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98-year-old San Francisco woman who’s NEVER missed a month’s rent booted from her home of 50 years

At 98-year-old, Mary Phillips spends most of her time in the San Francisco apartment she’s lived in for 50 years. But now with the city’s real estate market booming along with its tech industry, the building’s owners see dollar signs and are trying to evict her. 

‘I’ve been very happy here,’ she told KRON 4. ‘I’ve always paid my rent, I’ve never been late.’

Phillips is in danger of being booted because the building’s owners, Urban Green Investments, are attempting to temporarily shut down the rental property so they can then sell it at a profit.

 

 

 

Mary Phillips, 98, is in danger of being kicked in the street by the building owners hoping to flip the property without any current tenants

 

 

 

 

In recent years the Bay Area real estate market has exploded leading to property owners nearly doubling evictions as they seek to sell and cash in

 

Such deals are increasingly common in San Francisco under the Ellis Act.

The company did not respond to interview requests, though this is the second time this year it’s drawn controversy for abusing the controversial law, as reported by NBC Bay Area.

Phillips’ neighbor, Sarah Brant, told reporters that the company tried to buy tenants out but with one big catch.

 

‘The letter was very clear that they would offer a buyout to each unit so long as we got everyone, which of course is our wonderful Miss Phillips, out of the building within three months,’ she said. ‘And that is just not possible.’

Building sold under the Ellis Act could be reopened with rents as much as four times higher as previous tenants were paying.

 

 

 

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Though Mary is rarely able to go out in her older years, she says the apartment’s view lets her have some contact with the outside world

 

In 2012 through September there were 104 units evicted in the city under the Ellis Act. This year for the same period the number has nearly doubled to reach 200.

Phillips has called San Francisco home in 1937 – the same year the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic – but if she’s forced out of her apartment she’ll be forced to leave the city because rents have gotten so high.

‘Feel free to let Urban Green CEO David McCloskey, who’s evicting her, know what you think, ask him how he sleeps at night and if he’d put his grandmother on the streets,’ read a post on the Vanishingsf Facebook, followed by the company contact information for David@urbangreeninv.com and the office phone number 415-651-4441. 

 

 

 

Mary’s situation, along with that of hundreds of other Bay Area residents, has led to public demonstrations

 

Protesters also showed up to support Phillips outside Urban Green Investments’ offices Wednesday, though the company has yet to respond.

And Philips says they’ll have to drag her out.

‘They’re going to have to take me out of here feet first,’ she said. ‘Just because of your age, don’t let people push you around.’

 

 

Stoners Who Stole Froot Loops From a School

According to the Hernando County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, 18-year-old Logan Brown (left, trying not to laugh) and 20-year-old Christopher Ramos smoked some weed last week and “decided to go on an adventure.”

At around midnight on July 3, with Ramos in fatigues and a fishing hat and Brown in all black, they allegedly broke into a K-8 school in Spring Hill, Fla. Surveillance footage shows the two wandering through the halls and trying to open classroom doors.

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And what luck! Police say the first open room the pair found contained stoner treasure beyond imagining: Froot Loops! They’re being charged with burglary for allegedly stealing the cereal, which is allegedly a great thing to eat when you’re high.

Although it wouldn’t be fair to stereotype these suspected adventurers, I imagine the the prosecutor’s case will consist of silently holding up their mugshots until the judge says, “You’ve made your point.”

[Photo: Hernando County Sheriff]

British mom of 3 young kids will leave family for U.S. prisoner she met online

Jennifer Butler is pictured with her small children, who will be leaving them behind in the U.K. to start her new life with American convict Christopher Mosier.

A British mom is leaving her kids to make a new life with a U.S. prisoner she met online.

Jennifer Butler is flying 5,000 miles from England to marry Christopher Mosier, 23, leaving her three young children — all under 10 years old.

She plans to set up a home with him when he is released on parole in September, leaving her kids with their dad, whom she split with in 2010.

“Some people might think I’m bonkers for falling in love with a prisoner. And not everyone will agree with our relationship,” Butler, 29, of Suffolk, explained.

“But Chris is a wonderful man. Sure, he made a few mistakes in the past, but everybody deserves a second chance.”

Jennifer Butler plans to leave her three children behind in the U.K. and marry Christopher Mosier, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence in the U.S. for an armed burglary.

 

The single mom started writing to Mosier in July 2011 after seeing his profile on the website writeaprisoner.com — a website that connects inmates with pen pals.

