Well ... I was temping, in Boston. I was sent on assignment to a place that was/is (not sure if it's still there) an investment company owned by a company in Kuwait.
I started out filling in for the assistant (read secretary) for the president of this Boston office while she was out having surgery. I did not make a good secretary, but this guy liked me. We got along really well, mostly because some of the first words he said to me were these: "Do you think you will stay here until (name of secretary on leave) comes back?" and my response was, "Yes, if I don't lose my mind first."
Since I did not make a good secretary but he liked me, I got this other position, which started out as part of his secretary's job but had escalated. I got to buy expensive stuff for whoever in the main office wanted something from here that they could not get there. Then I shipped it off to Kuwait, or wherever.
This stuff included, but was not limited to: gold Rolex watches, jet skis, snow mobiles (I know, there is no snow in Kuwait; those were for use somewhere else), sports cars, SUVs, a VW bug when it was first re-released, several luxury motor homes, 5 (used) Humvees, a (used) 90-ft. houseboat, and 2 (used) helicopters, one big and one small. When I left, we (I only assisted on this one since it involved a HUGE outlay of money and lawyers) had just bought and were refurbishing a (used) 727 jet.
Really, really wealthy people are kinda cheap - although I'm sure they all have at least one $7500 Birkin bag each.
Mostly, though, my days consisted of buying endless parts for the helicopters.
I won't even go into rotors that got damaged while the smaller bird was being loaded onto a plane in Germany (bad Lufthansa), the troubles I had with arranging for a houseboat to get down the Nile from the port to its destination, or how difficult it was to find the disco ball for the chairman's private, in-home club.
Oh! And I forgot about the special (sand) erosion prevention system. And you thought I didn't know what I was talking about vis-a-vis erosion control. Actually, I had forgot all about that until just now ...
When it got to the point where I was buying ... ummm ... stuff I wasn't that comfortable buying, I exited, stage left.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
It's a purse, for Bleep's sake!
I loved reading this story, in the Boston Globe. And when I say "loved," I mean, "made me slightly nauseous."
Hermes, that emporium of high-priced-whatever-someone-is-willing-to-spend-way-too-much-on, it seems has been falsely inflating the price of a bag called a Birkin. At least according to the dude in the story.
To the "ordinary" Hermes shopper, apparently, obtaining a Birkin requires one to wait for 2 years. But according to the dude profiled in this piece, if you go into a Hermes and drop $1 million year (as he did), you can get one or, in his case, several of these rare ... purses.
This is, until Hermes found out that he was re-selling them on e-Bay. I actually liked that part; I wish I were that enterprising. But then, I don't have, and never will have, $1 million to drop at any store. Unless I win the lottery, of course. But then, I once went into the Hermes in Boston and got light-headed from the aroma of fresh money.
(I was there on a mission for my boss; how I ended up in a job that involved buying over-priced stuff for Kuwaiti royalty is another story.)
This particular bag, by the way, starts at $7500 and is mostly feverishly sought by young celebritiy types.
Hermes, that emporium of high-priced-whatever-someone-is-willing-to-spend-way-too-much-on, it seems has been falsely inflating the price of a bag called a Birkin. At least according to the dude in the story.
To the "ordinary" Hermes shopper, apparently, obtaining a Birkin requires one to wait for 2 years. But according to the dude profiled in this piece, if you go into a Hermes and drop $1 million year (as he did), you can get one or, in his case, several of these rare ... purses.
This is, until Hermes found out that he was re-selling them on e-Bay. I actually liked that part; I wish I were that enterprising. But then, I don't have, and never will have, $1 million to drop at any store. Unless I win the lottery, of course. But then, I once went into the Hermes in Boston and got light-headed from the aroma of fresh money.
(I was there on a mission for my boss; how I ended up in a job that involved buying over-priced stuff for Kuwaiti royalty is another story.)
This particular bag, by the way, starts at $7500 and is mostly feverishly sought by young celebritiy types.
