Why I have been off the air since Thursday.
I just got back from Montreal after a truly excellent conference titled "Private Neighborhood Associations and Liberty." It was sponsored by The Liberty Fund, an organization that puts on many conferences dealing with liberty. This one was proposed and put together by Robert Nelson, the University of Maryland economist who has written a great deal about the use of HOAs as a replacement for municipal governments. There were 15 people at the conference, and a very distinguised group it was (not counting me), including law professors, economists, and a few from other backgrounds, such as Linc Cummings, one of the founders of CAI. Some of the attendees are libertarians or so inclined, but others were coming from quite different perspectives. We had two full days of lengthy and intense conversations. All told, it was the best meeting I have ever attended on this subject. I will talk more about this, but for now I have to get some rest as it has been a long four days.
Sunday, June 06, 2004
The News-Press: Local & State - Some Island Club residents set to sue
Builder misled them about decks, they say
By DENISE L. SCOTT, dscott@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on June 6, 2004
Some residents of the Island Club in Estero plan to sue the builder they claim misled them into thinking it was legal to build lanais, decks and concrete pads on property they don’t own.
About 150 homeowners attended the informational meeting Friday night, which was meant to raise a legal fund against builder Ronald L. Davis, owner of RLD Homes.
Resident Michael Towns, who organized the meeting, said 207 of the 250 homes have either concrete pads, lanais or decks — all in violation of county code for extending onto common property. The lanais and decks also were built without permits.
“I’m no builder, but somebody knew you don’t build lanais on property you don’t own. It says it in (county) code,” Towns said.
The county had been negotiating with the community for two years to bring the structures into compliance. However, Commissioner Ray Judah recently ordered that the structures be torn down because of safety and flooding concerns.
Towns said his group, which is separate from the homeowners association board, hasn’t yet determined whether it will include any government agencies in the lawsuit.
“There’s also culpability with the county,” Towns said. “There were inspectors crawling all over the community, but people weren’t paying attention. They weren’t insisting the rules be followed.”
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When you get an HOA, a municipality, a homeowner's organization, and a few lawyers in the mix, I'd say major litigation may not be far behind. What do you think?
Builder misled them about decks, they say
By DENISE L. SCOTT, dscott@news-press.com
Published by news-press.com on June 6, 2004
Some residents of the Island Club in Estero plan to sue the builder they claim misled them into thinking it was legal to build lanais, decks and concrete pads on property they don’t own.
About 150 homeowners attended the informational meeting Friday night, which was meant to raise a legal fund against builder Ronald L. Davis, owner of RLD Homes.
Resident Michael Towns, who organized the meeting, said 207 of the 250 homes have either concrete pads, lanais or decks — all in violation of county code for extending onto common property. The lanais and decks also were built without permits.
“I’m no builder, but somebody knew you don’t build lanais on property you don’t own. It says it in (county) code,” Towns said.
The county had been negotiating with the community for two years to bring the structures into compliance. However, Commissioner Ray Judah recently ordered that the structures be torn down because of safety and flooding concerns.
Towns said his group, which is separate from the homeowners association board, hasn’t yet determined whether it will include any government agencies in the lawsuit.
“There’s also culpability with the county,” Towns said. “There were inspectors crawling all over the community, but people weren’t paying attention. They weren’t insisting the rules be followed.”
------------------
When you get an HOA, a municipality, a homeowner's organization, and a few lawyers in the mix, I'd say major litigation may not be far behind. What do you think?
Buying into a community group
For many, homeownership means abiding by HOA regulations
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
Of The Post and Courier Staff
(This story includes some quotes from me and also from Shu Bartholomew. It is interesting because the reporter went into the issue of municipal dependence on HOAs. Here's the whole story because the link requires registration.)
Ben Allen didn't worry much about the rules he and his neighbors would have to follow when he moved into his Snee Farm home in Mount Pleasant five years ago.
"We picked the house first and read the covenant last," he recalled.
The letter of the development's law became more important to him last summer, though, when a neighbor decided to install a pre-fabricated garage.
"We wanted construction to stop," he said. Allen lobbied against it, saying it wasn't permissible under Snee Farm's covenant, but the Snee Farm Community Foundation, his homeowners association, had already approved the project.
The neighbor building the garage happened to be a member of the association's board of directors.
"We felt because he sat on the board they showed him more leeway, so we challenged it" in court, he said.
His story is not uncommon. In Charleston County, homeowners association disputes often wind up in small claims court. Last year, the county's small claims magistrate heard about two cases every week.
There are about 500 homeowners associations in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties; across the country, about 250,000. Most act as small governments, handling responsibilities such as landscaping, zoning enforcement and road and drainage repairs. They have the power to exact fines on residents, put liens on homes, and some can foreclose if all other discipline fails. Some even sue the cities within which they're situated.
In Snee Farm, the homeowners association sued the town for installing speed humps, a traffic calming device that some residents opposed.
Often people who buy a new home--and into an HOA--aren't aware of the powers such organizations wield. Some don't allow flags to fly or satellite dishes to be visible. Others forbid open garage doors and cars propped up on cinder blocks. Problems also can arise when the people running the associations, which have budgets that often reach into the millions, don't have the training or staff to handle the financial responsibilities.
Evan McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, has been tracking and studying homeowners associations for 20 years and has written a book about it titled "Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government."
Part of the reason HOAs have increased from 500 in 1960 to a quarter million today is because cash-strapped municipal governments can't always afford to build roads and other necessities that new developments require, McKenzie said.
HOAs often pay for landscaping and roads previously financed by cities and towns.
