On HOA’s and Talking to the Media
Opinion
Lola Lauri
Our board has had a long-standing policy of not commenting on issues brought up in the news, on Facebook, on ELFP. With Joe Miller, John Cress, and new board member Daniel Glasgow, we are seeing a slow change in that policy. We have always believed that the board should aggressively seek to explain its position on controversial issues and explain why certain steps were taken to resolve those issues.
The following is from an article, published by Habitat Magazine, that explains the importance of communicating with the press and with its members through various forums:
Should your board talk to reporters when they call? Read the rest of this entry
ELDAS Reflects and Plans
by Buz Whelan
The Emerald Lakes Directors Alumni Society used their Sept 8th meeting to close out their second year and begin their third. In his final meeting as moderator, Buz Whelan thanked the members for their contributions and support. The Society members reviewed the recommendations to the board and events of the past year and began planning the next.
Society founder Pat Galderisi read a long list of recommendations made to the board, including CAI assisted orientation for new directors and establishing a septic policy, and concluded that the board had acted on approximately 75% of these. Asked to cite those she thought most significant, Pat listed these 10: Read the rest of this entry
Average
Lola Lauri
I love this website:Demographics for 18334 We are so average. Actually, our lifestyle is just the tiniest bit below average in everything measured. And, we are way below average on all kinds of crime statistics except burglary, for which we are slightly above average. (Probably all those empty houses have something to do with that.)
Don’t really know what this means, but I thought I would share.
New Quake Sets Japan Back to 22nd Century
Tokyo, JAPAN (NNS) A new giant earthquake, measuring 10.0, rocked beleaguered northeastern Japan recently setting country as far back as the 22nd century in the view of many experts. This was the first perfect 10 quake ever recorded, seismologists say. According to some, stunned citizens are struggling to cope with the descent into primitive living, by their standards. Technology breakdowns caused by the disaster are forcing accommodations unthinkable pre-quake.
Among the hardest hit was Japan’s teleportation system. The destruction of whole substations has forced citizens to travel by old-fashioned air cars, most of which are in questionable shape after years of disuse. Air car repair technicians are as plentiful in Japan as blacksmiths are in the Western world. Read the rest of this entry
About Respect and Kindness and Smoking
Opinion
Lola Lauri
Hi Daniel Glasgow, and hello to the ELA Board. This letter is for you.
The problem that many of us Facebookers have with the board is that they have always refused to see the opinions and discussions on the internet as valid. We are real people, and real ELA members, many of whom cannot or will not attend board meetings. Frankly, those meetings are very uncomfortable and confrontational and I personally have to steel myself against those feelings and work myself up to attending, which is why I don’t go more often.
Daniel, in your speech at the annual meeting, you said that you wanted to represent everyone in our community, not just the people who attend meetings. If you could do that for us at the next meeting – represent us and insist that our opinions should count too, that would be upholding what you said you were going to do. I am not saying you have to agree with us, (heck, we can’t even agree with each other!) but you could talk about the other side of this issue to the board, you could explain what you have read here and get that side of the issue before the board.
Honestly, don’t you think Read the rest of this entry
NRA Seeks Mandatory Carry Law
RIFLE RANGE, Texas(FNS) National Rifle Association vice president and chief spokesman Wayne LaPierre has called on Congress to enact a law requiring all able-bodied American adults, male and female, to carry side arms at all times. Previously convicted felons would be excused from the law. According to LaPierre, “Think about if everyone in that Aurora theatre had a weapon. They would’ve stopped that guy.” When it was pointed out that the gunman was wearing heavy body armor and that multiple shooters in a dark theatre, be they good or bad guys, would be hard to sort out, Lapierre snorted that sometimes you have to have collateral damage to teach a lesson. But apparently assault weapons aren’t going far enough for some. NRA member Lauren Auder went a step further. “What we really need is good guys armed as good as bad guys is. What good would that body armor woulda done if someone had a LAW (light anti-tank weapon)? They coulda blowed that dude to smithereens. Makes me hot thinkin’ about it.”
Anti-gun crusader Hy Lee Strung was aghast when told of the NRA proposition and spokesperson comments. “Okay, you’re in a darkened theatre. Someone in black protective clothing starts shooting. Others pull out guns and start shooting at him. Still more confused at the happenings start shooting at those who are trying to bring down the original shooter. Now more return fire at them. And remember, only the perp has bullet-proof gear on. We would see a death toll raised by an order of ten or more in magnitude.” Responded LaPierre, “That’s just whiney, pinko liberal talk. Sissy talk. Real men accept collateral damage. It teaches lessons. Real good lessons.”
Ripples in the Pond
Lola Lauri
I have been doing a lot of reading about Homeowner Associations, and I have found many interesting stories, but this one offers a wonderful lesson for all of us. We are a diverse and wonderful community, full of interesting people from all sorts of cultural, religious and social backgrounds. It is one of the things that makes our community special. There are those who would add rules and regulations solely for the purpose of hiding these differences. Some of my neighbors have beautiful lawns, some have lots of cars, some have big parties, and some come and go only in the dead of night, but they are real people who deserve to live their lives the way they like. Sure, sometimes I can hear the parties, and sometimes I don’t like the way they decorated their rocks, but we all need to be both tolerant and considerate of those differences. The link below will take you to a story about a neighbor who saw this all very clearly and who fought to preserve the freedom and diversity in her neighborhood.
Beaching and Boating: By the Weather or By the Calendar?
by Buz Whelan
Sunday, September 8, 2010. The temperature between late morning and late afternoon ranges between 81 and 84 degrees. The sun is shining brightly and the blue sky is dotted with a few puffy white clouds. The lake water temperature is in the mid-70s. We’re just one week from the middle day of the Labor Day weekend. It’s a perfect day for sunbathing, swimming and boating. But there is not a soul on the beach during the entire day, and not a boat on the lake. What’s going on? Is the calendar so powerful that once we pass that unofficial final weekend of the summer, no matter what the weather is, summer activities are over? We’ve gone back to school and back to work and that means no more summer fun, even on days off. That’s the way it seems, doesn’t it?
The funny thing is, that doesn’t seem to work on the other end, the beginning of the summer season. Remember the unusual hot spell last April, when we had two weekend days with the temperature hovering near 90? Even though the water was an icy 60 degrees, folks were wading and even swimming in the chilly water. Apparently, we can’t wait to get summer started, but we are not at all reluctant to let it end before it has to.
I make these observations because I live directly across the lake from Pine Tree Beach. While there may not be anything profound here, it’s interesting to me to note the difference in the way people view vacation-type activities pre- and post-season.
HOA Horror Stories – Cautionary Examples for ELA
Lola Lauri
The decisions made by the Emerald Lakes Boards of the past and present have been the subject of many conversations on our Facebook page. The bylaws revisions were soundly defeated, there is much debate over the new fee for putting our boats into the water, and who can forget the great “cover your propane tank” rule that cost many homeowners hundreds of dollars before it was finally deemed a failure? HOA’s are notoriously difficult to manage, and are often managed by fools. This is not an Emerald Lakes’ problem, it is actually quite widespread. I found some interesting HOA horror stories to share with you all. Some are funny, some are tragic, and many remind me of things that have happened here in our community. Click on the link below and tell me if you notice the similarities too:
http://gawker.com/5830257/the-horror-of-homeowners-associations
Emerald Lakes Free Press 