There was one heart-rending account in the piece, though. It seems a Boston woman whose mother lost all her possessions during Hurricane Katrina willingly handed her Birkin bag over to Mom to make her feel better. Awwww
HOLY MOLY - Hillary Clinton on the Colbert Report! She's not toting a Birkin, though ...
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
All Quiet on the Eastern Front
After a flurry of huffy comments over on Ari Herzog's blog all has quieted. Everyone must be watching the Red Sox game, which has gone all boring and which is why I'm here doing this with the game on in the background. Just think of all the energy I'm wasting with both the computer and the TV on.
Well, ya know? I've been a fan of baseball ever since I was a sprout. Don't know why; no one else in my family was (then) a fan. I would sit by myself, watching my beloved Detroit Tigers and my cheers echoed off the walls of an otherwise empty room.
Sometimes my mother, who is of English origin, would try to watch but she kept getting confused with her cricket background and would cheer when someone caught a fly ball - I mean, when MY team would be out. She never could get that straight.
Anyway, this big tiger head would come on the screen when a Tiger hit a home run and there would be all this roaring and it was fun. They don't do that anymore.
I remember the first time I went to a game in Tiger Stadium. I was in college, in Ann Arbor, and my friends who were from Detroit invited me to a game. I don't remember exact details (we were probably ... errrr ... in an altered state of consciousness?) but it was good. I do remember people yelling "Hit da ball, Willie!" at slugger Willie Horton.
More recently ... as in 24 years ago ... I was at Tiger Stadium for game 5 of the World Series. Coincidentally, the Tigers won the World Series that night. This I remember vividly. The Roar of '84.
I wasn't alone in '84, though. My sister (the one who lives in Gloucester), her friend and I were there together and were united in outrage, I recall, when the next day the front page of the Detroit News had a full-page photo of Kirk Gibson, heralding him as the hero of the night before.
It was Lance Parrish, the catcher, who actually hit the game-winning homerun.
I still have a Tigers gizmo on my keychain, after all these years of living here in Mass. My Tigers cap was lost when our family's sailboat broke free of its mooring in Gloucester Harbor and was smashed into oblivion on the rocks.
The Tigers in '84 had 2 on-air guys: outfielder Al Kaline of the great '68 team and former third baseman George Kell.
Chet Lemon was up to bat. Now, normally, George did most of the talking. Here's why.
"One strike and no balls on Chet Lemon," Al announced. Honest, he said it. Ask my sister (the one who lives in Gloucester).
Well, ya know? I've been a fan of baseball ever since I was a sprout. Don't know why; no one else in my family was (then) a fan. I would sit by myself, watching my beloved Detroit Tigers and my cheers echoed off the walls of an otherwise empty room.
Sometimes my mother, who is of English origin, would try to watch but she kept getting confused with her cricket background and would cheer when someone caught a fly ball - I mean, when MY team would be out. She never could get that straight.
Anyway, this big tiger head would come on the screen when a Tiger hit a home run and there would be all this roaring and it was fun. They don't do that anymore.
I remember the first time I went to a game in Tiger Stadium. I was in college, in Ann Arbor, and my friends who were from Detroit invited me to a game. I don't remember exact details (we were probably ... errrr ... in an altered state of consciousness?) but it was good. I do remember people yelling "Hit da ball, Willie!" at slugger Willie Horton.
More recently ... as in 24 years ago ... I was at Tiger Stadium for game 5 of the World Series. Coincidentally, the Tigers won the World Series that night. This I remember vividly. The Roar of '84.
I wasn't alone in '84, though. My sister (the one who lives in Gloucester), her friend and I were there together and were united in outrage, I recall, when the next day the front page of the Detroit News had a full-page photo of Kirk Gibson, heralding him as the hero of the night before.
It was Lance Parrish, the catcher, who actually hit the game-winning homerun.
I still have a Tigers gizmo on my keychain, after all these years of living here in Mass. My Tigers cap was lost when our family's sailboat broke free of its mooring in Gloucester Harbor and was smashed into oblivion on the rocks.
