Latest news with #treeTrimming
CTV News
27-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘Unsightly' trees are not a nuisance, B.C. tribunal rules
The City of Vernon, B.C., is seen in this image from its website. ( A seniors' home in B.C.'s Okanagan has lost its bid to compel its next door neighbour to pay for the cost of trimming trees that were encroaching onto its property. B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal member Mark Henderson agreed that the overhanging branches were 'unsightly,' but found that the Abbeyfield Houses of Vernon Society had not provided sufficient evidence to justify an order requiring neighbour James Budrow to pay for their removal. According to Henderson's decision, which was published online Tuesday, there are 'several types of deciduous trees' growing along the property line on Budrow's side. Photos provided by the society showed 'many branches' extending over the property line, in some cases 'overhanging the roof and touching the gutters of the two-storey house' on the society's side, the decision reads. In March 2023, Abbeyfield began asking Budrow to come onto its property and trim the trees. The decision indicates he initially agreed to do so, but later refused. After asking multiple times over the ensuing months, the society eventually hired a contractor to do the work in October 2023. Abbeyfield applied to the CRT seeking an order for Budrow to reimburse it for the $1,470 it paid to have the trees trimmed. 'It is well-established that a property owner can trim overhanging branches back to the property line that are encroaching on their land,' Henderson's decision reads. 'So, the applicant was within its rights to hire the tree contractor to trim the branches. The respondent is only responsible for the trimming cost if the branches were a nuisance.' As the applicant in the case, Abbeyfield bore the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the overhanging branches were a 'substantial, non-trivial, unreasonable interference' with the society's use and enjoyment of the property. Physical damage caused by the branches would be 'a strong indication' that the interference was unreasonable, and therefore a nuisance, according to the decision. While Abbeyfield provided photos and aerial video of the encroachment and alleged that it had damaged shingles on the building's roof, Henderson found none of the images were close enough for him to assess whether such damage existed. The tribunal member also found that the society had provided insufficient evidence to support its assertion that 'leaves and debris from the trees were collecting in the applicant's roof valleys and gutters.' 'Although the photographs show that the overhanging branches are unsightly, I am not persuaded by the available evidence that they unreasonably interfered with the applicant's use and enjoyment of its property,' the decision concludes. 'So, I find that the encroaching trees were not a nuisance. For that reason, I dismiss the applicant's claim.'
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Kathy Griffin stumbles upon scene of fatal freak accident on her afternoon power walk in Malibu
Kathy Griffin found herself in the middle of a terrifying situation when her afternoon power walk in Malibu led her right on to the scene of a freak fatal accident. The outspoken comedienne, 64, still recovering from a recent hysterectomy, stumbled upon a chaotic emergency site on a residential street while on a stroll with a male friend last Saturday. The LA County Sheriff's Department later confirmed a man was electrocuted and killed by a live powerline after it was knocked down by a falling branch during a tree-trimming service. Griffin, who was spotted in the same Malibu neighborhood earlier this month, appeared visibly shaken by the incident and ultimately cut her walk short and headed back home with her friend, exclusive photos show. Dressed in a gray quarter-zip athletic sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers, with her signature red hair pulled back in a ponytail, the firebrand comic looked more pale and alarmed than fiery during the incident. Authorities say Honglei Chong, 46, grabbed the fallen powerline and was electrocuted. Chong died at the scene.. The tree-trimmer was not injured in the accident. Prior to Saturday's outing, Griffin had been spotted in public for the first time since undergoing a hysterectomy in early April to treat a pre-cancerous condition. Although she seemed to have her energy back post-surgery while logging her steps with a female companion, she appeared pale, frail and almost unrecognizable, photos showed. Her gray pallor was almost as startling as what appeared to be the bloody, severed head of Donald Trump she posed with in a notorious 2017 satire that nearly tanked her career. Contrasting with the jarring paleness of her skin, her signature bright red hair fell loose around her shoulders while it seemed her hairline was receding, and she had either a scalp condition or bald spot. Known for her biting humor and criticism of Republicans, the Catholic League and celebrity culture, Griffin has opened up about her history of health struggles, starting with a binge eating disorder as a teen. Griffin appeared visibly shaken by the incident and ultimately cut her walk short and headed back home Dressed in a gray quarter-zip athletic sweatshirt, leggings, and sneakers, with her signature red hair pulled back in a ponytail, the firebrand comic looked more pale and alarmed than fiery during the incident She also has spoken out about her long string of cosmetic procedures ranging from a breast augmentation, nose job and lip tattoo to a botched LASIK surgery in 2003 that partially blinded her in one eye and complications from a 1999 liposuction that nearly killed her. She also has struggled with her mental health, especially since a photo of her holding what looked like Trump's hacked-off head triggered heavy pushback starting in 2017. Trump, tweeting about the image at the time, wrote: 'Kathy Griffin should be ashamed of herself. My children, especially my 11-year-old son, Barron, are having a hard time with this. Sick!' Griffin, along with her then-elderly mother and dying sister, received death threats during the biggest controversy of her controversial career. The Trump administration placed her on its no-fly list and its Justice Department spent at least two months investigating whether the photo she posed for constituted a conspiracy to assassinate the president. Nothing came of that probe. Still, the image caused her career to nosedive, at least temporarily. Talk shows and theaters canceled her appearances, and CNN ended her annual stint co-hosting its New Years Eve show with Anderson Cooper from 2009 to 2017. 