621 East Pleasant Street, formerly known as Babetown, early November
My more ardent readers -- who especially like to read the comments -- will remember 621 East Pleasant was the household that was going to file suit against me for shining a light on their not so neighborly behavior.
The owner of the house, Robert Bonsall, failed to appear this morning in Civil Court; and if he does not appear in Criminal Court on 12/20 to answer the charge he will be arrested. Merry Christmas.
11 comments:
Were I advising him, and I am not, I would suggest he take your picture (and subpoena you Larry to attest to having taken it) and argue if the town police park on lawns (as they did investigating the Pine Street stabbing) then it is an equal protection issue for the same town to charge him with the same thing -- unless the police can prove that the nature of the emergency was such that they couldn't walk 15 feet from the street and that they couldn't move their vehicles and then walk this 15 feet after the immediate situation was secured -- the stabbing victim en route to the hospital and anyone whom they wished to place in custody so placed.
They are not going to be able to show an emergency need to park on the lawn while investigating the crime, and if parking on lawns is such a big issue with the Amherst authorities, then the police ought not have done it either.
If the town wants to play hardball, I personally would do likewise.
You win the prize for the most ridiculous, foolish comment ever posted here. You make Dr. Ed look good.
Yeah, I'm not going to lose any sleep tonight over that silly scenario. Neither I'm sure is the Building Commissioner.
Anon 7:00: That was Ed. Surely you don't imagine that Ed and the anonymous commenter are two separate cretins?
Stick around a while and you'll soon learn that Ed has about four pet peeves, each of which he has buffed and polished so brightly that they mesmerize and blind him.
(My apologies to any other cretins whom I've offended by lumping them in with Ed.)
Larry, I am all for cleaning up neighborhoods, etc., but you have to admit it isn't just students that park on lawns. I see cars up off the street in just about every neighborhood in town, and know they are average Joe homeowners.
I still think the building commissioner is going to get his wings clipped on this one.
Criminal offenses have defenses.
Anon 6:08 pm (probably Ed) isn't a lawyer but plays one on this blog.
You must be a fun neighbor.
No, what Ed would like to know is this:
One landlord (Hobart Lane) is in serious violation of town regs -- life safety issues as well as conspiring to violate the 4-person bylaw and they continue to violate it all semester, state regs as well as town ones and all they get is a civil fine which I don't believe they ever paid.
As second landlord has a far less serious violation which he ends. AFD's Hobart concern was quite legitimate -- people HAVE died in illegal apartments that they couldn't get out of in a fire -- this has happened in Amherst and more then once -- no one has ever died from a car parked on a lawn.
Cars parked on the lawn are an esthetic "quality of life" issue -- and the violation has ceased.
What I don't understand is why the latter is criminal and the former wasn't. Other than the more-serious offense being committed by politically connected persons, why shouldn't it have been criminal -- or this not?
I also noticed how the word "police" is crossed out on the form and I wonder if this is standard practice -- and why is this in District Court and not Housing Court?
The Building Commissioner is not a sworn police officer -- where is he getting his authority to act as one? And why didn't the owner's failure to appear at the *civil* trial simply result in a default judgment, which is what happens if one doesn't appear, and then the Town simply file a lien against the property the judgment.
Just like is done for unpaid taxes, unpaid water/sewer bills and the like.
Above and beyond the differences in how the two landlords were treated, I don't understand (a) why the Town doesn't already have a judgment for the fines and (b) why failing to contest the fines is a criminal offense.
What am I missing here?
A lot more fun than the phony pompus ass you've been your whole life. I know your whole family there sport.
A lot more fun than the phony pompus ass you've been your whole life. I know your whole family there sport.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?????
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