From the Orange County Register: HUNTINGTON BEACH — Police are seeking the public's help in finding Masoud Tabeshnekoo, who is charged with stealing $35,000 from a 73-year-old woman. The 48-year-old Tabeshnekoo, who is also known as Matthew Nekoo, has been charged with five felony counts of theft, theft from an elder, and diversion of construction…
Sen. Ted Sevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, was indicted yesterday on allegations that he failed to report $250,000 in improvements that were done to his home. He has denied the charges. Among the items he allegedly got for free and didn’t report, according a story in the L.A. Times, were:…
News from the California Contractors State License Board: Worst of the Worst — Avoid These Contractors In our ongoing effort to protect California consumers, the CSLB has identified the worst unlicensed violators who are known to prey on vulnerable and unsuspecting homeowners that are involved in new home or home improvement projects. Complaints against the…
Our guest blogger today is Pamela Mares, an information officer with the California Contractors State License Board. Pamela is responding to a recent post titled: When a job goes bad, is the contractor the only one at fault?). Here’s what she had to say about it: You are so right in your analogy about how…
A proposed amendment by the Canton City Council in Ohio could put homeowners who let their weeds and grass grow too high in jail. As the law stands now, according to The Repository in Canton, more than 8 inches constitutes high grass or weeds and first-time violators face a minor misdemeanor, which carries up to…
<p><a href=”http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2008/05/20/deadtree.jpg” onclick=”window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=620,height=826,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false”><img alt=”Whose problem is a dead tree?” border=”0″ height=”333″ src=”http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/pardonourdust/images/2008/05/20/deadtree.jpg” style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 5px” title=”Whose problem is a dead tree?” width=”250″ /></a>From Barry Stone's "Ask the Inspector" column in the <a href=”http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/”>Real Estate</a> section:</p> <p><strong>Question</strong>: The neighbors who live behind us have three large, dead trees that border our…
From Barry Stone's "Ask the Inspector" column in the Real Estate section: Question: The neighbors who live behind us have three large, dead trees that border our fence. A few years ago, our insurance company informed us that they would no longer insure our roof because it has wood shingles. If our neighbors' trees should…
Tuesday’s vote by the L.A. City Council to limit home sizes to 3,000 square feet on 5,000-square-foot flatland lots (a little larger on larger lots) was unanimous at 12 to 0. But the responses by readers were more, shall we say, well rounded. Are these restrictions a communist plot? Or necessary to preserve neighborhoods? Some…
So imagine this: One day you look out your front window and see a gleaming 90-foot power pole in front of your house that was not there before. You’re shocked because you had no notice or warning from the power company, Edison. And that’s because Edison has the right of way and is not required…
If you live in the city of Los Angeles and are planning some home improvements, the city’s Department of Building and Safety offers some fascinating FAQs: Do I need a permit to build a fence around my property? A permit is not required for any type of fence under 3’6″ in height. A permit is…