The Tigers in '84 had 2 on-air guys: outfielder Al Kaline of the great '68 team and former third baseman George Kell.
Chet Lemon was up to bat. Now, normally, George did most of the talking. Here's why.
"One strike and no balls on Chet Lemon," Al announced. Honest, he said it. Ask my sister (the one who lives in Gloucester).
A spiritual morning in Newbury
I had an epiphany of sorts this morning. I was at the First Parish Church in Newbury talking with the church pastor, Nancy Haverington and church deacon Erin Stack. The church is again very involved with the city's celebrations leading up to Earth Day.
I put my notebook away and as often happens, we started talking about stuff. In this case, it was that story I posted a ways back about people leaving the church of their upbringing and seeking another message, or faith, or whatever.
As we went along talking, my eyes teared up and walking back to my car I found that I was close to weeping. It could have been a hormonal flux but there was definitely something else there.
As I said back in the previous post, I'm not particularly religious. But I think that there is something in that building for me.
Perhaps it's those 2 endearing women. Both are intelligent and forthright and warm - hugging me upon both my arrival and departure (I knew both previous to this morning). Bingo! - A caring community!
And I think that this is why people belong to a church, aside from the obvious reason. Maybe Obama had it right but just said it wrong. A hug, a good intelligent conversation and a lot of warmth from a church community (or any community) can go a long way to help alleviate day-to-day stress. And why not cling to that?
Not sure about the clinging to guns part, however - but whatever floats your boat, I guess.
I don't think I wanted to cry because I had suddenly found God. What I had found were truly spiritual people who believe in something I don't necessarily believe in - but who still embraced me, welcomed me and offered me their friendship down the road.
We've got a lot of good people here, doing good things here. We should cherish that.
I put my notebook away and as often happens, we started talking about stuff. In this case, it was that story I posted a ways back about people leaving the church of their upbringing and seeking another message, or faith, or whatever.
As we went along talking, my eyes teared up and walking back to my car I found that I was close to weeping. It could have been a hormonal flux but there was definitely something else there.
As I said back in the previous post, I'm not particularly religious. But I think that there is something in that building for me.
Perhaps it's those 2 endearing women. Both are intelligent and forthright and warm - hugging me upon both my arrival and departure (I knew both previous to this morning). Bingo! - A caring community!
And I think that this is why people belong to a church, aside from the obvious reason. Maybe Obama had it right but just said it wrong. A hug, a good intelligent conversation and a lot of warmth from a church community (or any community) can go a long way to help alleviate day-to-day stress. And why not cling to that?
Not sure about the clinging to guns part, however - but whatever floats your boat, I guess.
I don't think I wanted to cry because I had suddenly found God. What I had found were truly spiritual people who believe in something I don't necessarily believe in - but who still embraced me, welcomed me and offered me their friendship down the road.
We've got a lot of good people here, doing good things here. We should cherish that.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The beat goes on and on and on
I could be at a loss to explain why it seemed nobody gave a shit about Plum Island until now. They took away the fire service, they took away the bus service, nobody stood up and said, "Hey, no fair!" when the state first made residents install costly new septic systems and then a few years later said those weren't good enough - no, everyone had to have municipal water and sewer.
Well now the beach is at stake. Last year, when all the water/sewer mess was coming to a close and homeowners had been assessed their $17,400 betterments, one of my neighbors said to me, "Nobody cares about Plum Island unless it's about the beach," or words to that effect. The proof is in the pudding.
More recently, someone in city government said to me, "Hey, nobody cares about Plum Island." He meant the general public, I believe, not himself.
This morning I read even more opinions and conclusions about beach erosion, sparked by a comment in the comments on a story in the Daily News. There are more differing opinions on the Internet than in the comments sections of the stories in the Daily News.
But what seemed clear was what I wrote before - dredged channels, jetties and 'groins' are a primary causes of beach erosion. And building houses on/in the dunes doesn't help preserve dunes.
What surprised me - not sure why - is that nearly everyone agrees that the Army Corps of Engineers had a big hand in what is happening on beaches.
