The Era Of Giant Chain Stores Is Over - Business Insider

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


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

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

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

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

The Orwellian world of Privatopia

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

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

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

Pay assessments first, challenge them later!

Homeowners association: Homeowners association bill proposed - OrlandoSentinel.com

"Homeowners behind on their community-association dues would have to make good on the full amount before fighting the charges, under proposed legislation that would also bring state oversight to Florida's homeowner associations. Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, filed a bill this week that would essentially fast-track community associations' ability to foreclose on houses or condo units with unpaid dues. If a homeowner did not deposit the unpaid balance in a special registry as directed by a court, the association could foreclose immediately on the house. Currently, owners can contest associations' charges in a process that can stretch out for years."

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With condo associations becoming insolvent, the industry wants to keep them from going under. The solution? Make the owners pay first, challenge assessments later. Making life harder for owners is the default solution for most problems, it seems. 

Fairfax homeowners group humbled by court battle with residents - The Washington Post

Fairfax homeowners group humbled by court battle with residents - The Washington Post:
The feud that consumed Fairfax County’s Olde Belhaven would span four years and cost the community as much as $400,000, and it was ignited by one of the smallest of sparks: an Obama for President sign. The modest placard Sam and Maria Farran planted in their yard during the 2008 election put them on a collision course with the neighborhood homeowners association. It was four inches taller than the association’s covenants allowed....“Their growth means there are a lot of people in HOAs who haven’t necessarily bought into the lifestyle,” said Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois professor who has written two books on HOAs. “Some like the higher level of rulemaking, but others don’t like the fines and control. You have conflict when these groups come together.”
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Good story from the Washington Post on this horribly expensive lawsuit.

How A Homeowners Association Went Bankrupt Because Of One Obama Yard Sign – The Consumerist

How A Homeowners Association Went Bankrupt Because Of One Obama Yard Sign – The Consumerist: Back in 2008, a couple in Olde Fairhaven, Virginia put up a sign in their lawn showing their support for a presidential candidate. This simple action led to a feud that has raged for years and cost the neighborhood homeowners association hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now the HOA is broke, and the central “town square” that turns a clump of townhouses into something resembling a community is up for sale.
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Well played, HOA board of directors and law firm. Did you learn anything?  Did any other HOA board learn anything?

Honduras allows corporations to set up private cities

Inside Story - Al Jazeera English:
"Honduras revives the idea of the charter city - free-market enclaves where corporations can operate virtually under their own rules.

"Honduras is a place that has been devastated for literally centuries by the oligarchs. But now there are some laws that get in their way and they would like to get rid of those laws .... They simply see this as yet another way to increase their wealth at the expense of other folks."

- William Black, a professor of economics and law"
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Fairfax homeowners group humbled by court battle with residents - The Washington Post

Fairfax homeowners group humbled by court battle with residents - The Washington Post The feud that consumed Fairfax County’s Olde Belhaven would span four years and cost the community as much as $400,000, and it was ignited by one of the smallest of sparks: an Obama for President sign. The modest placard Sam and Maria Farran planted in their yard during the 2008 election put them on a collision course with the neighborhood homeowners association. It was four inches taller than the association’s covenants allowed. “Need I say more! This would lead to chaos,” a neighbor fretted in an e-mail about the precedent that would be set if the sign wasn’t removed. “Our property values would be put at risk.”
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The horror!  The horror!  HOA Apocalypse Now!  (The perfessor is quoted)

TEXAS – Jury Decides for Homeowners – $1,356,880 Awarded Homeowners; $616,678 for Attorney Fees « HOA Reform Coalition

TEXAS – Jury Decides for Homeowners – $1,356,880 Awarded Homeowners; $616,678 for Attorney Fees « HOA Reform Coalition
" Houston – Years of frustration and lawsuits finally ended Friday February 8, 2013, when a group of homeowners at The Landing Condominium in El Lago, Texas, won their case before a Harris County jury. Maintaining that the Board of Directors of the Association failed to follow the Condominium Declaration, Bylaws and the Texas Property Code after Hurricane Ike, the homeowners, led by Mary Lou Durham and Lee Ann Wheelbarger, sought and won their damages and attorney fees for the demolition of their condominiums.

