UPDATE – Blood in the water in Canterbury
I have been disappointed with the Norwich Bulletin’s reporting on this matter. I was called (and quoted) by Deborah Straszheim in the first article.
Ms. Straszheim had already spoken with Dr. Hamid when she called me. SPECIFICALLY, she advised that Dr. Hamid told her that there were no building planned. I told her that I had seen the plans with a building on property (right side of road, set back about 300′). She stated that Dr. Hamid said there wasn’t one, and was essentially challenging my feedback. I told her to look at the plans herself! Unfortunately, the published articles by the Bulletin have not called out this discrepancy. If she was being truthful in reporting, it should have read that I told her there was a building, while Dr. Hamid stated there wasn’t….
Also, residents are concerned about other uses of the property. What we have identified as Zone 3 or Zone 4 (back of property) has undisclosed uses. What is planned for this zone is criteria for consideration of a wetlands crossing, but alas no answers. If the CCM wants to be neighbors, I’d ask that they be forthcoming with their plan so that we can judge such on its merits.
Oddly, the Norwich Bulletin ran notice of the Public Hearing for Inland Wetlands & Watercourses on the front page today. Reporter Deborah Straszheim was sniffing around yesterday for public reaction to the potential Muslim Cemetery on the Canterbury/Lisbon Town line. At the time of this posting, the comments section has gone wild with both accusations of racism and outright statements demanding deportation of Muslims. Neither represent the real public here.
Sharks from Connecticut’s news stations are knocking on doors in the area looking for local reaction.
How do we really feel? Give the project honest consideration and offer input based upon its merits.
My prediction? – We’re going to have a civil meeting, but some will bring up immaterial concerns (stuff that belongs @ P&Z). One wildcard – the room might be too full and the meeting gets postponed.
They need the best Lawyer that money can buy (NOT a laywer who owns property in Lisbon or Canterbury)…..and I think the entire town needs to get in on this as well. The property values will go down for not only those near the place, but for all of the residents.
I still would like to know if the rumor of 100 acres on Brooklyn Road being looked at is a fact.
A web site – message board is needed as well as some posters/flyers with the URL address, so eveyone from town can stay informed.
1Dan,
I told Rich, Leo and several others that I see some real merit in your letter idea. I need to run it past my attorney before I head in that direction. People have to be careful, or we’ll end up getting sued ourselves. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t see that being a problem as long as the letter is carefully worded. Definitely something I’m considering.
2Websites are often as accurate/inaccurate as the media. Opening a website up from citizens of Canterbury doesn’t mean it will be accurate to what is going on. Canterbury Web was never accurate… just gave their swayed view point to it all.
The NB is a trash of a paper but they also don’t need to spend all of their time covering Canterbury’s problems over and over…. get over yourselves
3Ray,
It’s always a good idea to run it by an attorney. I say that not necessarily because we can’t do this on our own, but because attorneys are good on the litigation aspect.
My advice is to ask a personal injury lawyer about torts in general. That may sound strange, but their schtick is tort in the most artful, comprehensive sense.
If you haven’t heard of Jurisdictionary (www.jurisdictionary.com), I think it would be beneficial to pick that up. It’s a 24 hour course created by an attorney with 20 years of experience. Even if you have a lawyer, it helps to make sure that he or she is doing the job correctly. It’s well worth the $200, especially if anything else comes up in the future. At the very least, the lawsuit flow chart on the site is free.
You can also see if real estate attorneys in the area have law books they’re willing to dispose of. You might find a few boilerplate pleadings or approaches to point you in the right direction.
I’ll send you the draft I sent Rich. It’s exactly how I would handle it were I similarly situated. It’s generic, and obviously some things will change by property owner, but it’s the basic outline. Each property owner may see fit to insert or delete certain issues. No two properties are the same.
If it helps, I’m running at a 100% success rate with this approach thus far.
You might also want to consult http://dockets.justia.com/ for free court filings others have used in similar cases. A PACER subscription might be beneficial for what you can’t find. PACER costs eight cents per page, but you’re not billed until you exceed $10 every quarter. Otherwise, the account resets. You might also want to check out http://www.megalaw.com/ct/ctcases.php
Any way you go, it’s always important to consider your overall goal and secondary outcomes you’re aiming for. That’s going to govern the arguments you make, the evidence you may nedd to introduce and give you an idea of what the other side may do.
Dan
4Edits to above –
“nedd” is a typo.
I also forgot to stress that you absolutely must be prepared for and make all the arguments you can at trial. You don’t get to retry the facts on appeal. Pro se and attorney alike make this mistake all the time. If the other side fails to follow proceedure or the rules of evidence and you or your counsel fail to object, it’s likely a done deal unless you make your record.
So in short, it’s all about making your record first. It only helps to establish that you’re ready to do the job and can show your work from the very beginning.
5At least Canterbury has people living there who actually care enough to get out and make change happen. I would trust almost any web site over the media any day of the week let alone that cat pan liner paper.