Unfortunately, engineering principles similar to the Corps' old river control policies are still alive and well on the coastline. Coastal engineers (and regulators) consequently strive to increase rates of longshore flow along the coast (since longshore flow is the only source of sand for other beaches, according to engineering theory, it presumably follows that maintaining high rates of longshore flow is beneficial). This policy, however, causes nearshore energy to increase, which translates into higher rates of coastal erosion and general environmental degradation.
Warren Brooks, the journalist who broke the acid rain story, writes that "one of the anomalies of the environmental age is that the Corps of Engineers has become the alleged protector of wetlands when it has traditionally been one of their biggest enemies, especially tidal wetlands threatened by beach erosion...the main reason we are losing beach shoreline at such an alarming rate is not sea level rise, but the destruction of natural beach protection systems by the Corps and its multi-billion-dollar dredge lobby."
Stuart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior, writes that the Army Corps "resembles a brachiosuarus, a giant water-loving dinosaur with less brains per pound of flesh than any other vertebrate. The Corps has survived form the Jurassic Age of Engineering when dams and dredged-out channels were deemed man's greatest gifts to nature." (Source: www.erosion.com/dredging)
You can see for yourself, if you can get to the Newbury town beach with that massive pile of sand there at the center parking lot. The beach to the south of the center groin is okay, for now, while the beach immediately to the north is the one in peril.
And so the debate continues.
Well now the beach is at stake. Last year, when all the water/sewer mess was coming to a close and homeowners had been assessed their $17,400 betterments, one of my neighbors said to me, "Nobody cares about Plum Island unless it's about the beach," or words to that effect. The proof is in the pudding.
More recently, someone in city government said to me, "Hey, nobody cares about Plum Island." He meant the general public, I believe, not himself.
This morning I read even more opinions and conclusions about beach erosion, sparked by a comment in the comments on a story in the Daily News. There are more differing opinions on the Internet than in the comments sections of the stories in the Daily News.
But what seemed clear was what I wrote before - dredged channels, jetties and 'groins' are a primary causes of beach erosion. And building houses on/in the dunes doesn't help preserve dunes.
What surprised me - not sure why - is that nearly everyone agrees that the Army Corps of Engineers had a big hand in what is happening on beaches.
Unfortunately, engineering principles similar to the Corps' old river control policies are still alive and well on the coastline. Coastal engineers (and regulators) consequently strive to increase rates of longshore flow along the coast (since longshore flow is the only source of sand for other beaches, according to engineering theory, it presumably follows that maintaining high rates of longshore flow is beneficial). This policy, however, causes nearshore energy to increase, which translates into higher rates of coastal erosion and general environmental degradation.
Warren Brooks, the journalist who broke the acid rain story, writes that "one of the anomalies of the environmental age is that the Corps of Engineers has become the alleged protector of wetlands when it has traditionally been one of their biggest enemies, especially tidal wetlands threatened by beach erosion...the main reason we are losing beach shoreline at such an alarming rate is not sea level rise, but the destruction of natural beach protection systems by the Corps and its multi-billion-dollar dredge lobby."
Stuart Udall, former Secretary of the Interior, writes that the Army Corps "resembles a brachiosuarus, a giant water-loving dinosaur with less brains per pound of flesh than any other vertebrate. The Corps has survived form the Jurassic Age of Engineering when dams and dredged-out channels were deemed man's greatest gifts to nature." (Source: www.erosion.com/dredging)
You can see for yourself, if you can get to the Newbury town beach with that massive pile of sand there at the center parking lot. The beach to the south of the center groin is okay, for now, while the beach immediately to the north is the one in peril.
The Basin, the water between the ocean side of the island the river side (which is where I live) is so choked with sand that soon we'll be able to walk over there. A boon to property values over here, I would imagine. A 10-minute walk instead of a 10+-minute drive to the town beach or Newburyport beach; finding a place to park, paying to park ...
And so the debate continues.