"It's like a subsidy for local governments," McKenzie said. "Governments actively promote it."
Not only do municipalities save money on costs absorbed by HOA fees, but some charge developers fees for the impact on infrastructure that development brings.
Mount Pleasant Planning Director Joel Ford said homeowners associations have benefited the town over the years.
"We would have needed more in tax dollars to support (that) development," Ford said.
Typically, local governments don't exert much control over homeowners associations. North Charleston Planning Director Bill Gore said the city formally recognizes HOAs but has no say over how contractual disputes are resolved within them. Such disputes could involve zoning and infrastructure matters, issues typically seen as the purview of government.
"They have to attend to those agreements on their own," Gore said.
Developers benefit from the relative independence their communities have from local government. Paying for their own infrastructure enables developers to have more control over scale.
"It's very lucrative for builders to build this way because they can get much higher densities," McKenzie said. "Streets are a large expense. If you can make streets 5 or 6 feet narrower than the town allows, then that's all profit."
In the long run, though, these benefits can translate into problems for residents. Shoddy infrastructure often comes back to haunt residents who pay for repairs out of increased homeowners fees. Problems also can arise because some HOA directors have no experience handling the money or problems that accompany a planned development.
"They don't get any training, they don't know what they're doing, and they've got a lot of responsibility," McKenzie said.
Complaints about how property is managed have been common at Snee Farm. Some residents and members of the HOA's board of directors said decisions are made without voting, and that Michael Hart, the board's head, has taken on responsibilities that are not his to assume.
Hart said he does not manage the property, but enforces covenants and restrictions. He added that the community has never looked better.
"Nobody is claiming fraud or any other crime, but we are concerned with mismanagement," said Emilie Carey, who is on the board of directors and has lived in Snee Farm for 10 years.
The lawsuit filed against the town of Mount Pleasant over speed humps is central to the issue, and is yet to be resolved. Carey claimed the board never voted to sue or to hire a lawyer, but Hart denied this. "Everything is voted on by the board," he said.
Not all associations are as contentious as Snee Farm's.
Jim Trusso, president of the Little Oak Island Condominium Association at Folly Beach, said the biggest issue the group faces is homeowner ignorance of community living.
"People don't know or have a good grasp of what condominium or community living is all about," he said.
Michael Parades is trying to change that. He's a local property manager and the South Carolina chapter president of the Community Associations Institute. Educating homeowners and the 3,500 HOAs in the state, he said, is key to making them work smoothly.
"We're trying to get more homeowner participation," he said. "Most homeowners don't understand what they've bought into when they buy into a homeowner association."
Reaching out to untrained HOA managers is also key to making sure the communities are run more efficiently.
"Community managers need to know a lot of things. They need to know legal (matters), they need to know about insurance, they need to know about maintenance," he said. "In South Carolina, there's nothing that says you can't get into community management."
Many HOAs hire property managers to handle chores such as maintenance and tracking down residents who are overdue on fees.
At Bayview Farms on James Island, the homeowners association only gets involved if legal action seems imminent.
Karen Rapchick has served on the homeowners board at Bayview for three years and said that usually a small claims court notice is enough to get residents to cough up fees. Sometimes, though, they have to go to court.
"We just started using the smalls claims court two years ago for dues issues," she said.
Other associations will foreclose on homes.
Michael Michalak is vice president of the Autumn Chase and Lakes Homeowners Association and said that while this West Ashley community hasn't taken anyone to court, it has forced one resident to move.
"We foreclosed on two places," he said. "They paid. One stayed, and one moved."
Nationwide, there are few laws governing HOAs. Local governments typically take a hands-off position, McKenzie said. Over-regulation is certainly a consideration, but McKenzie fears under-regulation could lead to trouble for the associations and the people who depend on them.
Since HOAs are private, they don't have the safety net that relatively small municipal governments have. Town, city and county governments can be bailed out in case of a financial emergency.
"Who's going to bail out a homeowners association?" McKenzie asked. "They have no institutional friends."
Shu Bartholomew started a radio show devoted solely to homeowners association issues after serving on one. Her show, On the Commons, is broadcast in northern Virginia on Saturdays and on the Internet. The show allows people from all over the country to have discussions about problems that arise in home ownership and in homeowners associations.
"We've been able to put a lot of issues on the table," Bartholomew said.
Five years after moving into Snee Farm, Ben Allen hopes he can resolve some issues of his own. The case regarding his neighbor's garage, a case he brought last October, is still being heard in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas. He hopes it will be resolved soon through mediation.
"We got a better understanding, basically by digging a little bit," Allen said.
Michael Gartland covers East Cooper. Contact him at 937-5902 or mgartland@postandcourier.com.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.charleston.net/stories/051104/loc_11hoa.shtml
For many, homeownership means abiding by HOA regulations
BY MICHAEL GARTLAND
Of The Post and Courier Staff
(This story includes some quotes from me and also from Shu Bartholomew. It is interesting because the reporter went into the issue of municipal dependence on HOAs. Here's the whole story because the link requires registration.)
Ben Allen didn't worry much about the rules he and his neighbors would have to follow when he moved into his Snee Farm home in Mount Pleasant five years ago.
"We picked the house first and read the covenant last," he recalled.
The letter of the development's law became more important to him last summer, though, when a neighbor decided to install a pre-fabricated garage.
"We wanted construction to stop," he said. Allen lobbied against it, saying it wasn't permissible under Snee Farm's covenant, but the Snee Farm Community Foundation, his homeowners association, had already approved the project.