His profile revealed he had been sentenced to 15 years in 2009 for a violent burglary and drug charges.

 

Butler says she felt an immediate connection to him and was impressed by his honesty.

“I felt sorry for him being locked up, nobody to talk to except other prisoners. Of course, I didn’t condone his crimes. But he was still a human being, and deserved to have a friend,” she said.

They started writing up to three letters a week and developed a strong friendship, but in June 2013, Butler suddenly stopped receiving letters.

“I felt really sad that I hadn’t heard from him. That’s when I realized my feelings for him ran a lot deeper. I no longer saw him as just a friend anymore,” Butler says.

PRESS ASSOCIATION

Butler”s three children will remain in Britain while she moves to the U.S. to start a new life with her prisoner-love.

 

“Then a month later I received a letter from him. He told me that the prison had been on lockdown so he had not been able to get stamps to write to me.

“I realized I was in love with him and that letter made me admit it to myself. I couldn’t bear to lose him.”

Their relationship became more serious, and Butler even encouraged her three children, Tyler, 8, Tristan, 7, and Mia, 4, to write to him, too.

Butler said she immediately fell for Mosier.

Jennifer Butler admits she knows some people will think her decision is nuts.

Butler also had her children write letters to Mosier.

Butler flew to Texas to meet Mosier and they plan to get married when he is released.

 

 

 

 

After saving from her job as a part-time sales assistant, Butler was able to afford a trip to Minnesota, where Mosier is serving his sentence.

Her first visit was in October last year. But Mosier had been in a fight with another prisoner and had lost his visiting privileges. They had to speak through a glass screen. “We weren’t allowed to touch because he was a maximum-security prisoner at the time,” said Butler. “We had a glass window between us and had to talk through a phone. When I saw him walking down the corridor I knew he was the man for me. We talked for four hours and it felt like I’d known him all my life.”

Butler insists she will be reunited with her children once she is settled in the U.S.

“He held my hand and said how much I meant to him and he got emotional. He never usually does,” she said.

“He then said he wanted to make me happy and asked me to marry him. I just broke down. I said of course I would.”

Mosier is up for parole in September, and the couple plan to marry when he is released.

SCAM ALERT: Robbers posing as Dominion Power workers

Dominion Virginia Power is warning its customers about a scam in which robbers try to gain access to homes by posing as utility workers.

The Richmond-based energy company says several incidents have been reported to police in the past few days in northern Virginia.

Dominion says its employees rarely need to enter a home to provide service.

Contractors working on Dominion conservation programs may contact customers directly to schedule an appointment and should carry proper identification.

The company says it maintains an up-to-date list of all its employees, authorized contractors and independent contractors.

Dominion can be reached at 1-866-DOM-HELP to verify the identity of anyone who says they work for the company. If customers feel threatened, they are encouraged to call 911.

Dominion has about 2.3 million customers in Virginia.

BET Awards Weekend: 1 Killed, 5 Others Injured at Pre-Show Parties in Los Angeles

 

One person was killed and at least five others injured when violence unfolded at two parties that were being touted as BET Awards-related this weekend in Los Angeles.

In one incident, a man was shot to death and four others injured at an overnight gathering at Monalizza Restaurant and Banquet Hall in the 1100 block of North Vermont Avenue.

The shooting occurred around 5:17 a.m. on Sunday when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of partygoers, the LAPD said. It was unclear if the shooting happened inside or outside the restaurant, police said.

Three of the victims were rushed to local hospitals by ambulance, including an adult male who died a short time later. Two other people were taken to the hospital in private vehicles, according to police. Their conditions were not known.

Video from the scene, aired on local TV station CBS Los Angeles, showed partygoers filing out of the restaurant as paramedics performed CPR on one of the victims.

In a separate incident, a man was stabbed at a party on Saturday night at Lure Nightclub in Hollywood.

The stabbing unfolded around 9 p.m. at the nightclub, which is located in the 1400 block of Ivar Avenue.

The victim, who was described as being in his 30s, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He suffered a puncture wound and a laceration to his stomach, and was listed in stable condition, police said.

A security guard inside the club told CBS Los Angeles that chart-topping rapper The Game was among those attending the party when the stabbing took place.

The hip-hop star was not injured, the security guard said.

Both incidents remain under investigation and no arrests have been made in either case.

