Crazy story from the city of Commerce in Los Angeles County. A community newspaper reported on a growing scandal involving an alleged two million dollar kickback scheme involving the mayor of Commerce and several city officials. At least two of the officials live in a gated community there. Now an HOA board member, in the foulest imaginable verbal assault, has told the newspaper delivery guy that he’s no longer allowed to deliver the paper to homeowners in the HOA.
In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a terrifying sea monster that had many heads and used them to devour innocent seafarers. Our hero, Heracles, forced the Hydra into the open and began chopping off its heads. But each time a head was severed two new ones grew back. It seemed like a hopeless task but Heracles was undaunted. He finally figured out that if he used a torch to cauterize each severed limb they failed to regrow.
As a lifetime broadcast journalist, I sometimes did some odd things as I negotiated my way through the low ranks of radio journalism into the top ranks of TV journalism. One odd thing that became a habit was ‘snooping’ on the reading habits of my supervisors. Really! Whenever I was called into the office of a supervisor I would carefully note which books I saw on his or her desk. When a book is recommended by upper management you can usually see copies on the desks of each of your managers. I used to carry a tiny notepad into the boss’s office and write down the names of books and authors that various managers were reading. It seemed a clever and calculated thing to do, just to track what management was thinking at any given time. It’s how I came across, “Winning through Intimidation” by Robert Ringer and “How To Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Carnegie. I ALWAYS bought and read copies of the books I saw on the boss’s desk.
We have some really great minds in our movement. But when you ask the experts who’s in the top three… George Staropoli’s name inevitably comes up. That’s why I’m asking all of you to check out the link below, in which George discusses the Community Association Institute’s fight against the right of ham radio operators to operate in Homeowners Associations. When trying to explain to your attorney or your legislator how insidious and deceptive the CAI really is, include a printout of George’s analysis. It’s short, but it’s amazing insight.
When Attorneys General fail to protect their Citizens
guest blog by Shelly Marshall (author of HOA Warrior I and II)
On January 4, 2016 Andy Beshear took an oath for the office of Attorney General (AG) in Kentucky. He told Kentuckians in a column on Cincinnati.com :
The Attorney General’s Office seeks justice and defends the oppressed. We provide a voice for the voiceless and a lifeline for the lost and the lonely, the abandoned and the forgotten.
We protect those who cannot protect themselves and are the last line of defense to those who need it most.
