Police ready to 'take on' commenters, chief says

Police ready to 'take on' commenters, chief says: "He said investigators might seek search warrants or subpoenas from judges to learn the identities of the authors — he thinks some could be department employees — and possibly sue them for libel or file charges if investigators think a crime was committed."
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This could get a little dicey. There is this inconvenient legal provision known as the First Amendment, and it gives people quite a lot of latitude, especially where criticism of public officials is involved.

Alcohol may protect the brain during an accident - CNN.com

Alcohol may protect the brain during an accident - CNN.com: "It's not clear why alcohol might be helpful, although it could dampen the impact of catecholamines, hormones like adrenaline and dopamine that are released by the body after a traumatic injury, according to Salim. 'We think [the blood alcohol] may attenuate that response,' he says.

Alcohol may also help lower the body's core temperature, says David Hovda, Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the director of UCLA's Brain Injury Research Center. Lower body temperatures are known to slow cell death and swelling caused by severe brain injuries."
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It seems that often the drunk driver lives and the sober people in the other car die. Can it be that the alcohol protects the drunk's brain?

Don't buy Obamacare insurance? Go to jail.

Ensign receives handwritten confirmation - Live Pulse - POLITICO.com: "Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) received a handwritten note Thursday from Joint Committee on Taxation Chief of Staff Tom Barthold confirming the penalty for failing to pay the up to $1,900 fee for not buying health insurance.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and could face up to a year in jail or a $25,000 penalty, Barthold wrote on JCT letterhead. He signed it 'Sincerely, Thomas A. Barthold.'"
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The people living in drains below Las Vegas | The Sun |Features

The people living in drains below Las Vegas | The Sun |Features: "Despite the risks from disease, highly venomous spiders and flooding washing them away, many of the tunnel people have put together elaborate camps with furniture, ornaments and shelves filled with belongings.

Steven and girlfriend Kathryn's base - under Caesar's Palace casino - is one of the most elaborate. They even have a kettle and a makeshift shower fabricated out of an office drinking water dispenser."
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I guess it's a trade off. You have to put up with deadly spiders and the risk of floods. But on the other hand, you have no mortgage and no HOA.

Daily Herald | Charges tossed out against woman who took dog waste drop box

Daily Herald | Charges tossed out against woman who took dog waste drop box: "Carrie Fosdale of Algonquin is criminally off the hook now that the McHenry County State's Attorney has agreed to drop a theft charge against her. When her townhouse association wouldn't move a dog waste container from near her home, she removed it herself."
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So the prosecutors dumped the charges, so to speak.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Judge orders Pomeranian to leave Colo. resort town

Judge orders Pomeranian to leave Colo. resort town: "ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - A Pomeranian has been kicked out of a Colorado resort town after getting in trouble for biting and other bad behavior.

Municipal Judge Brooke Peterson told the dog's owner, Melinda Goldrich, that if the dog is seen again in Aspen, it will be rounded up by animal control officers and put to death."
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And stay out!

Hit & Run > Corpse of a Thousand Houses - Reason Magazine

Hit & Run > Corpse of a Thousand Houses - Reason Magazine: "All signs point to a new flood of real estate foreclosures that no amount of government sandbagging will prevent. Sources of trouble:"
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And check out the comments to the Reason article for discussion of the coming commercial real estate collapse that I have been talking about here for some time.

Existing-Home Sales Decline Unexpectedly; Market Weak - Real Estate * US * News * Story - CNBC.com

Existing-Home Sales Decline Unexpectedly; Market Weak - Real Estate * US * News * Story - CNBC.com: "The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales dropped 2.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million in August, from a pace of 5.24 million in July.

Sales, which were still up 3.4 percent from a year earlier, had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.35 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters."
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More evidence that the ballyhooed "recovery" may be the middle hump on a W.

Qadhafi: Obama should be president forever - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Qadhafi: Obama should be president forever - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
Hugo Chavez, Putin, Castro, and now Qadhafi. Quite a collection of international supporters. For some reason these ringing endorsements don't seem to be helping his poll numbers among American, though.

HOA Tacking On $4,000 Fee To Sold Homes - News Story - WFTV Orlando

HOA Tacking On $4,000 Fee To Sold Homes - News Story - WFTV Orlando: "ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- An Orange County homeowners' association (HOA) is taking some drastic measures to make up its financial shortfall. The HOA at Stoneybrook East and West is tacking on a new $4,000 fee for foreclosed homes sold in the subdivision."
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The stated rationale: "Jim Gustino represents Stoneybrook's HOA and he says there has always been a $1,000 fee, but they upped it $3,000 to recoup losses and get the bank's attention. "Try to spur the banks to complete foreclosures in a reasonable period of time. Properties neglected that are a blight to the community bring in families who pay dues," Gustino said."

Homeowners who 'strategically default' on loans a growing problem -- latimes.com

Homeowners who 'strategically default' on loans a growing problem -- latimes.com: "Who is more likely to walk away from a house and a mortgage -- a person with super-prime credit scores or someone with lower scores?

Research using a massive sample of 24 million individual credit files has found that homeowners with high scores when they apply for a loan are 50% more likely to 'strategically default' -- abruptly and intentionally pull the plug and abandon the mortgage -- compared with lower-scoring borrowers."
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The researchers say 18% of all serious delinquencies are strategic defaults.