6You got that right chief….more facts from message boards and blogs than the media any day of the week.
7Just a reminder that the site walk is slated for February 20th, and the next meeting of the IWWC is on February 24th. Both are still under Public Hearing.
8Thanks Lou. Any idea the time of site walk?
Fox news in the article link stated it still has to go before the P+Z then a “Town Meeting”???? ( reporter mentioned it at the end of video) A town meeting after P+Z! Anyone know about this?
Why was that “mullah” hiding from the camera while other Muslims were not? Afraid to lose his soul to the camera?
If being suspiscious of camera dodgers and people in full head coverings makes me a bigot, so be it! I don’t know how a catholic cemetary near my house would affect property values but i’ll wager a muslim one would knock the crap outa my home value!
9This idiot can’t get voted out fast enough!
Obama continues reach to Muslims
Published: Sunday, February 14, 2010
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Saturday named a White House lawyer as his special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, part of his continuing effort to repair strained U.S. relations with the world’s Muslims.
Obama announced Rashad Hussain’s appointment during a video address to the seventh U.S.-Islamic World Forum meeting in Doha, Qatar.
As his liaison to the OIC, the president said Hussain will continue working to repair U.S.-Islamic relations and develop the types of partnerships Obama called for when he addressed the Muslim world during a speech last year in Cairo.
U.S. relations with the Muslim world became strained after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the video address, Obama said he called in Cairo for the U.S. and Muslims to start anew “based on mutual interest and mutual respect” because the relationship had “slipped into a cycle of misunderstanding and mistrust that can lead to conflict rather than cooperation.”
Obama recounted efforts by his administration to foster partnerships with Muslims on education, economic development, global health, and science and technology. He touched on the plan to remove all U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the end of August, and his administration’s efforts to return Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table to jump-start stalled peace talks. Obama also announced a summit on entrepreneurship in April with Muslim business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world.
The president said Hussain’s goal will be to deepen existing partnerships and develop others. The OIC represents nearly 60 Muslim states across four continents and promotes Muslim solidarity in social and political affairs.
10And more from the outrageous world we live in.
http://www.freep.com/article/20100211/NEWS05/100211044/1318/Airport-body-scanners-violate-Islamic-law-Muslims-say
“Saying that body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslim-American groups are supporting a “fatwa” – a religious ruling – that forbids Muslims from going through the scanners at airports.
The Fiqh Council of North America – a body of Islamic scholars that includes some from Michigan – issued a fatwa this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty.”
11“This idiot can’t get voted out fast enough!”
Idiot is a minor word for what this dangerous sob really is……same goes for the fools that voted for him.
From Atlas Shrugs:
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2010/02/obamas-hafiz-to-the-organization-of-the-islamic-conference.html
“It bears noting that Obama’s pick for special envoy to the supremacist Organization of the Islamic Conference is extremely devout. He’s memorized the koran. Feel safe yet?”
“And as a hafiz of the Koran, [Hussain] is a respected member of the American Muslim community, and I thank him for carrying forward this important work,” Obama said in his message to the Doha meeting, using the term for someone who has mastered and memorized the Muslim holy book.
12“Saying that body scanners violate Islamic law, Muslim-American groups are supporting a “fatwa” – a religious ruling – that forbids Muslims from going through the scanners at airports.
The Fiqh Council of North America – a body of Islamic scholars that includes some from Michigan – issued a fatwa this week that says going through the airport scanners would violate Islamic rules on modesty.”
Too damn bad!! They don’t want us profiling either
Who’s the ones attempting to blow us up on airlines? Who are the group of people succeeding at blowing us up? Extremist groups are recruiting women…..they are training to improve their tactics at killing us
Profile and scan away….we get scanned, they get scanned otherwise let them all fly together on their own airlines…
13Hey Abdul
If you are so GD modest or religious JUST DON’T FLY. Scan everyone. Just flew in from FLA. They swiped my wife’s shoes and swabbed for explosives? White skin, red (dyed) hair, great grandmother. What a waste of time and resources just to be Politically Correct!
14Donna,
Who is your next choice??? Palin??? HAHAHAHA… yea she is a straight shooter.. she can’t decide when the use of the word retard should be used or not. Bad for Democrats… good for Limbaugh and the Republicans. Two faced whould be the correct word. Ah yes but you Canterbury Republicans know best,
As far as the rest of the stuff here…. not all Muslims are bad. I know quite a few through my work and they are very good people. Lighten up on the rhetoric… unless you mean to sound like racists??? I don’t think you are trying to but………… if you don’t stick to the facts that you know are bad for your town and post the crap you have here well then others will say it is.
The TSA is not going to stop scanning… I fly almost every week and nothing has changed so don’t make it sound like it has. They can either be scanned or don’t fly… I haven’t seen a person yet be able to fly who hasn’t been scanned.
15