Monday, April 14, 2008
My return to council chambers
Well, tonight I went to a City Council meeting for the first time since I resigned from The Current. I was there in support of the city's Earth Day celebration, although I did not get up and speak.
It would appear that this session of the council is truly interested in communication. Whereas previously the chairperson of the Joint Education sub-committee (a joint committee of the City Council and the School Committee) did not report back to the full Council, this year's chairman, Greg Earls, gave a full report on what was going on over there is the school dept.
Donna Holaday, in her report of Budget & Finance, also mentioned the school dept. and its capital improvement plan.
I started out as a freelancer for the Current, covering the School Committee. And I can tell you, the City Council never had much of a clue what was going on over on the school side of government. Not so much their fault as a definite lack of communication.
Also, the council approved an order for the mayor to proceed with negotiations for a lease on land at the old I-95 access road for a "wireless communication facility." I think that's fancy talk for a cell tower.
And next Tuesday, Earth Day, at 6:30 p.m. there will be a public hearing on the use of part of Cushing Park for a senior citizen's center. On Wednesday next at 5:30 p.m., there will be a hearing held by the water dept. about those high bills people received once someone actually read their water meters.
Finally, I thought it was really classy for council President James Shanley to step down from his elevated seat and take the floor to publicly recognize all the citizens who voluntarily serve on the city's numerous boards and commissions. These people give up a lot of time in service to the city and as Shanley noted, sometimes it ain't an easy job.
The Conservation Commission, I think in particular, has a really rough role. I tip my hat to all the board members and commission members and hope people will apply to be on ConCom and the Commission for Diversity and Tolerance.
It would appear that this session of the council is truly interested in communication. Whereas previously the chairperson of the Joint Education sub-committee (a joint committee of the City Council and the School Committee) did not report back to the full Council, this year's chairman, Greg Earls, gave a full report on what was going on over there is the school dept.
Donna Holaday, in her report of Budget & Finance, also mentioned the school dept. and its capital improvement plan.
I started out as a freelancer for the Current, covering the School Committee. And I can tell you, the City Council never had much of a clue what was going on over on the school side of government. Not so much their fault as a definite lack of communication.
Also, the council approved an order for the mayor to proceed with negotiations for a lease on land at the old I-95 access road for a "wireless communication facility." I think that's fancy talk for a cell tower.
And next Tuesday, Earth Day, at 6:30 p.m. there will be a public hearing on the use of part of Cushing Park for a senior citizen's center. On Wednesday next at 5:30 p.m., there will be a hearing held by the water dept. about those high bills people received once someone actually read their water meters.
Finally, I thought it was really classy for council President James Shanley to step down from his elevated seat and take the floor to publicly recognize all the citizens who voluntarily serve on the city's numerous boards and commissions. These people give up a lot of time in service to the city and as Shanley noted, sometimes it ain't an easy job.
The Conservation Commission, I think in particular, has a really rough role. I tip my hat to all the board members and commission members and hope people will apply to be on ConCom and the Commission for Diversity and Tolerance.
The news and the blogs
Tom Ryan, former Newburyport resident and love him or hate him 'personality' who moved last fall to NH in the latest post on his blog waxes nostalgic about Newburyport and The Undertoad.
As we in the city know, The Undertoad was his 'alternative' publication. And as he says in the post, he was either reviled or hailed for what he wrote. By the time I arrived here the reporting had already been toned down considerably (if you consider a headline reading "John Moak is a Liar" toned down).
Recently I was speaking with someone who was one of his detractors, to put it mildly. But she was saying the city needs that third voice once more - perhaps a voice not as strident as Ryan's but definitely that third voice.
You would think that a daily newspaper and a weekly newspaper would be enough for a city of just over 17,000 people.
The Daily News covers, what, 6 communities (Amesbury, Salisbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Georgetown and Rowley)? The Current, the free weekly paper, covers primarily Newburyport and sometimes Newbury. Often the Current and the Amesbury News share stories because there are so many shared stories between the two communities.
We also have the Port Planet, which, by the admission of its proprietors, is published "whenever."