Cap-and-trade will depress home prices - Ryan Young - POLITICO.com

Cap-and-trade will depress home prices - Ryan Young - POLITICO.com: "Sen. Boxer should see to it that the Senate version of cap and trade leaves the environmental inspection provision out.

Inspections are not free. Nor is fixing the inevitable violations. Compliance with new energy-efficiency standards would make homes, especially older ones, more expensive. Selling one’s home would become even harder than it already is in this down market if Waxman-Markey-style cap and trade becomes law."
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Unintended consequences: the must invariable and fundamental law of public policy research.

LA passes law limiting roosters to 1 per household

LA passes law limiting roosters to 1 per household: "The City Council on Tuesday passed an ordinance that—with few exceptions—allows only one rooster per property. It was spurred by complaints over noise and hygiene and concerns over illegal cockfighting."
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I lived in LA for quite a few years and never heard a cock crowing. Times must be changing.

88-Year-Old Fights Off Thieves -- With Bare Hands! - wcbstv.com

88-Year-Old Fights Off Thieves -- With Bare Hands! - wcbstv.com: "Biagio Sciscione may have trouble walking, but the four thugs who tried to steal his safe filled with jewelry should have known better than to mess with him.

'I ran down the stairs, here,' Sciscione said, showing CBS 2 HD the site of the encounter. 'Coming down stairs, here they were -- one woman here, one on the other side.

'The guy pushed me; I gave him a sock … a good sock and he stood there and looked at me. I said you're gonna get some more if you don't drop that safe.'

The thieves dropped the safe all right and took off running after coming face-to-face with a feisty World War II vet."
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That's what I'm talking about.

FDIC weighs extraordinary steps to shore up fund - Yahoo! Finance

FDIC weighs extraordinary steps to shore up fund - Yahoo! Finance: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is weighing several costly -- and never-before-used -- options as it struggles to shore up the dwindling fund that insures bank deposits.

The agency is considering borrowing billions from healthy banks. Alternatively, it may impose a special fee on the banking industry."
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Let me get this right here--instead of the FDIC bailing the banks, the banks are going to bail out the FDIC? At some point doesn't this just amount to nationalization?

Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy - Environmental Capital - WSJ

Steven Chu: Americans Are Like ‘Teenage Kids’ When It Comes to Energy - Environmental Capital - WSJ: "Speaking on the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington, Dr. Chu said he didn’t think average folks had the know-how or will to to change their behavior enough to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

“The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act,” Dr. Chu said. “The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is.” (In that case, the Energy Department has a few renegade teens of its own.)"
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So you get out of that car and ride a bike to work or you are grounded!

Condo Residents' Water Not Shut Off - County By County News Story - WFTV Orlando

Condo Residents' Water Not Shut Off - County By County News Story - WFTV Orlando: "KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The water was still flowing Monday afternoon for nearly 200 families in a Kissimmee condo complex. Toho Water Authority put up a giant lighted sign in the Cascades condo complex last week, warning residents their water would be turned off at noon on Monday because of a $50,000 unpaid water bill.

However, a last minute compromise is keeping the water on. It's good news for the residents of the condo complex.

Many residents were making arraignments to move or find a temporary place to live. It took a $10,000 check to bring them peace of mind.

The Toho Water Authority threatened to turn the water off, because the condo association hasn't paid the water bill in seven months. The water bill had climbed to $48,000. The condo association hired a lawyer over the weekend, who was able to make a deal with Toho Water Authority, and they set up a payment plan."
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That's good for the residents, but they need to do something about being dependent on the association for access to water.

Delinquent homeowners to lose facilities access this week | beebe, fees, residents, homeowners, access - News - OCRegister.com

Delinquent homeowners to lose facilities access this week | beebe, fees, residents, homeowners, access - News - OCRegister.com: "Homeowners behind on fees are set to lose access to community pools, tennis courts, skate and water parks, clubhouses, Cox Internet and e-mail, Beebe said.

Sensors to open the gate at Covenant Hills will also be deactivated, according to Beebe. Residents will have to show their ID to the gate attendant to enter.

Beebe said a little more than 350 accounts – about 5 percent of HOA accounts – remained delinquent when the second round of letters were mailed on Friday, Sept. 11."

South Carolina legislators say HOA bill to come back - Local - The Sun News

Lawmakers in Little River say HOA bill to come back - Local - The Sun News: "Edge said he would like to see an HOA bill that deals with openness of meetings and finances.

'Those are two things I think are critical to any HOA bill that passes,' Edge said. 'We'll need to figure out how it can be enforced, such as severe penalties.'

Elliott said 'hopefully we can make some progress this year' on the HOA bill."

Prince Charles urges people to abandon car in favour of walking and public transport - Telegraph

Prince Charles urges people to abandon car in favour of walking and public transport - Telegraph: "The Prince, who has two Jaguars, two Audis, a Range Rover and still drives an Aston Martin given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday, said developers had a duty to put public transport and the pedestrian at the heart of their housing schemes."
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Yeah. All you peasants, get out of your cars and walk!