Ontario mom faces $2M libel suit for website about problems in neighbourhood
Can you say "SLAPP suit, Canadian style," eh?
In other news, I'm not able to post from my office because the new computer the university set me up with has now decided to display the blue screen of death instead of booting up. This is not supposed to happen anymore now that we have OSX, right?

CP) - A stay-at-home mother of three who created a website to alert the government about allegedly dangerous environmental problems in her southwestern Ontario neighbourhood is facing a $2 million libel suit by one of the developers she reported on. Louisette Lanteigne of Waterloo, Ont., said she grew sick of what she saw during construction in her new subdivision and what appeared to be questionable building practices and labour-code violations.

Bringing a Law School Down
Should Ave Maria be part of a "Catholic Jonestown"?

That's a bit strong, isn't it? Instead of "Catholic Jonestown," how about "Catholicville"? This is about the goings-on at Ave Maria Law School, recently accredited by the American Bar Association and now perhaps headed to what looks to me like a Catholic planned community. I wonder if the HOA will be "Catholics only"...

Mr. Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza and the school's principal benefactor, has announced plans to build a large Catholic university outside Naples, Fla., along with a residential community. (The ground-breaking ceremony for Ave Maria Town, as it will be called, was delayed indefinitely by the recent hurricane.) Will the law school move to Naples too, from Ann Arbor? The school's dean, Bernard Dobranski, acknowledges that the board is "open to consideration of the idea."

Condo's whopping ads
a big headache
Nancy Levy sent this story about an enterprising condo association:

A Rego Park condo is exploiting a loophole that allows it to transform its residential tower into a gigantic billboard - pocketing thousands of dollars - while the city is powerless to do much about it. When two racy lingerie ads were recently mounted on scaffolding on both sides of Queens Blvd. Tower - a 16-story building overlooking the Long Island Expressway - the condo's management was given five citations and ordered to remove the ads within 35 days. It complied just before an Oct. 13 deadline. But shortly afterward, another 100-foot-tall sign popped up on the west side of the building, this time promoting the upcoming "Harry Potter" movie.

Iowa Town Has Tough Time Finding Eligible Voters
Sounds like an HOA election, but it is a municipality of sorts.

ANAMOSA, IA. (AP) -- Anamosa, Iowa, has found out how difficult it can be to fill a vacant city council seat -- especially when most of the residents are behind bars. The city's Ward Two includes the Anamosa State Penitentiary. That left just 58 non-inmates in the district. Even though the city has grown, Ward Two only had 65 registered voters in Tuesday's election. In Tuesday's election there were only three votes, all of them write-ins.

Privatize Fannie and Freddie

Here's a commentary from National Review Online:

Confronted by a real problem related to the semi-governmental status of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Congress is opting for strict new regulations that amount to a de facto nationalization of these government-sponsored enterprises. The best solution would be precisely the opposite — full privatization. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were they to go private, would be normal, private companies in all respects, no longer receiving any special government benefits nor subject to special regulatory restraints.

New law creates changes for homeowner associations

North Carolina joins the HOA reform parade with this bill, news of which is sent from Fred Pilot:

A new law will create some big changes for homeowner associations across the state. The number of homeowner associations has exploded in the last five years. More than half of all homeowners in North Carolina now belong to an association. The law puts a cap on fines and fees the association can charge.

Escaped pit bulls attack six people, terrorize neighborhood; child critically injured

This horrible event happened in an HOA not far from where we live. I was arguing with a couple of animal-lovers a few weeks ago about pit pulls. I think they should be banned because they are unpredicable. Of course the dog lovers cling to the notion that there are no bad dogs, only bad owners. But this story is one of many where the pit bulls were being treated well and went nuts anyway. Go ahead, pit bull lovers. Send me your hate mail. I think they should be outlawed. If I had my way you'd have to switch to Rottweillers.


CARY, Ill. ? A 10-year-old boy was in critical condition Sunday after three pit bulls escaped from a home and went on a rampage, attacking six people before police shot and killed dogs, authorities said.

San Francisco Examiner:Mullin: Home groups need more oversight

Fred Pilot sent this along:

SAN MATEO ? Concerned that homeowners associations are wielding too much unchecked power over the residents they regulate, Assemblyman Gene Mullin is sponsoring legislation calling for more state regulation on common interest developments. Mullin scheduled a hearing for 6 p.m. tonight in San Mateo City Council Chambers on a bill to establish a state ombudsman to help association officers and residents better understand the rules that govern the developments, which account for one-quarter of the state?s housing stock. ?There is no oversight of these organizations, which wield considerable power over people?s lives and homes,? Mullin said in a prepared statement.

Residents of Paris Suburbs at Gangs' Mercy
This is quite an indictment of the French version of suburbanization. Maybe building huge public housing complexes in the suburbs and filling them up with welfare-dependent and unassimilated Muslim immigrants isn't such a good idea.

Whatever their motivation, youths leading the violence that in 10 nights has spread across France sow fear, anger and frustration among their fellow residents of "Les Cites" — grim, public housing estates on the outskirts of French cities heavily populated by poor Arab and black Africans. Some officials suspect the unrest that reached into Paris proper early Sunday has in part been instigated by gangs hoping to turn their neighborhoods into no-go zones for police so drug trafficking and racketeering can thrive.

