Legalectric

Not directly related, but the concept is for sure — Enbridge has been nailed for building a pipeline beyond what easement they had, and they are TRESSPASSING, and have to pay for the easement.  They won’t have to uproot the pipeline, but they do have to compensate the owners.  YES!

Here’s the scoop from the Duluth News Tribune:

Jury: Enbridge owes Douglas County family $150K for illegal pipelines

By Tom Olsen on Jun 13, 2014 at 10:44 p.m.

Enbridge Energy illegally installed three pipelines on private land owned by a Douglas County family and owes $150,000 in damages, but should not be required to remove the lines, a jury ruled Friday.

Quick post here of Judge Lipman’s recommendation — there are 15 days now to get exceptions filed with PUC, and then it goes to the full Public Utilities Commission for deliberation and a decision:

Recommendation – Enbridge Pipeline Expansion — PUC Docket 13-153

I spend a lot of time checking out real estate, even more than dogs on Petfinder!  Back when I was first looking for a house in Red Wing, there was an abandoned house with little trees coming up in the gutters, pieces of the house falling off, it was grey and neglected, and accordingly, CHEAP!  Bluff in the back, the city golf course in front, so not much in the way of neighbors.  Way out of my price range, but a deal for whoever bought it.  Well, they did, and they’ve brought it back and more, it’s beautiful now (though the living room is still too dark, and priced accordingly:

1622 Spruce Street, Red Wing

And another favorite, right on the corner of 7th and West:

706 East Avenue

That church that was so beautifully redone on 7th and Bush sold in a matter of days.  Time to get our house on 8th Street fixed and sold!

Mad cow, BSE, sheep scrapie, chronic wasting disease in deer and elk… this type of disease is not nearly as rare as they’d like us to believe… are people paying attention?  Meat eaters?  Hunters?

Health officials confirm Texas death as fourth case of mad-cow related disease

Links for details about Creutzfeld-Jakob variant:

CDC’s vCJD Fact Sheet

WHO Creutzfeld-Jakob variant page

Chronic wasting disease in deer has been found in Minnesota, not far from here:

Chronic Wasting Disease in Minnesota Deer

Mandatory testing of deer is required in DNR Permit Area 602:

As ALJ Kathleen Sheehy said, “Oh, ENOUGH about the TREES!”

But soon, we’re losing another boulevard tree, this one a red maple, not too old, but it’s about 35 feet high.  ANOTHER ONE~  Last spring, we lost a large one in the May blizzard, and now, any day now, this one is coming down.  What’s adding insult to injury is that they’re taking it down FOR A TEMPORARY REROUTE OF THE XCEL DISTRIBUTION LINE ACROSS THE STREET!

They must have looked on a map, with input from Xcel found our house, and picked it.  They’re redoing West Avenue, replacing the VERY tall retaining wall across the street (20 feet??), narrowing the street to slow traffic, and putting in a sidewalk across the street so kids can walk to school.  We’ve been dealing with the City about this for a while, went to a meeting, checked the city’s packet on it, talked to them there, and had a conference or two in the yard this week.   And as Alan says, giving them full credit, “they’ve been responsive.”  Yeah, but they’re still taking our tree down.  And taking another one down when they redo the other street.  And they still haven’t replaced the one we lost last year in the blizzard, or the large one that came out some time before we bought the house. Four out of four…

When I spoke with the City and Xcel guys checking it out, I objected, I don’t want to lose this tree, and suggested undergrounding since they’re digging up the street, and they said this street wouldn’t work for that (oh, please…), and I again said I didn’t want to lose that tree, particularly for a TEMPORARY XCEL DISTRIBUTION REROUTE.  The Xcel whippersnapper looks down his snout and says, “You like power, don’t you.”  Folks, y’all would have been proud… I did not bring Kady out to address his attitude (the City guy sorta snorted at his comment, and the Xcel guy had clearly not encountered moi previously).

This tree is more than just a tree, it’s a safety infrastructure installation:

Our tree has been hit a few times, it’s at a curve near the crest of the hill, and people often race up the hill.   As you can see from the map, that tree keeps the cars out of our yard and out of Mary’s porch.  We need that tree!!!  SCREEEECH, CRASH… doesn’t happen often?  Well, just last year, someone coming the other way crested the hill too fast and on the way down didn’t make the turn, and they careened into the house on the other side of the street and took out their front steps!

And look:

And they’re starting in on it, the big “Utility Work Ahead” signs are out on West, and they’re climbing the pole across the street.  See that big honkin’ sucker there?  That one is coming out when they redo Sturdevant, which they said, “could be next year, could be a few years,” but that will mean we have NO trees left.

I can hear air tools all the way on the other side…

AAAAAAAAAAAAGH!  My tree…