Richmond: “Richmond landlord charged in attack that nearly killed tenant’s small dog,” by Karl Fischer, Contra Costa Times, February 5, 2010
Chocolate, batwing ears perked slightly beneath the oversized plastic cone sheathing Taz’s head. Dewy, sightless eyes bulged in fright as the 9-pound miniature pinscher strained to place the large things moving just a few feet away — friend or foe?
Saul Hernandez forgives his beloved pet’s sudden insecurity, and his squeals of pain when he chews once-coveted treats. And how he now runs into walls. And he forgives him for the monolithic vet bill, which led to the overdrawn checking account.
But what does etiquette dictate when someone, without obvious procovation, smashes in your dog’s head with a tree branch?
San Francisco: “Condo policy leaves owners, tenants frustrated,” by Carolyn Tyler, KGO-TV, February 3, 2010
Santa Monica: “Some renters want Santa Monica to further restrict smoking,” by Martha Groves, Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010
For years, Mike Horelick and Nicolina Karlsson endured the cigarette smoke wafting into their tiny Santa Monica courtyard apartment from a neighbor’s patio, even though it aggravated Karlsson’s asthma.
But after the couple made several $100 trips to the emergency room because their infant daughter was gasping for air, they pleaded with the neighbor to stop smoking outdoors, to no avail. Now, contending that secondhand smoke poses a health hazard, they have joined other activists who are pushing the city to snuff out smoking on private balconies and patios in multifamily dwellings.
San Francisco: “Judge Slaps CitiApartments With $50K Bill For Dawdling,” by Eve Batey, The San Francisco Appeal, February 2, 2010
San Francisco’s most reviled landlord, CitiApartments (or, as they’re now known, First Apartments or FirstApartments or firstaps.com) has been, as you know, embroiled in a lawsuit brought against them by the city of SF since August 2006 for how their tenants are allegedly treated.
I know, 2006, right? As several commenters have noted, this seems like a long-ass time, doesn’t it? We asked Deputy City Atty Yvonne Mere why things were taking so long, and she said one of the reasons was because Citi was not coughing up docs needed to move the case forward in a timely fashion, which was why they took some steps to make them comply with the case back in December.
East Palo Alto: “Auction of Page Mill’s East Palo Alto properties delayed,” by Jessica Bernstein-Wax, San Jose Mercury News, January 30, 2010
The trustee sale of 1,800 rental units in East Palo Alto owned by Page Mill Properties won’t take place Monday as planned, according to city officials.
City Attorney Vince Ewing told the rent stabilization board earlier this week that the auction of Page Mill’s East Palo Alto portfolio will be delayed because of ongoing negotiations between the city and a court-appointed receiver now running the 101 buildings, a rent board member and city employee confirmed.
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