'I wasn't canceled,' she told the New York Times. 'I was erased.' Griffin has repeatedly spoken out about the incident since, and revisited it yet again last week when she complained that Stephen Colbert ambushed her and made her cry during a 2018 interview about the controversy. The comedian called Colbert 'a d**k' in a YouTube video published May 14, where she billed the interview as a 'bullsh*t ambush'. Griffin, who is famed for playing the victim over the Trump incident, also argued the CBS host's line of questioning was 'laced with misogyny,' and accused Colbert of punching down on a 'D-list celebrity'. The claims came seven years after the sit down in question, and nearly eight after the controversy that caused Griffin to lose her plum hosting gig at CNN. Her career took a nosedive after she infamously shared a photo of her holding what looked like Trump's hacked-off head on social media in 2017 The interview with Colbert months later saw her lightly pressed about the May 2017 photo-up. Griffin said she'd just been questioned by the Secret Service over the photo and had begged with Colbert to avoid the topic. First, showrunners obliged, she said – before recalling how they shifted course at the 11th hour. The comic compared the ensuing experience to a grilling one might expect on '60 Minutes' instead of a satirical talk show. She claimed Colbert – a comic as well – 'kept going and kept going' with his questions.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Phoenix firefighters use chainsaws to free tree trimmer after palm fronds fell on him
A tree trimmer was rushed to a hospital in extremely critical condition after part of a 50-foot palm tree's "skirt," or the dried fronds that hang from the trunk, fell on him. Phoenix firefighters responded to a residence near 65th and Virginia avenues at around 9:30 a.m. May 10 after receiving reports from the trimmer's coworkers that he had become unresponsive. "Technicians arrived and began using rope systems with drone technology, accompanied with ground ladders to attempt to extricate the individual," department spokesperson Capt. Scott Douglas said in a statement. "Firefighters ultimately used chainsaws from the bucket of a ladder truck to cut away palm fronds and secure the man and lower him down from the tree." Douglas said the man was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. The Phoenix Fire Department did not immediately respond to questions regarding the man's condition, as of May 11. The May 10 incident was not the first time a palm tree trimmer was injured or killed. A professional tree trimmer died after he was trapped underneath palm fronds in 2020 at a home near Indianola Avenue and 18th Street in Phoenix. Another tree trimmer was pronounced dead in 1990 after hundreds of pounds of dead fronds fell on him at a home in west Phoenix that caused him to suffocate, according to The Arizona Republic archives. LoriAnne Barnett Warren with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management previously told The Republic that palm trees should especially be properly maintained as the skirts are very heavy and can potentially injure people. "Palms are definitely something that should be maintained because the flower stalks — or inflorescences, as they are technically called — can become a hazard," Barnett Warren said. Most of the species we have, Mexican and California fan palms, put out stalks in late April through June, she said. Those can dry out and become a hazard. "The skirts (the dead remains of fronds that have fallen or been trimmed) attached to the tree are also very heavy and can injure people if they are in highly trafficked areas and they blow down in a storm," Barnett Warren said. Barnett Warren recommended hiring a certified arborist for pruning palm trees as doing so can be quite dangerous and pruning too much could cause it to die. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix tree trimmer injured after fronds fell: How to prevent this
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tree trimmer rescued from 50-foot palm tree in Phoenix
The Brief Rescue teams had to help rescue a man from a 50-foot palm tree. He was working as a tree trimmer when authorities say a tree skirt fell on him, leaving him unresponsive. Rescue teams used a rope system and drone technology to help lower the man from the tree. PHOENIX - A tree trimmer had to be rescued from a 50-foot palm tree after a tree skirt fell on him, leaving the man unresponsive. He was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. "They thought they had their safety precautions in place and then next thing you know, 911 was called and we went to work," said Phoenix Fire Captain Scott Douglas. "They can fall down and they can trap the tree trimmer around his waist. They can trap their chest where they're not able to get full respirations and they can't essentially breathe. I don't know if that's what happened here, but they did use chainsaws to be able to freeze some of that dead skirt that was up there some of the dead foliage and be able to put the ladder truck right at his location and secure him and pull him off the tree." What we know Rope systems and drone technology were used to help extricate the man off the tree in west Phoenix. They also need chainsaws and a ladder truck to cut the palm fronds down and lower the man. The incident happened around 9:30 a.m. near the intersection of 67th Avenue and Thomas Road. Local perspective A neighbor said that it looked like the tree had never been trimmed before. "He was working around and pulling the palm fronds out," said Richard. "I heard some yelling and then there was nothing after that." Richard has lived there for more than 50 years.