The neighbor building the garage happened to be a member of the association's board of directors.
"We felt because he sat on the board they showed him more leeway, so we challenged it" in court, he said.
His story is not uncommon. In Charleston County, homeowners association disputes often wind up in small claims court. Last year, the county's small claims magistrate heard about two cases every week.
There are about 500 homeowners associations in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties; across the country, about 250,000. Most act as small governments, handling responsibilities such as landscaping, zoning enforcement and road and drainage repairs. They have the power to exact fines on residents, put liens on homes, and some can foreclose if all other discipline fails. Some even sue the cities within which they're situated.
In Snee Farm, the homeowners association sued the town for installing speed humps, a traffic calming device that some residents opposed.
Often people who buy a new home--and into an HOA--aren't aware of the powers such organizations wield. Some don't allow flags to fly or satellite dishes to be visible. Others forbid open garage doors and cars propped up on cinder blocks. Problems also can arise when the people running the associations, which have budgets that often reach into the millions, don't have the training or staff to handle the financial responsibilities.
Evan McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago, has been tracking and studying homeowners associations for 20 years and has written a book about it titled "Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government."
Part of the reason HOAs have increased from 500 in 1960 to a quarter million today is because cash-strapped municipal governments can't always afford to build roads and other necessities that new developments require, McKenzie said.
HOAs often pay for landscaping and roads previously financed by cities and towns.
"It's like a subsidy for local governments," McKenzie said. "Governments actively promote it."
Not only do municipalities save money on costs absorbed by HOA fees, but some charge developers fees for the impact on infrastructure that development brings.
Mount Pleasant Planning Director Joel Ford said homeowners associations have benefited the town over the years.
"We would have needed more in tax dollars to support (that) development," Ford said.
Typically, local governments don't exert much control over homeowners associations. North Charleston Planning Director Bill Gore said the city formally recognizes HOAs but has no say over how contractual disputes are resolved within them. Such disputes could involve zoning and infrastructure matters, issues typically seen as the purview of government.
"They have to attend to those agreements on their own," Gore said.
Developers benefit from the relative independence their communities have from local government. Paying for their own infrastructure enables developers to have more control over scale.
"It's very lucrative for builders to build this way because they can get much higher densities," McKenzie said. "Streets are a large expense. If you can make streets 5 or 6 feet narrower than the town allows, then that's all profit."
In the long run, though, these benefits can translate into problems for residents. Shoddy infrastructure often comes back to haunt residents who pay for repairs out of increased homeowners fees. Problems also can arise because some HOA directors have no experience handling the money or problems that accompany a planned development.
"They don't get any training, they don't know what they're doing, and they've got a lot of responsibility," McKenzie said.
Complaints about how property is managed have been common at Snee Farm. Some residents and members of the HOA's board of directors said decisions are made without voting, and that Michael Hart, the board's head, has taken on responsibilities that are not his to assume.
Hart said he does not manage the property, but enforces covenants and restrictions. He added that the community has never looked better.
"Nobody is claiming fraud or any other crime, but we are concerned with mismanagement," said Emilie Carey, who is on the board of directors and has lived in Snee Farm for 10 years.
The lawsuit filed against the town of Mount Pleasant over speed humps is central to the issue, and is yet to be resolved. Carey claimed the board never voted to sue or to hire a lawyer, but Hart denied this. "Everything is voted on by the board," he said.
Not all associations are as contentious as Snee Farm's.
Jim Trusso, president of the Little Oak Island Condominium Association at Folly Beach, said the biggest issue the group faces is homeowner ignorance of community living.
"People don't know or have a good grasp of what condominium or community living is all about," he said.
Michael Parades is trying to change that. He's a local property manager and the South Carolina chapter president of the Community Associations Institute. Educating homeowners and the 3,500 HOAs in the state, he said, is key to making them work smoothly.
"We're trying to get more homeowner participation," he said. "Most homeowners don't understand what they've bought into when they buy into a homeowner association."
Reaching out to untrained HOA managers is also key to making sure the communities are run more efficiently.
"Community managers need to know a lot of things. They need to know legal (matters), they need to know about insurance, they need to know about maintenance," he said. "In South Carolina, there's nothing that says you can't get into community management."
Many HOAs hire property managers to handle chores such as maintenance and tracking down residents who are overdue on fees.
At Bayview Farms on James Island, the homeowners association only gets involved if legal action seems imminent.
Karen Rapchick has served on the homeowners board at Bayview for three years and said that usually a small claims court notice is enough to get residents to cough up fees. Sometimes, though, they have to go to court.
"We just started using the smalls claims court two years ago for dues issues," she said.
Other associations will foreclose on homes.
Michael Michalak is vice president of the Autumn Chase and Lakes Homeowners Association and said that while this West Ashley community hasn't taken anyone to court, it has forced one resident to move.
"We foreclosed on two places," he said. "They paid. One stayed, and one moved."
Nationwide, there are few laws governing HOAs. Local governments typically take a hands-off position, McKenzie said. Over-regulation is certainly a consideration, but McKenzie fears under-regulation could lead to trouble for the associations and the people who depend on them.
Since HOAs are private, they don't have the safety net that relatively small municipal governments have. Town, city and county governments can be bailed out in case of a financial emergency.
"Who's going to bail out a homeowners association?" McKenzie asked. "They have no institutional friends."
Shu Bartholomew started a radio show devoted solely to homeowners association issues after serving on one. Her show, On the Commons, is broadcast in northern Virginia on Saturdays and on the Internet. The show allows people from all over the country to have discussions about problems that arise in home ownership and in homeowners associations.