Mayor Takes Government 'Into the Neighborhood' With New Outreach Team

Nancy Levy sent this "wonderful day in the neighborhood," Mr. Rogers-esque piece from Louisville, Kentucky. I guess condos and hoas aren't just for Florida and California anymore...



LOUISVILLE) -- Mayor Jerry Abramson has announced that citizens can be more connected to government through a new team created within the Louisville Metro Department of Neighborhoods. Called Neighborhood Outreach Liaisons, the five-person team will empower neighborhoods with an array of community-building tools...The Neighborhood Liaisons’ primary purpose is to connect the community with government and make government more accessible. Outreach programs include:

Assisting residents to start or rejuvenate neighborhood, homeowner or condominium associations

Heading for DC
I'm off to DC tomorrow (Thursday) for two events. I'm on a panel at The Urban Institute where we will be discussing Bob Nelson's book Private Neighborhoods, along with Bob himself, Tom Skiba from CAI, and others. Saturday Bob and I and Lee Fennell and others are on a panel at the meeting of the Association for Public Policy and Management. I think the focus of both will be Bob's controversial proposal to replace existing neighborhoods with HOAs, and let them replace municipalities.

Click2Houston.com - News - Condo Complex Sues To Evict Dying Dog
Nancy Levy sent along this story about a condo association with a heart of lead.

HOUSTON -- Most pet owners would do just about anything to protect their four-legged friend. A Houston-area man is taking his condo complex to court in an effort to keep his dying dog at home, the KPRC Troubleshooters reported Monday. 12-year-old Monty is a golden retriever with a good life. "His main job is sleeping. He sleeps a whole lot and then I take him for a walk three times a day," owner John McKiski said. But the council at Monty's Clear Lake condominium complex wants him gone. "No dogs over 30 pounds (are allowed)," McKiski said.

Becker & Poliakoff Urges South Florida Cities to Follow New FEMA Debris Removal Guidelines for Gated Communities

Fred Pilot sent this link to a press release from big HOA law firm...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., a diversified commercial law firm based in Ft. Lauderdale and a leader in community association law statewide, has urged more than 200 municipal officials throughout ten South Florida counties impacted by Hurricane Wilma to follow new guidelines of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and remove debris from gated communities in their cities.

Tiny Vegas home sits at center of housing craze--
His property in demand, former waiter raises asking price to $1.2 million
...and no HOA, either!

Radburn board told to install democratic rule; State orders open meetings, votes for homeowners group


From Don Nordeen comes this major event regarding the granddaddy of American HOAs, developed in 1928, the community of Radburn in New Jersey...

FAIR LAWN - The board of trustees that runs the historic Radburn community must adopt open meetings and elections, and provide an appeals process for resolving disputes, according to state officials who have gotten involved in a battle between the board and a group of homeowners. The Radburn Association, the non-profit corporation that governs the community, must provide residents with "the statutory rights afforded all owners in homeowners associations," according to a letter sent to the association in August by Edward Hannaman, the head of the Association Regulation unit of the state Department of Community Affairs.

Homeowner groups have got the power
Nancy Levy sent along this blunt acknowledgement of the facts of life in Florida.

Village Leaders Contemplate Assessment Increase

Nancy Levy found this example of public/private government line-blurring. Looks like the munical government operates out of office space owned by the association--if I'm reading it right.

BELLA VISTA -- Audience members applauded Thursday when the Property Owners Association's Board of Directors voted to move forward with the renovation of the Bella Vista Country Club building.The clubhouse, which closed to regular business Aug. 1, 2002, will be converted into administrative offices, a small restaurant and common area with seating.General Manager Tommy Bailey hopes the work will be completed by January 2007. The building will serve as offices for several administrative departments, freeing Town Center office space for the Bella Vista Fire Department and the Bella Vista Division of the Benton County Sheriff's Office.

Man killed by deer in one of the ritziest gated communities on Earth
A Fairbanks Ranch man died this week after a violent encounter with a buck that was roaming the exclusive gated neighborhood. On Sept. 25, Ron Dudek went into his back yard to pick tomatoes when he unexpectedly came upon a 6-foot-tall deer next to his house. The buck hit him with its antlers in the face, tearing a hole in his cheek and shoving the bony antler into his mouth.

10ft snake popped out of lavatories at block of flats

How inhospitable of these residents. The poor snake was no doubt just trying to get warm. :-)
WHEN residents in a block of flats saw a 10ft boa constrictor slithering from their lavatory bowls, their claims were treated with scepticism. They resorted to placing bricks on lavatory lids after the snake put in several surprise appearances. Now the flat-owners have been vindicated: one brave resident trapped the giant reptile during a night-time confrontation in his bathroom. He managed to coax the snake, named Keith, into a bin, ending a two-month reign of terror at the flats in West Didsbury, Manchester.

Private school teacher fired for refusing to display flag
Here's a switch. Private HOAs ban flag display, get bad press. Private school mandates flag display, gets bad press.

"I had come to the end of all the procedures of appeal available to me," [Stephen] Kobasa, 57, said Friday. He said his deep-seated religious belief, not un-American sentiments, was at the core of his opposition to having the flag in the classroom. "The crucifix cancels all flags," said Kobasa, a longtime peace activist. "Christ speaks of compassion without boundaries. ...Flags are about separation, assertions of superiority and aggression. The whole notion that loyalty to country is connected to one's religious faith is totally bizarre and unjustified."