But - I was heartened tonight when a reporter from the Daily News told me he reads the local blogs every day. That means he is paying attention. During my short stint as staff reporter for the Current, the editor of that publication dismissed the blogs as being "just people's opinions."
Well, sure, that's what they are. But I can't tell you how many times I have referred to Mary Baker Eaton's Newburyport Blog for background on what went on before I moved here. More recently, I got 2 story ideas for the Current from posts on Tom Salemi's blog. People drop stuff , sometimes even sort of casually, and you have to be there to pick it up.
Anyone reading Ari Herzog's post about the NHS students who studied the quality of city water vs. bottled water for a science project could have run with that story (they found that, with a relatively inexpensive filter, the water quality between the 2 was basically the same).
And so it goes. Do we need another news source here, what with all the blogging? I don't know - but possibly we do.
As we in the city know, The Undertoad was his 'alternative' publication. And as he says in the post, he was either reviled or hailed for what he wrote. By the time I arrived here the reporting had already been toned down considerably (if you consider a headline reading "John Moak is a Liar" toned down).
Recently I was speaking with someone who was one of his detractors, to put it mildly. But she was saying the city needs that third voice once more - perhaps a voice not as strident as Ryan's but definitely that third voice.
You would think that a daily newspaper and a weekly newspaper would be enough for a city of just over 17,000 people.
The Daily News covers, what, 6 communities (Amesbury, Salisbury, Newburyport, Newbury, Georgetown and Rowley)? The Current, the free weekly paper, covers primarily Newburyport and sometimes Newbury. Often the Current and the Amesbury News share stories because there are so many shared stories between the two communities.
We also have the Port Planet, which, by the admission of its proprietors, is published "whenever."
But - I was heartened tonight when a reporter from the Daily News told me he reads the local blogs every day. That means he is paying attention. During my short stint as staff reporter for the Current, the editor of that publication dismissed the blogs as being "just people's opinions."
Well, sure, that's what they are. But I can't tell you how many times I have referred to Mary Baker Eaton's Newburyport Blog for background on what went on before I moved here. More recently, I got 2 story ideas for the Current from posts on Tom Salemi's blog. People drop stuff , sometimes even sort of casually, and you have to be there to pick it up.
Anyone reading Ari Herzog's post about the NHS students who studied the quality of city water vs. bottled water for a science project could have run with that story (they found that, with a relatively inexpensive filter, the water quality between the 2 was basically the same).
And so it goes. Do we need another news source here, what with all the blogging? I don't know - but possibly we do.
Garbage Island
Leading up to Earth Day, I'm going to try and find environment-related stories on which to comment. This one struck me, big time:
I came across an alarming video/report on the CNN website. Apparently there is this large area of plastic floating in one remote part of the Pacific Ocean. It has a name: Garbage Island.
It seems that in this area, northeast of Hawaii, conditions are such that boats don't really go there - what does go there is plastic of all descriptions. It gets caught in the swirling water where there is little wind and just stays there. The 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' is now twice the size of Texas.
As if that weren't bad enough, the report says, the plastic photodegrades. It's still plastic, but it breaks into little pieces. It makes the water look like the inside of a snow globe.
These little pieces, it continues, are gobbled up by small fish. The cycle continues until we get to the part where we humans have a nice piece of fish on our plate.
Eighty percent of the garbage found in the ocean comes from the land.
I have just one word for you: recycle.
I came across an alarming video/report on the CNN website. Apparently there is this large area of plastic floating in one remote part of the Pacific Ocean. It has a name: Garbage Island.
It seems that in this area, northeast of Hawaii, conditions are such that boats don't really go there - what does go there is plastic of all descriptions. It gets caught in the swirling water where there is little wind and just stays there. The 'Great Pacific Garbage Patch' is now twice the size of Texas.
As if that weren't bad enough, the report says, the plastic photodegrades. It's still plastic, but it breaks into little pieces. It makes the water look like the inside of a snow globe.