"We've been able to put a lot of issues on the table," Bartholomew said.
Five years after moving into Snee Farm, Ben Allen hopes he can resolve some issues of his own. The case regarding his neighbor's garage, a case he brought last October, is still being heard in Charleston County Court of Common Pleas. He hopes it will be resolved soon through mediation.
"We got a better understanding, basically by digging a little bit," Allen said.
Michael Gartland covers East Cooper. Contact him at 937-5902 or mgartland@postandcourier.com.
Click here to return to story:
http://www.charleston.net/stories/051104/loc_11hoa.shtml
PLANETIZEN: Is Suburbia Killing Us?
As national and North Carolina overweight and obesity rates climbed to 59 percent in 2002, and runaway health-care costs hit the economy, writes University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Endeavors magazine writer Neil Caudle, many researchers looked beyond the usual suspects of ''fast food and too much television'' and began to implicate ''the 'built environment,' much of which was built around cars'' and gradually morphed into the ever-farther suburbs. ''We grow up with the understanding that the only way to travel is by car, and the only way for communities to develop is with a separation of uses,'' but the time has come for governments and businesses to grasp the value of mixed uses and ''the economic advantage of having people out and about without cars,'' stresses UNC School of Public Health's Department of Health Behavior and Health Education Associate Professor Rich Killingsworth.
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So...suburbanites drive too much, and that leads to obesity, and that leads to death? I'd have to read the study to be sure, but I'm starting out with a good deal of scepticism. Are suburbanites really fatter than people who live in central cities?
As national and North Carolina overweight and obesity rates climbed to 59 percent in 2002, and runaway health-care costs hit the economy, writes University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Endeavors magazine writer Neil Caudle, many researchers looked beyond the usual suspects of ''fast food and too much television'' and began to implicate ''the 'built environment,' much of which was built around cars'' and gradually morphed into the ever-farther suburbs. ''We grow up with the understanding that the only way to travel is by car, and the only way for communities to develop is with a separation of uses,'' but the time has come for governments and businesses to grasp the value of mixed uses and ''the economic advantage of having people out and about without cars,'' stresses UNC School of Public Health's Department of Health Behavior and Health Education Associate Professor Rich Killingsworth.
------------------
So...suburbanites drive too much, and that leads to obesity, and that leads to death? I'd have to read the study to be sure, but I'm starting out with a good deal of scepticism. Are suburbanites really fatter than people who live in central cities?
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
FOXNews.com - Top Stories - Private Rocket to Try Reaching Space
MOJAVE, Calif. — A privately developed manned rocket will attempt to reach space this month, its builders said Wednesday. It would be the first non-governmental flight to leave Earth's atmosphere. SpaceShipOne (search), created by aviation designer Burt Rutan and funded by billionaire Paul Allen (search), will attempt to reach an altitude of 62 miles on a suborbital flight over the Mojave Desert (search) on June 21. The rocket plane reached an altitude of about 40 miles during a test flight May 13. Suborbital flights are essentially up and down. The craft does not reach speeds fast enough go into orbit around the Earth. If the attempt is successful, SpaceShipOne will compete for the Ansari X Prize, a competition in which $10 million goes to the first reusable rocket able to carry three people into space on a suborbital flight, return them safely to Earth, and repeat the feat within two weeks with the same vehicle. A number of other private organizations are also developing contenders for the prize.
------------------------
I think SpaceShipOne is a weak name. How about....Moonraker?
MOJAVE, Calif. — A privately developed manned rocket will attempt to reach space this month, its builders said Wednesday. It would be the first non-governmental flight to leave Earth's atmosphere. SpaceShipOne (search), created by aviation designer Burt Rutan and funded by billionaire Paul Allen (search), will attempt to reach an altitude of 62 miles on a suborbital flight over the Mojave Desert (search) on June 21. The rocket plane reached an altitude of about 40 miles during a test flight May 13. Suborbital flights are essentially up and down. The craft does not reach speeds fast enough go into orbit around the Earth. If the attempt is successful, SpaceShipOne will compete for the Ansari X Prize, a competition in which $10 million goes to the first reusable rocket able to carry three people into space on a suborbital flight, return them safely to Earth, and repeat the feat within two weeks with the same vehicle. A number of other private organizations are also developing contenders for the prize.
------------------------
I think SpaceShipOne is a weak name. How about....Moonraker?
Update from California Law Revision Commission
Here's some updated information from the CLRC on two of the bills they proposed, both of which are in the legislature at present. One is AB 1836, dealing with alternative dispute resolution, and the other is AB 2376, that would implement the CLRC's recommendations on architectural review and rulemaking.
The CLRC, by the way, is in the Governator's sights. He wants to abolish it as a money-saving measure.
Here's some updated information from the CLRC on two of the bills they proposed, both of which are in the legislature at present. One is AB 1836, dealing with alternative dispute resolution, and the other is AB 2376, that would implement the CLRC's recommendations on architectural review and rulemaking.
The CLRC, by the way, is in the Governator's sights. He wants to abolish it as a money-saving measure.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Darwin Award Nominee?
A Lee's Summit man nearly drowned Monday morning while trying to recover his keys at Longview Lake. The Missouri Water Patrol gave the following account: The man, 54, used a garden hose as a breathing tube and jumped into the lake with a rope and a 20-pound anchor tied to his waist. He went underwater once and came up without the keys. He went down a second time, lost the garden hose and ran out of breath. A person on the surface realized something was wrong and pulled the man out with the rope. The victim was unresponsive for a short time but began breathing on his own. He refused medical treatment.