While organizers touted both gatherings as BET Awards pre-parties, the LAPD and a BET spokesperson said neither gathering was officially sanctioned by the cable network.

“The two isolated incidents over the weekend occurred at locations with events that were unauthorized and unaffiliated with the BET Awards, BET Experience at L.A. LIVE or their partners,” BET said in a statement.

“Security remains the number one priority for all official BET events and the network and all organizers will continue to maintain a safe environment for all planned activities,” the statement continued.

The BET Awards are taking place on Sunday evening at 8 p.m. ET at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Woman ‘burns down home trying to kill a spider

Attempts to catch and kill the eight-legged invader led woman to set fire to a pile of towels – and her home
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Burn out: Attempts to get rid of the spider by fire led to arson charges
A woman is facing arson charges after she allegedly set fire to her own home – to kill a spider.

Ginny Griffith, 34, is reported in a police summary to have used a cigarette lighter to set a pile of towels on fire after seeing the spider.

Five fire units were sent to her home in Hutchinson, Kansas, to deal with the blaze which quickly got out of control, according to KWCH12.

Deputy chief Doug Hanen, from the Kansas fire department, said officers found light smoke coming from the woman’s half of the duplex apartment and clothing smouldering inside the doorway.

Man on trial, accused of shooting pregnant wife in the back

 

 

 

 

  

 

Kayla Atkins took the stand Thursday against her husband. She’s paralyzed from the neck down after her husband at the time, Frank Atkins, allegedly shot her four times back in June of 2012. 

Kayla Atkins was almost six months pregnant at the time. Just days later, while she was in the hospital, she prematurely delivered her child, a daughter. The child lived for just an hour. Because of that, Frank Atkins is on trial for second degree homicide.

“Obviously you have a child that’s dead, you have a woman that’s shot multiple times at very close range. You have a history of abuse. This is a sad case,” District Attorney Hillar Moore says.

On the stand, Kayla Atkins often looked at Frank. He, however, never even glanced her way during the more than one hour testimony. In June 2012 she and her husband were separated, and she was going over to his house to drop off a cell phone.

She testified that as he approached the vehicle she was riding in on the passenger side, he yelled out, “You think I’m gonna just let you leave me?” Then he started shooting, testified Kayla. The prosecution then played a grainy videotape taken from a nearby convenience store which they say shows Frank Atkins at the shooting scene.

Jarvis Antoine is Frank Atkins’ court appointed attorney. When asked how he expected to get around an eyewitness, Antoine replied, “It’s difficult, it’s difficult. It’s even more difficult to get around video; it’s a rough road ahead of us.”

Prosecutors say they are confident of their case and think the six men and six women jury should not have a very long deliberation in this case.

“It is unusual for us to have some evidence of this nature. Basically a homicide with a victim is what we really have here. It is unusual, you know we take them one at a time. Every case is difficult and has unique differences; this is one were confident in,” says Hillar Moore.

Closing arguments begin at 9 AM on Friday.

Father of son who died in 91F SUV is barred from toddler’s funeral – as police reveal he did internet search on how long it takes animals to die in hot cars

• Justin Ross Harris, 33, of Marietta, Georgia, is in custody on a controversial murder charge after leaving Cooper to die in hot car when drove to work, parked up and ‘forgot’ about toddler in back of car
  
• Cobb County does not allow pre-trial inmates special dispensation for the visits on compassionate grounds
• It will anger the 11,000 who have signed petition calling for all charges against him to be dropped
• It came as police revealed he had done web search on animals dying in hot cars days before
• Witnesses claim he ‘acted oddly’ and said Cooper was choking when he stopped his car
• It also emerged he put something in the car at lunchtime while Cooper was in there

The father charged with murder after his toddler son died after he left him in his scorching hot car has been barred from attending his son’s funeral, it was revealed today.

Justin Ross Harris, 33, won’t be allowed to attend a planned service for 22-month-old Cooper in his home town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Saturday.

In many states, inmates are granted a temporary leave of absence – or furlough – on compassionate grounds to attend funerals.

Barred: Justin Harris – pictured with wife Leanna and son Cooper –  won’t be able to attend the church service for his dead son on Saturday as he is in custody on a felony murder charge

Anger: The news will come as a blow to the 11,000 people who have signed a petition for the charges to be dropped against Harris, who they claim the grief of losing Cooper is punishment enough

Pre-trial inmates – such as Harris – can request permission under a special court order but Cobb County in Georgia where the death occurred does not grant them under any circumstances.

