Easter
décor uproar
A woman is going to court claiming
she was wrongly evicted from her apartment because she kept her Easter
decorations on her door for two weeks after the holiday. Carol Burdick claims
her landlord unjustly told her to remove a display of Easter stickers, plastic
grass and Peeps marshmallow candies from her door a few days after the April 12
holiday this year.
“An Easter decoration is a religious
statement and should be protected — even if it is just bunnies,’’ said her
attorney, John Pineau.
Burdick, 59, is not asking for
monetary damages but wants jurors to find that she’s not liable for more than
$2,000 in rent and late fees that she refused to pay. Jury selection is set for
this week. Pineau told the Daily Camera newspaper
that when Burdick refused to remove her display, apartment managers posted a
notice saying she was violating her lease, which says balconies, patios and
other areas must be kept “in a clean, sanitary condition.’’
Pineau said that amounted to calling Burdick’s Easter display
“garbage.’’ He said the landlord removed the display, Burdick stopped paying
rent, and she was evicted in May.
Burdick’s lease was with the Meadow
Creek Apartments and the AIMCO Corporation, which owns and operates apartment
communities. AIMCO spokesman Cindy Duffy told the Daily Camera she wanted to
research Burdick’s case before commenting.
Information from: Daily
Camera, www.dailycamera.com
Dog,
owner, reunited
A 5-year-old dog named Bear who
escaped from a Louisiana yard in 2007 turned up in Florida — and was reunited
with his owner.
Bear, a Lhasa apso
from Metairie, La., ran away from his owner’s parents’ yard in December 2007
without a collar or tag. June 10, Bay County, Fla. animal control officers
picked up a stray pup and identified him thanks to a microchip implanted in his
back. Bear’s owner, 27-year-old Amanda Wells, made the 336-mile trip to pick up
her dog. Wells says she was shocked that her dog turned up after all these
months and adds, “I thought it was a joke.’’ Information
from: The News Herald, www.newsherald.com
The
car sped, not him
A Portland attorney who blamed his
German luxury car for a speeding ticket was told he was responsible, not the
automaker. Akin Blitz said he was just trying to get ahead of a line of cars
following a motor home over a mountain pass on U.S. Highway 26. But Akin said
he had no idea his BMW 535xi was going 76 mph in a 55 mph zone because of its
handling characteristics. Akin buttressed his arguments with a PowerPoint presentation
and testimony from a mechanic. But Clatsop County Circuit Judge Philip Nelson
fined Blitz $182 and told him he was not only speeding, he ignored the risk of
hitting wildlife that frequently cross the road.
Information from: The Daily Astorian,
www.dailyastorian.com