Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Rich, lonely woman Betty Harris, who died aged 95, leaves $12.5 million estate to neighbour | News.com.au

Rich, lonely woman Betty Harris, who died aged 95, leaves $12.5 million estate to neighbour | News.com.au:
A rich but lonely old lady has left her entire estate, worth $12.5 million to her neighbour, who bought her bread and milk and helped her manage her daily chores.

Betty Harris, who died aged 95 in 2009, chose to leave her estate to her neighbour in the millionaires enclave of Point Piper in Sydney after she felt her niece was trying to force her into a nursing home.
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Proving once again that being nice to your neighbors pays off.  The lady in the post below should read this.

WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports - Cops Tell D. Springs Woman To Take Down ''offensive'' Christmas Lights

WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports - Cops Tell D. Springs Woman To Take Down ''offensive'' Christmas Lights
A Denham Springs woman got a visit from the cops after nearby residents were offended by her somewhat unorthodox Christmas lights display. Homeowner Sarah Henderson intentionally fashioned the lights on her roof (photo, above) to look like a human hand "flipping the bird."  Neighbors called police to complain, and Denham Springs Police Corporal Shawn Perkins paid her a visit. Corporal Perkins said the woman told him she put the display as a direct message to her neighbors.  "It was a message to an ongoing dispute she was having with other homeowners on that same street," Perkins told WWL First News. Perkins says he informed Henderson that the display was in violation of obscenity laws and that it must come down, or else.
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And a Merry Christmas to all!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Backyard camping about to go legal in Superior - Boulder Daily Camera

Backyard camping about to go legal in Superior - Boulder Daily Camera:
Magley said the anti-camping language in the code evolved from the town's desire not to see itinerant housing popping up willy-nilly in residents' yards.

"We don't want someone renting out their backyard to someone to camp," he said. "But we also wouldn't want to prevent kids enjoying camping in their backyards over the weekend."

Ian Elverson, president of the 2,804-home Rock Creek Homeowners Association, said there are no official statistics on how many families in Superior engage in the time-honored practice of backyard camping. But he said there's been no shortage of anecdotal evidence that it happens on a regular basis.
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The town is out HOAing the HOA.

Northwest Herald | Township road thieves: Letter to the editor

Northwest Herald | Township road thieves:
"Municipal and homeowners association property owners pay about 90 percent of the cost of maintaining township subdivision roads. Decade after decade, townships have filled their coffers at the expense of municipal and homeowners association taxpayers. Over the years, townships have benefited by millions of hard-earned tax dollars from these sources. Example: McHenry Township Road District revenue in 2011 was $2,924,321.77. Most of this amount was spent on township subdivision roads. Illinois township laws are unfair to McHenry County municipal taxpayers. Illinois township laws are unfair to McHenry County homeowners associations."
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As Fred Pilot would say, "so there!"

Homeowners in Katy neighborhood upset over vehicles towed from in front of their own homes | abc13.com

Homeowners in Katy neighborhood upset over vehicles towed from in front of their own homes | abc13.com: KATY, TX (KTRK) -- There's a battle brewing between homeowners and the association in charge of the neighborhood, all over where people are parking their cars.
Some homeowners in Katy are upset because they say their cars are being towed from in front of their own houses. The homeowners association says it's not where people are parking, but the way they are parking that's causing problems.

Sonia Azad will have more on this story this afternoon on ABC13 Eyewitness News.
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First come the tow trucks, then the TV news crews, followed by the lawyers.  Good for the tow operators, good for TV news viewership and good for the CID bar.  Privatopia. What a country!

Auxiliary players in Plymouth Hill Condo Association scheme plead guilty - The Times Herald

Auxiliary players in Plymouth Hill Condo Association scheme plead guilty - The Times Herald: COURTHOUSE — While they might have been on the sidelines — not quite in the spotlight like the scheme’s ringleaders — John Jurkofsky and Roosevelt Harris are doing time for their involvement in an operation that got them rich with other people’s money.

Last month, Jurkofsky and Harris pleaded guilty to theft by deception and criminal conspiracy in the case of the Plymouth Hill Condo Association, which resulted in the swindling of hundreds of thousands of dollars from condominium residents in the form of charging inflated prices for resident fees and contracted services.
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Most of the prosecutions of managers and board members to date have been for embezzlement, which is a relatively simple crime. People who have the right to touch the money decide to steal it. But the more sophisticated way to bilk CID residents is the "death of the thousand cuts" approach--set up a system of inflated or completely bogus charges that eventually add up to a fortune.

Courthouse News Service: Sex offender banned, sues condo association

Courthouse News Service:
AUSTIN (CN) - A sex offender sued his condo association for banning registered sex offenders from living there soon after he was released from prison. Theodore Whipple and his wife sued the Valley View Village Condominium Homeowners Association in Federal Court.
Whipple claims he was convicted of a sex offense 20 years ago and that he has lived with his wife at the condominium since 2008.
"On September 17, 2012, the husband was released from prison and returned to their condominium home after serving a 34-month sentence for failing to register correctly his residence in the sex offender registry," the complaint states.
"On September 18, 2012, the condominium association posted a notice on plaintiffs' door announcing for the first time that registered sex offenders are not allowed to live in the condominium."
Whipple says he is classified as a low-risk sex offender, and that Valley View has banned all registered sex offenders, regardless of their risk level.
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What limits should there be on the power of CIDs to exclude people?