Latest news with #IJ
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Government Threatened To Seize His Home Over Tall Grass
It's finally spring. Better mow your lawn. If you don't, your town government may fine you thousands of dollars a day. Worse, if you can't pay the fine, they may confiscate your home. Six years ago, in Dunedin, Florida, Jim Ficken let his grass grow. His mom had died, and he'd left town to take care of her estate. He asked a friend to cut his grass, but that friend died, too! In the two months Ficken was away, his grass grew taller than 10 inches. City bureaucrats started fining him. But they didn't tell Ficken that. When he finally got back, there was no notice of the $500-a-day fine. Only when he ran into a "code enforcement officer" did he learn he'd be getting "a big bill." When the bill came, it was for $24,454. Ficken quickly mowed his lawn. Then the city tacked on another $5,000 for "non-compliance." Ficken didn't have that much money, so city officials told him they would take his home. Fortunately, Ficken discovered the libertarian law firm, the Institute for Justice (I.J.), which fights government abuse. I.J. lawyer Ari Bargil took on Ficken's case, arguing that the $30,000 fine violates the Constitution's limits on "excessive bail, fines, and cruel punishments." But a judge ruled that the fine was "not excessive." Of course, judges are just lawyers with robes. Often they are lawyers/bureaucrats who've become very comfortable with big government. I call a $30,000 penalty for not cutting your lawn absurdly excessive. IJ attorney Bargil told local news stations, "If $30,000 for tall grass in Florida is not excessive, it is hard to imagine what is." Dunedin's politicians often impose heavy fines for minor transgressions. One resident told us, "They [fined] me $32,000 for a hole the size of a quarter in my stucco" and also "for a lawn mower in my yard….They fine people that they can pick on and then they keep picking on them." It happens elsewhere, too. Charlotte, North Carolina, fined a church for "excessive pruning." Danbury, Connecticut, charged a resident $200,000 for leaving his yard messy. Bargil notes, "It's pretty apparent that code enforcement is a major cash cow." In just five and a half years, Dunedin collected $3.6 million in fines. But by then, I and others had noticed. We were reporting on Dunedin's heavy fines. So did the politicians sheepishly acknowledge that they had milked citizens with excessive fines and give the money back? Of course not. They hired a PR firm. That cost taxpayers another $25,000 a month. Politicians care mostly about themselves. After the Institute for Justice filed a second lawsuit, Dunedin agreed that Ficken could pay less: $10,000. Still too much, but Ficken agreed. "Our Founders," says Bargil, "recognized that the ability to fine is the ability to cripple. It's one of the ways, other than incarceration, that government can really oppress." Government routinely oppresses. For six long years, Dunedin's politicians oppressed Jim Ficken. COPYRIGHT 2025 BY JFS PRODUCTIONS INC. The post The Government Threatened To Seize His Home Over Tall Grass appeared first on
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Opening up the World: IJ Holton hosts first Culture Day to celebrate the school's diversity
Feb. 28—Students at IJ Holton Intermediate School were able to look through an open window of culture as part of the school's first Culture Day on Friday. Throughout the day, students alternated between stations where they learned about backgrounds of the district's success coaches, providing the students with firsthand experiences about their cultures. "This is a great way for our students to see who these people are at our school that are seen during conferences and things like that," said Colin Zidlicky, IJ band teacher as well as the lead for the schools Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. "If you actually look into the school, over 60% are non-white students. There are a ton of cultures that are unique to Austin that kids don't really know about." Zidlicky said he conceived of the idea of hosting a Cultural Day at the beginning of this school year and started planning for it in January under the PBIS umbrella, which are interactive activities that act as celebrations for the students. Zidlicky went on to say that it was important in bridging gaps between students, cultures and even the success coaches themselves. "They are employees of the school already," Zidlicky said. "They know what's going to be age appropriate. It's a way of engagement for them. Success coaches represent the most saturation of cultures." While Friday's event literally opened up the world for students through the success coaches, Zidlicky said it was also a positive opportunity for the coaches themselves to share of their backgrounds with the students. One of those success coaches was Amanda Schramm, a member of the Santee Dakota nation, in Knox County, Nebraska, west of Niobrara. During her presentation, she shared Native American history as well as regalia she brought with her to share with the students. "It's such a wonderful opportunity," Schramm said in being able to share the history of her people. In sharing her history, Schramm didn't shy away from talking about the challenges her people have faced through the years, including those of her own family. She said it was important to keep talking about it in order to keep that history alive. "If you have to keep everything private it's all going to disappear," Schramm said. Despite this being just the first year, Zidlicky hopes that it will continue to be an annual thing. Staff will take a step back to analyze how the day goes to see how it might fit into the future. Regardless, Zidlicky said that the support from administration has been key in supporting the first go-round. "Where the administration could have said no right away, they said this is an awesome day. Let's make this happen," he said.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Newly filed bill would provide Texas food truck operators more freedom to operate
TEXAS (KMID/KPEJ)- Yesterday, State Rep. Brian Harrison introduced HB 2683, a bill that would offer Texas food truck entrepreneurs more freedom to operate and service customers. HB 2683 would allow food truck operators to receive a single permit to operate statewide, as opposed to the current requirement of seeking a local permit each time they enter a new city or county. Food truck operators who meet the standards for the simplified statewide permit will be able to make a living by serving customers in numerous cities or municipalities without having to apply for a new license every time. HB 2683 would also prevent cities from using proximity restrictions to keep food trucks out of areas with restaurants, as well as require food trucks to obtain permission from their brick-and-mortar competitors before competing for customers. 'Food truck owners deserve freedom, and I'm proud to file HB 2683 to slash the red tape that increases prices and decreases liberty,' said Representative Brian Harrison. 'Texas should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in business, and local governments should not get to decide who can compete in the free market. I'm fighting for small business owners and employees, who shouldn't have to beg local governments for permission to earn a living.' 'The right to earn a living and provide for one's family is a core constitutional right,' said IJ Legislative Counsel Samuel Hooper. 'This bill protects that right by ensuring honest competition when it comes to food trucks, which provide a valuable service for Texans across the state. The Institute for Justice and food truck owners and customers across Texas support this bill.' The city of Odessa also recently discussed an ordinance that would make it easier for food truck operators to launch a business. FULL STORY: City Council to discuss food truck ordinance to make it easier for trucks to operate Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