--------------
Some details are missing from this account. First, did he refuse treatment for anoxia or no-brain syndrome? Second, has he filed his lawsuit yet? The garden hose company, the manufacturer of the "anchor," whatever that was, the HOA if a private lake or municipality if public, the rescuer...did I leave anybody out?
A Lee's Summit man nearly drowned Monday morning while trying to recover his keys at Longview Lake. The Missouri Water Patrol gave the following account: The man, 54, used a garden hose as a breathing tube and jumped into the lake with a rope and a 20-pound anchor tied to his waist. He went underwater once and came up without the keys. He went down a second time, lost the garden hose and ran out of breath. A person on the surface realized something was wrong and pulled the man out with the rope. The victim was unresponsive for a short time but began breathing on his own. He refused medical treatment.
--------------
Some details are missing from this account. First, did he refuse treatment for anoxia or no-brain syndrome? Second, has he filed his lawsuit yet? The garden hose company, the manufacturer of the "anchor," whatever that was, the HOA if a private lake or municipality if public, the rescuer...did I leave anybody out?
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Alderman tricked by her gang lover
This is a member of the Chicago City Council who claims she didn't know her loverboy was a major league gang-banger. Do you believe that? I don't.
Embattled Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) has told associates she was searching for a long-term romance and thought a fugitive gang kingpin she believed was a legitimate businessman "might be the one" -- and now she feels "like she's been tricked." The associate described Troutman as "scared to death, a nervous wreck" after being questioned about her love affair with Donnell "Scandalous" Jehan by federal investigators probing the Black Disciples street gang. ...Two weeks ago, the feds wrapped up a six-year investigation of the Black Disciples with the arrest of 32 men. They were accused of presiding over a criminal empire that peddled up to $300,000 a day in cocaine and heroin and laundered the profits through legitimate investments, including real estate, construction and a recording studio. The FBI has identified Jehan, who is now on the lam, as the No. 3 man in the Black Disciples. Also known as "Big Scan," he's accused of controlling drug sales in a turf that stretched from the Dan Ryan Expy. to Cottage Grove and from 61st to 71st
----------------
This is the same alderman who gets free police protection outside her home, and who says, "Damn right...I deserve it!" I posted on that a few weeks ago as an example of the arrogance of government officials. Now Troutman has rung up another mention by being literally in bed with organized crime, and being so brazen as to claim she didn't know who she was sleeping with. In Chicago, I assure you she can get away with this. This will not hurt her standing with her constituents at all.
This is a member of the Chicago City Council who claims she didn't know her loverboy was a major league gang-banger. Do you believe that? I don't.
Embattled Ald. Arenda Troutman (20th) has told associates she was searching for a long-term romance and thought a fugitive gang kingpin she believed was a legitimate businessman "might be the one" -- and now she feels "like she's been tricked." The associate described Troutman as "scared to death, a nervous wreck" after being questioned about her love affair with Donnell "Scandalous" Jehan by federal investigators probing the Black Disciples street gang. ...Two weeks ago, the feds wrapped up a six-year investigation of the Black Disciples with the arrest of 32 men. They were accused of presiding over a criminal empire that peddled up to $300,000 a day in cocaine and heroin and laundered the profits through legitimate investments, including real estate, construction and a recording studio. The FBI has identified Jehan, who is now on the lam, as the No. 3 man in the Black Disciples. Also known as "Big Scan," he's accused of controlling drug sales in a turf that stretched from the Dan Ryan Expy. to Cottage Grove and from 61st to 71st
----------------
This is the same alderman who gets free police protection outside her home, and who says, "Damn right...I deserve it!" I posted on that a few weeks ago as an example of the arrogance of government officials. Now Troutman has rung up another mention by being literally in bed with organized crime, and being so brazen as to claim she didn't know who she was sleeping with. In Chicago, I assure you she can get away with this. This will not hurt her standing with her constituents at all.
AB 2598 Assembly Bill - Status
Steinberg's bill banning non-judicial foreclosure, referred to in the previous post, has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee for assignment.
Steinberg's bill banning non-judicial foreclosure, referred to in the previous post, has been sent to the Senate Rules Committee for assignment.
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Assembly votes to ban nonjudicial foreclosures in associations
Here's a good explanation of the Steinberg bill by Jim Wasserman of the Associated Press.
Here's a good explanation of the Steinberg bill by Jim Wasserman of the Associated Press.
Friday, May 28, 2004
Supreme Court Justice's in-Laws Told to Remove Flag; 'I'm Not About to,' He Says - from TBO.com
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Every morning since 9/11, Donald Lamp has hung his American flag from his apartment balcony. Managers of his retirement community want it gone, citing policy on building appearances. The case makes Lamp one of many Americans who, because of housing covenants, are discouraged from flying their flags this Memorial Day weekend. But Lamp is different from the rest. He is the father-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
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Oops. Now maybe we'll get some action from the United States Supreme Court on deprivation of basic constitutional liberties by homeowner associations...
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Every morning since 9/11, Donald Lamp has hung his American flag from his apartment balcony. Managers of his retirement community want it gone, citing policy on building appearances. The case makes Lamp one of many Americans who, because of housing covenants, are discouraged from flying their flags this Memorial Day weekend. But Lamp is different from the rest. He is the father-in-law of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
-------------
Oops. Now maybe we'll get some action from the United States Supreme Court on deprivation of basic constitutional liberties by homeowner associations...
