, MD 20814
301-493-8300
For directions, go to http://www.cedarlane.org/
For 22 years in board positions including president, secretary, treasurer, & general officer, Pat offered information and support to individuals and boards of directors by phone and in person. She organized workshops and attended individual association meetings, CCOC hearings, including running and overseeing individual association elections. She testified for homeowner legislation on behalf of MHA. In 2006 she testified before the COC Task Force. In February 2008, as president of her condo association, she supported the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition’s (MCRC’s) agenda testifying in favor of several energy bills---as well as organizing a write-in campaign among her neighbors to the Public Service Commission on “Fair Utility Rates.” She represented MHA at MCRC workshops and coalition meetings in Annapolis during the legislative sessions. During her many years of service she met with both politicians and government bureaucrats to advocate go od governance issues.
Patricia Wigginton served as president of her condominium association and had 25 years of board experience in her condo and its umbrella HOA and MTA organizations. In addition to advocating good government issues in condos and HOA’s, she was a long-time activist and advocate for children and the elderly---volunteering with Montgomery County schools, police and as a nursing home ombudsman.
As a volunteer in the Montgomery County schools, Pat was an early proponent in the fight against childhood obesity. Beginning in 2000, she advocated for more exercise and physical education in the schools and served on the county’s curriculum advisory committee, working with the county’s PTA, helping draft a county Wellness Policy and organizing “Walk to School Day” in the local elementary school. Her legislative efforts in this area included lobbying and testifying in favor of State Health and Fitness Acts supporting walking as the Maryland State Exercise. She also supported safety restrictions in teen driving legislation.
In 1996 Ms. Wigginton organized her son’s elementary school community to participate in the Stand For Children March on Washington, D.C. In 1997, as a way to continue awareness of children’s needs, she organized a “Stand for Children Book Drive” which has become an annual event for Ashburton Elementary and North Bethesda Middle schools. For the past decade, the “Reach Out and Read” program at Upper Cardoza Health Care Center in D.C. has been the recipient of the children’s book donations. More than 25,000 books were collected and donated to support literacy efforts since 1997.
In 1988 Pat organized a Neighborhood Watch Program in her condominium community, which was featured in a Voice of America segment on life in the United States. She continued to support the safety of her community and the police department’s neighborhood policing policies by serving on a Police-Citizen Advisory Committee for her District of Montgomery County since 2002.
Pat Wigginton was a truly spectacular and generous woman. She will be missed by her family, friends and community.
76-year-old man is ARRESTED at Tennessee town hall meeting | Mail Online
76-year-old man is ARRESTED at Tennessee town hall meeting | Mail Online:
"Locals in a small Tennessee town are outraged after a 76-year-old man was arrested during a town hall hearing over a proposed pipeline because he asked board members to speak louder.
Eddie Overholt's arrest came Friday after asking town board members to speak louder during a hearing to determine whether a gas company would be allowed to build a pipeline to dump waste into a local river.
‘Okay, I’m arrested,’ Overholt can be heard saying in a baritone drawl as he is escorted out of the Greenville Town Hall during a hearing with U.S. Nitrogen, according to WATE. The company wants a pipeline to the Nolichucky River."
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Not an HOA.
"Locals in a small Tennessee town are outraged after a 76-year-old man was arrested during a town hall hearing over a proposed pipeline because he asked board members to speak louder.
Eddie Overholt's arrest came Friday after asking town board members to speak louder during a hearing to determine whether a gas company would be allowed to build a pipeline to dump waste into a local river.
‘Okay, I’m arrested,’ Overholt can be heard saying in a baritone drawl as he is escorted out of the Greenville Town Hall during a hearing with U.S. Nitrogen, according to WATE. The company wants a pipeline to the Nolichucky River."
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Not an HOA.
Monday, July 21, 2014
City OKs UWS development with ‘poor door’ for residents | New York Post
City OKs UWS development with ‘poor door’ for residents | New York Post:
"The city approved a developer’s controversial plans for a “poor door” on the Upper West Side, The Post has learned.
Extell came under fire last year when it introduced plans for a 33-story luxury condo with a separate entrance for affordable-housing tenants."
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My good man, please step round to the back and use the servants' entrance. There's a good lad.
"The city approved a developer’s controversial plans for a “poor door” on the Upper West Side, The Post has learned.
Extell came under fire last year when it introduced plans for a 33-story luxury condo with a separate entrance for affordable-housing tenants."
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My good man, please step round to the back and use the servants' entrance. There's a good lad.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Iraq vet cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks - Yahoo News
Iraq vet cited for owning 14 therapeutic pet ducks - Yahoo News: WEST LAFAYETTE, Ohio (AP) — An Army veteran who hurt his back during the Iraq War is worried a citation will result in him losing his 14 pet ducks, which he says are therapeutic.
Darin Welker said officials in the village of West Lafayette told him to get rid of the ducks in May and cited him for a minor misdemeanor on June 23 for failing to comply. Walker is scheduled to appear in Coshocton Municipal Court for a hearing Wednesday and could face a $150 fine.
Welker, 36, says the ducks help him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and keep him more active.
West Lafayette, about 80 miles east of Columbus, banned residents from keeping fowl and other farm animals in 2010.
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It's only a matter of time before the quackdown on therapy ducks comes to Privatopia.
Darin Welker said officials in the village of West Lafayette told him to get rid of the ducks in May and cited him for a minor misdemeanor on June 23 for failing to comply. Walker is scheduled to appear in Coshocton Municipal Court for a hearing Wednesday and could face a $150 fine.
Welker, 36, says the ducks help him with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder and keep him more active.
West Lafayette, about 80 miles east of Columbus, banned residents from keeping fowl and other farm animals in 2010.
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It's only a matter of time before the quackdown on therapy ducks comes to Privatopia.
Did this booby trap set up in a Pevely yard go too far? | KMOV.com St. Louis
Did this booby trap set up in a Pevely yard go too far? | KMOV.com St. Louis
"(KMOV.com) – A homeowner in Pevely elected to set up booby traps on his lawn to prevent pranksters from driving onto it. The resident buried a board along the street with nails sticking out of the ground, the goal was to flatten the tires of cars driven by pranksters. Police told News 4 the trap was difficult to see “They were painted black and they were buried in the ground, and it made it very difficult to see,” said Pevely Police Chief Ron Weeks."
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And now the town of Pevely is going to pass an ordinance banning booby traps on lawns. I suppose that will make everybody except the property rights fanatics.
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