PING: nzlstar*

I should *probably* do this privately, but I'm posting it publicly in case anyone else has (or might have in the future) issues like Jeanne's dealing with.

**Please note that I'm venturing to the dark side of what I do and what I went to college for -- and please, please don't think I'm an evil person!**

Jeanne, you need to think like a *marketer* with your pole problem. You need to make YOUR problem THEIR problem -- meaning, of course, your neighbors and anyone else who can help you locally. You need to embarass those who are putting you through this. You need to think like a marketer. You need to think about the BEST way to "sell" your neighbors on how bad this is. You need to "sell" your government on how embarassing this can be for them.

Your best bet is to get your neighbors pissed off (sorry for the foul language, guys) WITH you. And to do that you need to make them see that THEY could be NEXT. It's the same as the "Fire" principle. Damn nigh every police official will tell you that if you're being attacked by a mugger or rapist, that you'll get more attention and help if you yell "Fire" rather than "Rape" or "Help." Why? Because fire affects EVERYONE. It whacks the ol' "What about MY safety" instinct into action.

GET YOUR NEIGHBORS INVOLVED:

Get a video camera -- a still camera will work, but a video camera is better. Make sure that you can take film to digital formats.

Take pictures. Take a picture from the "best" view. Meaning, take a picture from your kitchen window that shows how ugly the damn thing is and how it obstructs your view. Take the pic in such a way that it's obvious even to the dumbest, most oblivious person, how ugly it is and how much it makes your view and quality of live STINK. Make sure that you show that you're taking the pic from INSIDE your home. That way, even the most oblivious person can SEE that it's not far off and a marginal nuisance.

Take video of the eyesore when its it's worse -- at night and in use. Make sure that you have the lights off in your home so others can see how bright it is and how much it makes your quality of life STINK. Comment, or have friends over to comment, on how bright it is and what a PITA it is.

Go to your local realtor and ask them to assess the property value of your home. Ask them how much it would sell for with NO poles, and ask how much it will sell for if you have any more poles installed. Get it in writing.

Get a website or a blog. Take the materials above (the stills, the video, the realtor's property value assessment) and put them on the site. I can help you with that if you like. It's what I do. :)

Make business cards with the website/blog addy and pass them out. You can do this yourself with an inkjet printer and cardstock. Again, I can help with this, if you like.

Make up flyers, showing the WORSE stills and use copy/text on the flyer to the effect of "Your view could be next!" or "How much would YOUR house be worth?!" Let them see that if the powers that be have done it YOU, that it could be done to THEM, too. Your neighbors will take it seriously if THEIR quality of life or property values could be in jeopardy. Make sure to put your website's URL on them.

EMBARASS THE JERKS PUTTING THOSE STUPID POLES IN:

Take those flyers, a business card and a neatly typed letter and take it to the loca media. Papers are good, news stations are even better.

Put the flyers up ALL over town. At the grocery store, the local shops, the park, and government buildings. What you really, really want with this is to make sure that the government KNOWS that you're putting the word out on them. Make those idiots in the suits nervous.

Start your own committe (maybe the "Get the Stupid Poles Outta Here Committee?" -- anything snappy, easy to remember, and to the point is best) and advertise it in the local paper. Perhaps in the "What's going on this weekend" section, or the "Local happenings" or even in a regular department that talks about clubs and their meeting dates in the area. Even if you're the only member of the committe for now, it's fine. Just as long as your committee is REAL and has a purpose.

Approach a local attorney who has a track record of taking on political causes. Let them see your pics, your video, etc. Talk to them about how no one's paying attention and how the rules are being horribly broken.

Now, obviously, this is a lot of work. But it WILL work. Trust me. I've helped it work. And I've seen it work more times than I care to say.

That's one opinion and probably other people share it. But I have a different opinion, and maybe other people share it. I think a longstanding and highly valued member of this community is going through hell right now and it's good that we publically give her our support. Especially because she has said she feels unsupported and alone, and because this is uncharacteristic of her.

As a matter of netiquette, off-topic posts should be marked OT so that people who want to read quilt-related only topics are still free to do that. But this group has a long tradition of permitting OT posts, especially when the topic is community members supporting other community members.

So my vote is that Connie's post was OK, but to be picky it should have been marked OT.

What concerns me is "who" these people are who are putting up the poles. Are they known personally? Or are they strangers? Are they "good" people or is there a possibility that there is"bad" in them.

There were a lot of suggestions to do to stop the poles....but what about what happens if they only get the people so upset that they take justice into their own hands and deal with the person who is giving them so much grief in their own way? And possibly that way is not the ending any one would want. This scenero happens often!

Making noise can and does and has worked. But one still has to know their enemy and know t hem well.

Donna in WA

the city council put up the poles. the poles exceed their own rules for max height. there is a govt act(law) that requires them to get resource consent. it is my opinion they should have consulted with the neighbouring propertys becuz they poles exceed the hgt allowed by 65%. that is like me being allowed a 6 ft tall fence but deciding to put up an 11ft fence on day without discussing this with neighbours even as i gave myself (by convincing the commissioners that give the approval) resource consent to do it. council determined the huge poles in the park, twice the size of our street light poles out front, would not have any adverse affect on the visual amenity of the neighbouring residental propertys. guess they are all idiots. cuz it sure has an effect on more than just me. others also dont like the poles there all day everyday. they are too tall, cutting right into the view of others. they poles are taller than the fully grown oak trees (council calls this the 'screening vegetation', eh? nope they did wrong and we're right, notification and consultation would not put us in this position today. they have addressed their wrong doing, now they must address how they will fix it. tis simple enough, just need to slap them round the ear'ole so they figure that out. right now they are trying all they can to avoid dealing with it by trying to show us they did it by the book when they did not. j.

"DEM" wrote in message news:VIPIj.80270$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe14.phx...

Right on, Val. This is getting tiresome-I know- hit delete key! Gen

i dont need the rest of the world.

What the !@#$^???

You know when my local City Council wanted to put up a fence on public property, they had to go before the Zoning Board to get a variance because they wanted to put it closer to the street than is allowed.. They had to publish the hearing in the paper and people within so many yards of the property had to be notified. There was no opposition and the Board gave them the variance they needed. I know they did it properly because I'm the Chairman of the Zoning Board.

The fact that Jeanne's Council did no such thing tells me they knew that what they were doing was wrong.

Cindy

There are many times I find posts on here "tiresome" as you put it. However, I don't rubbish the poster, I try to have empathy for the poster, who obviously needs a friendly ear or two.

As others have said, this group is about more than simply patchwork and quilting.

-- Jo in Scotland