SB 1682 Senate Bill - History
SB 1682, that passed the California Senate on May 18, is now in the Assembly committees on Judiciary and on Housing and Community Development. This bill bans nonjudicial foreclosure for assessment amounts under $2500.
So: Ducheny's bill (SB 1682) has passed the Senate and is in committee in the Assembly. And Steinberg's bill (AB 2598, see post immediately below) has passed the Assembly and is in the Senate, but has not been assigned out to committee yet.
Things must be getting rather hot in Sacramento right now...
SB 1682, that passed the California Senate on May 18, is now in the Assembly committees on Judiciary and on Housing and Community Development. This bill bans nonjudicial foreclosure for assessment amounts under $2500.
So: Ducheny's bill (SB 1682) has passed the Senate and is in committee in the Assembly. And Steinberg's bill (AB 2598, see post immediately below) has passed the Assembly and is in the Senate, but has not been assigned out to committee yet.
Things must be getting rather hot in Sacramento right now...
AB 2598 Assembly Bill - Status
Steinberg's bill just passed the California Assembly and is now headed to the Senate. This is the one that would ban nonjudicial foreclosure for collection of unpaid assessments.
Steinberg's bill just passed the California Assembly and is now headed to the Senate. This is the one that would ban nonjudicial foreclosure for collection of unpaid assessments.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Chicago Tribune | Mold tied to trouble breathing, little else
Mold can contribute to respiratory problems--especially in people with asthma--but there is no evidence that a host of other maladies is spawned by the fungi that thrive in damp, dank quarters, a long-awaited report concluded Tuesday. The 281-page study by the National Academies of Science is the most definitive look to date at the national controversy over mold, which has prompted hundreds of lawsuits, millions of dollars in cleanup costs and claims that the fungi breed a variety of illnesses. The scientific review found no proof that mold causes memory loss, fatigue, seizures, inhalation fevers, skin outbreaks or other conditions that many people say they've experienced as some experts have hyped the fungi as a modern-day plague. "The consequences of being exposed to toxic mold have largely been overstated," said Dr. Karin Pacheco, assistant professor of occupational and allergic disease at National Jewish Medical Research Center in Denver. The National Academies' report did, however, confirm well-documented and generally accepted claims: that symptoms for people with asthma can be exacerbated and that healthy people can develop coughs, wheezing and upper respiratory symptoms because of mold. It also shined a spotlight on a wide range of health hazards associated with dampness in buildings, and recommended the need for prompt action when water or moisture is discovered.
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That sound of breaking glass you hear is plaintiffs' attorneys jumping out of windows all over the nation.
Mold can contribute to respiratory problems--especially in people with asthma--but there is no evidence that a host of other maladies is spawned by the fungi that thrive in damp, dank quarters, a long-awaited report concluded Tuesday. The 281-page study by the National Academies of Science is the most definitive look to date at the national controversy over mold, which has prompted hundreds of lawsuits, millions of dollars in cleanup costs and claims that the fungi breed a variety of illnesses. The scientific review found no proof that mold causes memory loss, fatigue, seizures, inhalation fevers, skin outbreaks or other conditions that many people say they've experienced as some experts have hyped the fungi as a modern-day plague. "The consequences of being exposed to toxic mold have largely been overstated," said Dr. Karin Pacheco, assistant professor of occupational and allergic disease at National Jewish Medical Research Center in Denver. The National Academies' report did, however, confirm well-documented and generally accepted claims: that symptoms for people with asthma can be exacerbated and that healthy people can develop coughs, wheezing and upper respiratory symptoms because of mold. It also shined a spotlight on a wide range of health hazards associated with dampness in buildings, and recommended the need for prompt action when water or moisture is discovered.
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That sound of breaking glass you hear is plaintiffs' attorneys jumping out of windows all over the nation.
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > State -- Judge ousts two flocks of peafowl from Palos Verdes Estates
A Los Angeles judge said Palos Verdes Estates is illegally "keeping" peafowl by maintaining flocks of the free-roaming birds in two neighborhoods. Superior Court Judge Jane L. Johnson said in a six-page tentative decision made public Monday that the citywide homes association didn't give the city valid permission to keep the peacocks and peahens deemed a nuisance by many homeowners. The association wields unusual influence in the wealthy community, including powers over the color of homes. The board passed a resolution after the initial trial a year ago that gave the city written permission to "keep" the birds. In the original trial, Johnson held that proper permission had not been granted. But the resolution didn't constitute valid permission either, the judge said, because the association's own rules require that such decisions be made uniformly. In other words, the judge ruled, association members must be treated equally and one association member (the city) cannot be granted a right no other is accorded.
Must be nice for an HOA to have its own city.
A Los Angeles judge said Palos Verdes Estates is illegally "keeping" peafowl by maintaining flocks of the free-roaming birds in two neighborhoods. Superior Court Judge Jane L. Johnson said in a six-page tentative decision made public Monday that the citywide homes association didn't give the city valid permission to keep the peacocks and peahens deemed a nuisance by many homeowners. The association wields unusual influence in the wealthy community, including powers over the color of homes. The board passed a resolution after the initial trial a year ago that gave the city written permission to "keep" the birds. In the original trial, Johnson held that proper permission had not been granted. But the resolution didn't constitute valid permission either, the judge said, because the association's own rules require that such decisions be made uniformly. In other words, the judge ruled, association members must be treated equally and one association member (the city) cannot be granted a right no other is accorded.
Must be nice for an HOA to have its own city.