Attorneys Andy Taylor, Mitchell Katine and Gregory Cagle represented the homeowners in this case."

USA v. Mariner's Cove Townhomes Association

As part of the Hurricane Katrina repairs, the federal government used eminent domain to demolish 14 townhome units, and paid "just compensation" to the unit owners. The townhome association demanded compensation for loss of assessment revenue.  The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that no compensation is required because, "...the right to collect assessments is a real covenant that functions like a contract and...is not 'directly connected with the physical substance of the land.'"  The court notes that the majority view requires compensation for lost assessment revenue when units are taken, but then goes on to adopt the minority view.  Why?  Private covenants might unduly burden government's ability to exercise the power of eminent domain, and this intriguing language:  "Another theory is that real covenants
are akin to contracts; that no contract of private persons can make acts done in
the proper exercise of governmental powers, and not directly encroaching upon
private property, a taking; and that “contracts purporting to do this are void, as
against public policy.” United States v. Certain Lands (In re Newlin), 112 F. 622,
aff’d, 153 F. 876 (C.C.R.I. 1907)."

Judge who shoved deputy found not guilty by reason of insanity - chicagotribune.com

Judge who shoved deputy found not guilty by reason of insanity - chicagotribune.com

This is not from The Onion:
 
"Brim has been hospitalized five times since her 1994 election after going off her anti-psychotic meds, according to testimony. In 2004, firefighters removed her from a courtroom and took her to a hospital, said psychiatrist Matthew Markos. Brim was hospitalized for 20 days after her arrest last year, he said. Markos said at the time Brim was hospitalized, she was catatonic, confused, irrational and showing signs of paranoia and psychosis. Brim was re-elected to another six-year term as a judge in November. She was backed by the Cook County Democratic Party as well as the Committee for Retention of Judges in Cook County, a campaign committee funded by judges."
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Yes, you read that correctly. Brim has been on the bench in Chicago since 1994, despite being psychotic.  She has been psychiatrically hospitalized five times, most recently last year, which didn't prevent her from being re-elected for another 6 years with the backing of the Cook County Democratic Party and the judges' retention committee.  Sure, we all have our stories about judges, but I invite you to top this one.

In rush to urbanize, China flattens 700 mountains

In rush to urbanize, China flattens 700 mountains:
"Despite environmental concerns about the project's feasibility and long-term impact on this arid, polluted region, a government-hired private developer is slicing the tops off 700 low-level, barren mountains and filling in the valleys to create a 10-square-mile base for "Lanzhou New City," 8 miles from Gansu's grimy capital."
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Urban planning, Chinese style.  "I am striving to win honor for Chinese people," says Yan, nicknamed "the Bulldozer."

Proposed bill would help homeowners in gated communities | PoconoRecord.com

Proposed bill would help homeowners in gated communities | PoconoRecord.com: Newly introduced Pennsylvania House Bill 319 aims to give property owners better access to the records in their associations by requiring all association records, with a few exceptions, be accessible for inspection and duplication by owners.

"With alarming frequency, people come to me with frustrations about getting access to association records," said Rep. Mike Carroll, D-118.

Carroll is a co-sponsor of the bill, which has been introduced several times before, but has never had enough traction to get to the floor for discussion.
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It's hide the pea time again as the HOA bar gins up frivolous disputes and legal fees.  "Ain't nuttin to it," Jelly sez.  "Like shootin fish in a barrel."

Corporatism in America: IL Supreme Court grants HOA police powers to arrest and detain � HOA Constitutional Government

Corporatism in America: IL Supreme Court grants HOA police powers to arrest and detain � HOA Constitutional Government
George Staropoli's reaction to the horrendous Poris v. Lake Holiday POA case from the Illinois Supreme Court that I reported on below.  He highlights a number of quotations from the opinion and adds his comments.