These little pieces, it continues, are gobbled up by small fish. The cycle continues until we get to the part where we humans have a nice piece of fish on our plate.
Eighty percent of the garbage found in the ocean comes from the land.
I have just one word for you: recycle.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Did anyone offer them any money?
Well of course the three beavers that showed up at PI Center did not help with beach restoration. No mention is made in this report in the Daily News that anyone actually offered to pay them for their assistance.
What, you think beavers just give away their services?
Nancy Pau, wildlife biologist at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, said the beavers likely got too close to the mouth of the Merrimack River, which pulled them into the ocean before they washed up on the beach.
I think also that beavers and other wildlife must be punchy now that it's (semi) warm. I saw a poor roadkilled beaver and an equally lifeless 'possum at the side of Rte. 1 on my way up to NH earlier today (to buy cigarettes).
So a reminder: watch out for wildlife - and more important, motorcyclists - while driving now that spring is here. Probably not prudent to swerve to avoid hitting a non-human animal in most situations, though. Unless it's my cat.
What, you think beavers just give away their services?
Nancy Pau, wildlife biologist at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, said the beavers likely got too close to the mouth of the Merrimack River, which pulled them into the ocean before they washed up on the beach.
I think also that beavers and other wildlife must be punchy now that it's (semi) warm. I saw a poor roadkilled beaver and an equally lifeless 'possum at the side of Rte. 1 on my way up to NH earlier today (to buy cigarettes).
So a reminder: watch out for wildlife - and more important, motorcyclists - while driving now that spring is here. Probably not prudent to swerve to avoid hitting a non-human animal in most situations, though. Unless it's my cat.
My solar panels trump your trees, so there
I found this is an interesting story; first heard about it on NPR this morning (driving back from NH where I was buying smokes). This account is from the New York Times.
Trees — redwoods, live oaks or blossoming fruit trees — are usually considered sturdy citizens of the sun-swept peninsula south of San Francisco, not criminal elements. But under a 1978 state law protecting homeowners’ investment in rooftop solar panels, trees that impede solar panels’ access to the sun can be deemed a nuisance (my emphasis) and their owners fined up to $1,000 a day. The Solar Shade Act was a curiosity until late last year, when a dispute over the eight redwoods (a k a Tree No. 1, Tree No. 2, Tree No. 3, etc.) ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court.
It seems that some of the redwoods blocked more than 10% of the sun that rightfully belonged to a neighbor's rooftop solar panels. At least according to California law. As can be seen in the image accompanying the NY Times story, at least one of the trees was "trimmed" down to the trunk. Lovely. The trees, by the way, were there first (it doesn't say so in the piece, but it looks as if to block the neighbor's house, a scant 17 ft. away); but they also put the neighbor's yard almost entirely in shade.
Take out the 'green' aspects of the story and it's just another typical neighbor-on-neighbor dispute, motivated by self interest and fueled by lack of communication.
Trees — redwoods, live oaks or blossoming fruit trees — are usually considered sturdy citizens of the sun-swept peninsula south of San Francisco, not criminal elements. But under a 1978 state law protecting homeowners’ investment in rooftop solar panels, trees that impede solar panels’ access to the sun can be deemed a nuisance (my emphasis) and their owners fined up to $1,000 a day. The Solar Shade Act was a curiosity until late last year, when a dispute over the eight redwoods (a k a Tree No. 1, Tree No. 2, Tree No. 3, etc.) ended up in Santa Clara County criminal court.
It seems that some of the redwoods blocked more than 10% of the sun that rightfully belonged to a neighbor's rooftop solar panels. At least according to California law. As can be seen in the image accompanying the NY Times story, at least one of the trees was "trimmed" down to the trunk. Lovely. The trees, by the way, were there first (it doesn't say so in the piece, but it looks as if to block the neighbor's house, a scant 17 ft. away); but they also put the neighbor's yard almost entirely in shade.
Take out the 'green' aspects of the story and it's just another typical neighbor-on-neighbor dispute, motivated by self interest and fueled by lack of communication.
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