AB 2598 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis
Here's an explanation of the bill, and I note that it seems to have passed the Judiciary Committee:
SUMMARY : Seeks to give homeowners more reasonable protections
in their dealings with their homeowners' associations, leading
to a more balanced "playing field." Specifically, among other
things, this bill :
1)Prohibits the use of the non-judicial foreclosure process by
homeowner associations in collecting overdue assessments when
the underlying debt is for the failure to pay association
assessments or dues.
2)Permits any member of a homeowner association to file a civil
action against the association should the member be denied
access to needed association records, including accounting
documents and membership lists, for inspection and copying;
provides for an award of attorney's fees to the resident if
she or he prevails in a civil action brought against a home
owners' association for a breach of this provision; authorizes
the court to impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per
violation of this provision; and clarifies that associations
may, consistent with existing law, redact information relating
to identity theft or attorney-client privilege.
3)Makes a technical correction to legislation enacted last year
(AB 1525, Longville) to comport with the Legislature's intent
in that law to protect a homeowner's right to express views
from their homes by using traditional methods of communication
such as window signs and lawn signs.
Here's an explanation of the bill, and I note that it seems to have passed the Judiciary Committee:
SUMMARY : Seeks to give homeowners more reasonable protections
in their dealings with their homeowners' associations, leading
to a more balanced "playing field." Specifically, among other
things, this bill :
1)Prohibits the use of the non-judicial foreclosure process by
homeowner associations in collecting overdue assessments when
the underlying debt is for the failure to pay association
assessments or dues.
2)Permits any member of a homeowner association to file a civil
action against the association should the member be denied
access to needed association records, including accounting
documents and membership lists, for inspection and copying;
provides for an award of attorney's fees to the resident if
she or he prevails in a civil action brought against a home
owners' association for a breach of this provision; authorizes
the court to impose a civil penalty of up to $500 per
violation of this provision; and clarifies that associations
may, consistent with existing law, redact information relating
to identity theft or attorney-client privilege.
3)Makes a technical correction to legislation enacted last year
(AB 1525, Longville) to comport with the Legislature's intent
in that law to protect a homeowner's right to express views
from their homes by using traditional methods of communication
such as window signs and lawn signs.
AB 2598 Assembly Bill - AMENDED
The bill still includes a ban on HOA nonjudicial foreclosure. The language that would have made association contracts available for copying by members has been deleted. The language limiting regular and special assessments increases to the annual CPI is gone.
The bill still includes a ban on HOA nonjudicial foreclosure. The language that would have made association contracts available for copying by members has been deleted. The language limiting regular and special assessments increases to the annual CPI is gone.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Tom Miller strikes again: 20 Los Angeles Homeowners Recover $1.32 Million for Hearing Their Neighbors Snore
Construction defect attorneys Tom Miller and Brian
Kabateck have just landed a settlement mid-trial based on lack of soundproofing . This is a press release, so adjust your filters accordingly:
LOS ANGELES, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Downtown Los Angeles loft owners recovered $1.32 million for the luxury of hearing their neighbors at all hours of the day and night. When homeowners at the Toy Warehouse lofts moved into their new homes in 2001, they began to hear their neighbors cooking dinner, talking, watching TV, snoring in their sleep and even using the bathroom. When they looked into the problem, they found that the builder never followed the building plans and omitted soundproofing between the walls and the floors. The owners were left with no option but to a claim with the builder on January 1, 2003. The case went all the way to trial. Two weeks into trial, just at the Plaintiffs rested, the case was settled for $1.32 million. The developer offered a mere $125,000 before trial to settle the case. This case was fully resolved in less than 16 months. According the owners' attorney, Thomas E. Miller of The Miller Law Firm, "It is not uncommon in this kind of dense living for people to hear their neighbors in certain situations. But, this was just another blatant example of how builders cut corners and the consumer pays for the these mistakes."...
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The release says the "lead trial counsel" was Brian Kabateck, of Kabateck & Garris. Kabateck had this to say:
"In order to keep developers and their insurance companies honest and to continue to pay for consumer claims for shoddy construction, it becomes necessary to try these cases. Trial by jury is the ultimate protection for the home buying public and the fact that this case was resolved in less than 16 months is a boost for California consumers."
Construction defect attorneys Tom Miller and Brian
Kabateck have just landed a settlement mid-trial based on lack of soundproofing . This is a press release, so adjust your filters accordingly:
LOS ANGELES, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Downtown Los Angeles loft owners recovered $1.32 million for the luxury of hearing their neighbors at all hours of the day and night. When homeowners at the Toy Warehouse lofts moved into their new homes in 2001, they began to hear their neighbors cooking dinner, talking, watching TV, snoring in their sleep and even using the bathroom. When they looked into the problem, they found that the builder never followed the building plans and omitted soundproofing between the walls and the floors. The owners were left with no option but to a claim with the builder on January 1, 2003. The case went all the way to trial. Two weeks into trial, just at the Plaintiffs rested, the case was settled for $1.32 million. The developer offered a mere $125,000 before trial to settle the case. This case was fully resolved in less than 16 months. According the owners' attorney, Thomas E. Miller of The Miller Law Firm, "It is not uncommon in this kind of dense living for people to hear their neighbors in certain situations. But, this was just another blatant example of how builders cut corners and the consumer pays for the these mistakes."...
--------------------
The release says the "lead trial counsel" was Brian Kabateck, of Kabateck & Garris. Kabateck had this to say:
"In order to keep developers and their insurance companies honest and to continue to pay for consumer claims for shoddy construction, it becomes necessary to try these cases. Trial by jury is the ultimate protection for the home buying public and the fact that this case was resolved in less than 16 months is a boost for California consumers."