"In Poris we have another instance of a state supreme court holding private contracts superior to the Constitution (See NJ supreme court opinion in Twin Rivers[iii]).  Apparently, the only thing that the Constitution has to say is an absolute “no contract interference.”  Note how the court adopted a narrow reading of the laws as it parsed and examined the precise wording of the laws, not stepping back in its alleged legal wisdom seeing only the trees and not the ugly forest. The court cleverly ignored the question of detaining non-members, and the question of public streets."


His conclusion:

"I can summarize the Illinois opinion with the simple statement by William Pitt, part of which appears on the façade of the Arizona Supreme Court building:  Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it: and this I know, my lords, that where law ends, tyranny begins!'"

Death threats for woman feeding feral cats in Mesa | azfamily.com Phoenix

Death threats for woman feeding feral cats in Mesa | azfamily.com Phoenix
So this story says that a lady who lives in an HOA is feeding the feral cats. Her HOA fines her. But then a board member, who happens to be a cat lover, forwards to her an email that was sent from another member of the HOA Board of Directors to the entire board, laying out the options for dealing with the situation:

"This lady is another looney tune character. Why would we be blessed with another one ????
How about if we informed her that we will take action in regards to her activities of feeding the feral cats on the property.
A. We will trap the cats and dispose of.
B. We could set out a poison control substance ounce for ounce of what she feeds the cats.
C. Just shoot her and put her out her misery....
Best I can think of that may or may not be legal....."
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 This is the sort of irresponsible nonsense that has come to be associated with HOAs in the public mind.  We have untrained, unsupervised volunteer directors making decisions on all sorts of important matters, with virtually no oversight. Many of these directors act as though they can say and do whatever they want, because nobody is watching. Thanks to Fred Fisher for the link.

Radio host charged in $10 million mortgage fraud

Radio host charged in $10 million mortgage fraud

"A south suburban attorney and national radio host who bills himself as the  "people's attorney" has been charged in a $10 million mortgage fraud scheme, federal officials announced today. Warren Ballentine was indicted last week by a federal grand jury for defrauding lenders by scheming with others to obtain nearly 30 bogus mortgage loans, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago."

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This sort of thing was rampant in Chicago during the housing boom years. The US Attorney claims he did this between 2004 and 2006.  These days, the scams involve many of the same old mortgage fraudsters (the ones who didn't get caught) doing "mortgage foreclosure rescue" scams. They get an up-front payment from somebody facing foreclosure and then do nothing.  

Socialist Willy Wonka - place chicago il date jan 28th temp 60 f snow none t

Socialist Willy Wonka - place chicago il date jan 28th temp 60 f snow none t
One of my students took my comments and created a new take on an internet meme.

PTO, HOA embezzler given prison time, restitution - Local News

PTO, HOA embezzler given prison time, restitution - Local News: Under the restitution portion of the sentence, she will pay $19,376.97 to the Aylor PTO, $32,315.29 to the Bass-Hoover PTO and $67,620.14 to the Georgetowne Court Homeowners Association.
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Isolated incident No. 685,689.

Illinois Supreme Court sides with homeowner association police over resident - Chicago Tribune

High court sides with homeowner association police over resident - Chicago Tribune:
Last year, an appeals court found that the association could not stop and detain drivers for violating homeowners association rules. The court found that Lake Holiday could be found liable for Poris' false imprisonment claim and that the association's use of amber-colored flashing lights on its squad cars was unlawful.

But the Illinois Supreme Court on Friday reversed each of those findings, ruling that Lake Holiday was allowed to enforce its bylaws against residents and that courts "generally do not interfere with the internal affairs of a voluntary association."

"We can discern no logic in allowing a private homeowners association to construct and maintain roadways but not allowing the association to implement and enforce traffic laws on those roadways," Judge Robert Thomas wrote.
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If you needed another reason to avoid homeowners' association, here you have it. Now in Illinois HOA employees dressed  like cops can pull you over with flashing lights and give you a ticket.  The line that courts "generally do not interfere with the internal affairs of a voluntary association" is horrifying in this context. I will have more on this, including a link to the opinion, later.
UPDATE:  1/27/13:  Here is the link to the opinion at the Illinois Supreme Court website.
Second Update:  1/28/13: You can watch the oral argument at this link. Just scroll down to the case of Poris v. Lake Holiday POA.