Category Archives: firearms

It Just Never Goes Away

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I was watching a grandson’s football game this afternoon here in the Denver area. A familiar looking lady walked up to me and grabbed my arm. She said, “Remember me?”

Ugh! At age 66 I hate that question. So she reacted to my blank stare: “I was at your house several months ago and brought you a big box of records on your former Homeowners Association.”

Ah, yes, I got the connection. This lady and her husband were foster parents and they loved the neighborhood. Not knowing a thing about the national HOA scam, they blithely bought a house and moved in with three foster kids. Knowing how anti-minority, anti-Semitic and anti-queer this neighborhood is I wasn’t surprised she’d have trouble. She was in tears and I just didn’t have any good advice for her except to move out.

She says she was told by more than one HOA official “your kind isn’t appreciated in this neighborhood.” All her attempts to improve the exterior of her home were rejected. She and her husband were doing some interior improvements and she was told by a notorious lawyer who takes every opportunity to get on the board and stay there, that if even one nail is out of place he’ll force her to tear everything down.

Well, this HOA succeeded in driving her out of the neighborhood. She moved. And she said her new non-HOA home is a wonderful place where all the neighbors talk and get along. She did say she still loved this area and said she was going to inquire about whether some adjoining HOAs were any better.

“No!” I told her. I gave her the same old advice I give everyone. “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD HOA. EVERY ‘GOOD’ HOA IS JUST ONE VOTE AWAY FROM DISASTER!”

It’s true. It’s very sad, but it’s true.

LOL! Marijuana in Rental Home

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OK. Here’s a confession. I’ve spent a lifetime going on vice raids with local, state, and federal cops. I’ve ridden in a DEA helicopter as it used an infrared camera to spot pot plants growing in the middle of corn fields. I was the first reporter on the scene of a plane crash where drug smugglers dumped their DC-3 on top of a mesa in Southeast Colorado. I’ve probably seen more marijuana in my lifetime than all the readers of this blog combined. But… here comes the big confession… I’ve never even had so much as a single puff. I guess that would disqualify me for running for the White House, right?

As the owner of a few rental homes in Colorado I’m pretty much aware that I probably don’t have the right to stop renters from either smoking or growing the stuff. After all, if I banned it from my properties I’d be banning a legal activity.

All that being said, there’s an amusing story out of Nederland, Colorado about city officials who want to prevent a renter from growing maryjane for commercial purposes.  What’s really funny about this is that the proposal is coming from Nederland. I love Nederland. It’s one of the greatest towns in the whole state. What’s fun about Nederland is that everyone who lives there is stoned! This is the town where a local yokel glued himself to a Home Depot toilet seat and then sued for damages. It’s the town that featured a famous recording studio where every rock star in the world recorded albums. It’s the town that holds the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival each summer. Yes, indeedy. A member of the town honored his grandfather’s wishes to keep his granddaddy’s body in a Tuff Shed covered with dry ice until such time as he could be brought back to life. Now there’s a festival in his honor.

Nederland.

Stoned.

(link to story on Nederland’s proposal to ban pot growing)

 

The Flag, Just A Holiday Decoration!

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Writing this blog is beginning to give me hives. I guess I’m just allergic to stupid people.

The self-proclaimed dictator of the Chestnut Place Homeowners Association in Murray, Utah, says she’s tired of looking at American flags and she’s beginning to fine homeowners who display them.

You think I’m making this stuff up? Come on, guys! You know I’m not.

HOA president Lyn Steinbergen says the flag is only a holiday decoration and needs to come down after the ‘holiday.’ Mz. Steinbergen, you’re obviously an ignoramus when it comes to knowledge about the American flag and whether or not the display of the flag is covered under multiple state and Supreme Court decisions. Yes, I’m prejudiced against your mindless stance because I have a number of family members who gave their lives for that flag. They also gave their lives to protect your right to be an idiot. If you honestly think it’s merely a holiday decoration then I brand you a brainless neighborhood ditz who deserves to be recalled as soon as enough signatures are collected.

(link to story in the Washington Times)

Additional note: Deborah Goonan is so sharp. She’s always miles ahead of me on updates.

(update on flag dispute)

 

 

Service Dogs and some Nasty Lawsuits

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Not a week goes by that we don’t learn of yet another Fair Housing lawsuit, usually involving discrimination on the basis of disability. This time, the Condo Association will have to answer to two lawsuits, one filed by the owner of a condo unit, and the other by his former tenant.

The latest report comes from Aspen View Condominiums in Colorado. Natasha MacArthur leased one of the 18 units from condo owner Alvara Arnal, beginning in November 2013. MacArthur has a golden retriever, and claims her dog, Stevie Nicks, helps her cope with a seizure disorder.

The condo association forbids dogs, but MacArthur claims her pet is a service animal, and that the association is obligated under Fair Housing law to provide reasonable accommodation to allow Stevie Nicks to reside with her.

According to a report in the Aspen Times, MacArthur provided documentation of her disability from a physician, as well as documentation from the organization that trained the dog as a service animal. The former (now deceased) president of the association interviewed MacArthur in her home for 45 minutes. But the association was still not satisfied that the information provided was sufficient to allow the dog to remain.

Aspen View COA then began fining owner Arnal $50 per day in January 2014. MacArthur moved out of the unit in March 2014, prior to the end of her lease.

Arnal was hit with $1435 in fines, plus $4234 in attorney fees in June. A lien was placed on his unit in July 2014.

In addition to MacArthur’s Fair Housing complaint, Arnal has filed suit against the association and its management company, alleging discrimination, retaliation, and interference with a contract.

The remaining 17 owners of Aspen View better open up their wallets. These two lawsuits will probably cost them a great deal of money in legal expenses and the eventual settlements.

For readers interested in learning more about service animals for people with seizure disorders, I have provided some additional links.

(Aspen HOA denies wrongdoing in service-dog flap)

 

Tiny Gains in Arizona

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It’s one step at a time, but every milometer of achievements is worth its weight in gold.

In Arizona, one lawyer is trying to get Homeowner Associations to work with homeowners to end the nightmare of lawn Nazis and bully boards. The link below should be an easy way to spend a couple of minutes.

(link to HOA arbitration story on KPHO-TV)