Monday, May 24, 2004
Newsday.com - Former HUD chief, politicians form coalition to oppose federal housing policy
NEW YORK (AP) _ A group of Democratic politicians, anti-poverty advocates and nonprofit organizations announced on Monday the formation of a coalition to fight changes in federal housing policy and threatened to sue unless the changes are reversed. The new Coalition to Save America's Affordable Housing charged that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development interpreted provisions in a congressional appropriations bill in a way that enabled it to limit reimbursements to state agencies for the Section 8 voucher program, which helps poor people pay their rent. The coalition, headed by former New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, said the Bush administration, not Congress, mandated the changes...On April 22, HUD announced it would reimburse housing authorities for vouchers based on Aug. 1, 2003, costs plus an annual inflation adjustment that would cover 2004. Critics complained that the department's reading of the budget was incorrect and that the government should continue to update voucher costs every three months to more accurately reflect cost-of-living increases.
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Oh, the horror. This is worse than Abu Ghraib.
Andrew Cuomo was Clinton's HUD Secretary after Henry Cisneros went out in a scandal. After Bush was elected, Cuomo ran an unsuccessful candidacy for NY governor in 2002. He withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination after the Clintons and other heavyweights decided to back Carl McCall (who was kicked brutally to the curb by George Pataki--McCall ended up with only 33% of the general election vote ).
As long as we are strolling down Memory Lane, Henry Cisneros, you may recall, lied to the FBI about payments he made to a mistress. Cisneros copped to one misdemeanor count in 1999, and Clinton pardoned him just before leaving office.
Section 8 was central to the Clinton Administration's "deconcentration" policies aimed at knocking down the big housing projects and scattering the families around the metro area. The vouchers let the former public housing tenants rent from private landlords.
NEW YORK (AP) _ A group of Democratic politicians, anti-poverty advocates and nonprofit organizations announced on Monday the formation of a coalition to fight changes in federal housing policy and threatened to sue unless the changes are reversed. The new Coalition to Save America's Affordable Housing charged that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development interpreted provisions in a congressional appropriations bill in a way that enabled it to limit reimbursements to state agencies for the Section 8 voucher program, which helps poor people pay their rent. The coalition, headed by former New York Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, said the Bush administration, not Congress, mandated the changes...On April 22, HUD announced it would reimburse housing authorities for vouchers based on Aug. 1, 2003, costs plus an annual inflation adjustment that would cover 2004. Critics complained that the department's reading of the budget was incorrect and that the government should continue to update voucher costs every three months to more accurately reflect cost-of-living increases.
----------
Oh, the horror. This is worse than Abu Ghraib.
Andrew Cuomo was Clinton's HUD Secretary after Henry Cisneros went out in a scandal. After Bush was elected, Cuomo ran an unsuccessful candidacy for NY governor in 2002. He withdrew from the race for the Democratic nomination after the Clintons and other heavyweights decided to back Carl McCall (who was kicked brutally to the curb by George Pataki--McCall ended up with only 33% of the general election vote ).
As long as we are strolling down Memory Lane, Henry Cisneros, you may recall, lied to the FBI about payments he made to a mistress. Cisneros copped to one misdemeanor count in 1999, and Clinton pardoned him just before leaving office.
Section 8 was central to the Clinton Administration's "deconcentration" policies aimed at knocking down the big housing projects and scattering the families around the metro area. The vouchers let the former public housing tenants rent from private landlords.
Pasco: Pasco neighbors seeing yellow over dogs
This story not only shows the nuttiness of some HOAs but gives a historical lesson on pooper-scoopers and related doggy-doo trivia.
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Vivian Bogul always picks up after her female dogs, a beagle mix and a Labrador mix that accompany her on morning walks through Autumn Oaks, a deed-restricted subdivision off County Line Road. It's the urine that's the problem."If you don't water it and dilute it, it kills the grass," said Ron Ruppe, a retired New York police officer who lives down the street. "If that happens, you're in violation of the deed restrictions because your grass is dead." The problem gets worse when other dogs sniff out the spot and decide to mark it, too, he said. That's why some neighbors are questioning whether public pet urination violates the deed restrictions in Autumn Oaks. Neighbor Tom Contino cites this passage in the community's covenants: "No noxious or offensive activity or nuisance shall be carried (out) on, in or about any lot, unit or common area." The homeowners association's attorney is reviewing the matter, and the board of directors could decide at its June 2 meeting whether that passage applies to Mrs. Bogul's dogs.
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Things kind of go downhill from there...
This story not only shows the nuttiness of some HOAs but gives a historical lesson on pooper-scoopers and related doggy-doo trivia.
----------------------
Vivian Bogul always picks up after her female dogs, a beagle mix and a Labrador mix that accompany her on morning walks through Autumn Oaks, a deed-restricted subdivision off County Line Road. It's the urine that's the problem."If you don't water it and dilute it, it kills the grass," said Ron Ruppe, a retired New York police officer who lives down the street. "If that happens, you're in violation of the deed restrictions because your grass is dead." The problem gets worse when other dogs sniff out the spot and decide to mark it, too, he said. That's why some neighbors are questioning whether public pet urination violates the deed restrictions in Autumn Oaks. Neighbor Tom Contino cites this passage in the community's covenants: "No noxious or offensive activity or nuisance shall be carried (out) on, in or about any lot, unit or common area." The homeowners association's attorney is reviewing the matter, and the board of directors could decide at its June 2 meeting whether that passage applies to Mrs. Bogul's dogs.
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Things kind of go downhill from there...
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