Cobb County Sheriff’s Department, which is in charge of Harris’ detention, told MailOnline: ‘We do not transport inmates to funeral services, that’s it, that’s our policy.’

The news will come as a blow to Harris who is awaiting trial accused of felony murder and second degree child cruelty.

It will also anger more than 11,000 people who have signed a petition pleading with the Cobb County District Attorney’s office to ‘drop the murder charges,’ believing they are too harsh for a caring father who has been punished enough with the loss of his child.

The funeral is to be held on Saturday at 1pm at the University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa.

A private family burial is also being planned in Tuscaloosa after the service.

Yesterday when approached by the MailOnline, baby Cooper’s grandmother – the mother of Harris’ wife Leanna – said the family was still ‘grieving’.

She simply said: ‘Sorry we have been told not to say anything, we are still grieving’.

Supporters: Friends released this picture of the ‘caring father’ on Facebook on Wednesday night – but police countered with a statement saying it was not a case of ‘simple negligence’

Cause of death: Police announced on Wednesday that Cooper’s cause of death was hyperthermia and the result of homicide

Harris’ father Kermit Harris also refused to comment, only saying: ‘We’re all supporting him.’

The news comes as more disturbing details have emerged about the death after police said that there was much more to the case than simple negligence.

Cobb County Medical Examiner’s office announced on Wednesday night that little Cooper Harris’ cause of death was hyperthermia – or intense heat exhaustion – and confirmed the manner of his death was a homicide.

It has also been alleged Harris had used his office computer to search how long it would take for an animal to die trapped in the back of a hot car.

A law enforcement source in the Georgia county reportedly told Fox 5 News that investigators seized Justin Ross Harris’ work computer at Home Depot after his arrest last week and that an internet search suggested the child’s death was premeditated.

A police warrant revealed Wednesday that Harris took his son for breakfast at the Vinings Chick-fil-A before driving to work.

He then returned to the car at lunch time to place an object in the car before leaving the child again.

Earlier this week the MailOnline revealed the father was ‘acting oddly’ and told bystanders who tried to save the child that he had been ‘choking’ minutes earlier.

Suspicion: Police have alleged that Harris checked on the car which Cooper was in at lunchtime. Witnesses allege he pretended Cooper was choking when he stopped the car after leaving work in a parking lot that is a ten minute drive away. Lastly, cops believe he searched the internet for information on how long an animal can survive in a hot car in the days before Cooper’s death

 

Harris was supposed to drop Cooper to daycare around 9 a.m. last Wednesday but instead went straight to work, allegedly forgetting the boy was strapped in his car seat in the back of the vehicle for seven hours.

But instead of confessing to the tragic blunder – and admitting his baby had been dead for hours – it has been claimed Harris tried to cover his tracks by driving to a nearby shopping center with the dead child and telling onlookers the child had just been choking.

The Cobb County Police Department called for the public’s patience in the case in a statement released Wednesday.

They said that during their initial probe, detectives began to obtain physical evidence and testimonial evidence that lead them to believe a more serious crime had been committed that first thought.

Chief of police John R. Houser said, ‘I understand that tragic accidents similar to this one do occur… (but) this investigation must be weighed on its own merit and the facts that lead our detectives to charge the father must be presented at the appropriate time during the judicial process.

Heartbreaking: Leanna Harris is yet to make a public statement about the loss of her son and husband’s arrest

‘The chain of events that occurred in this case does not point towards simple negligence and evidence will be presented to support this allegation.’

He added finally: ‘In fairness to everyone involved in this emotional case, I would ask that you not make conclusions based on rumor or suspicions and let our judicial system work as it is designed.’

Father charged with murder of son left in hot car to…

Father charged with murder of son left in hot car to remain in jail for son’s funeral

 

MS Tea Partier who conspired to photograph Sen. Cochran’s wife commits suicide

 

Mark Mayfield, the Mississippi Tea Party vice chairman who was arrested in connection with the plan to photograph Senator Thad Cochran’s ailing wife, has committed suicide.

The Clarion-Ledger reported that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

Mayfield was arrested in May along with Clayton Thomas Kelly, a blogger who supported Cochran’s Tea Party challenger Chris McDaniel; Richard Sager, a physical education teacher; and John Beachman Mary, who worked with McDaniel on the right-wing radio program Right Side.

 

Authorities believed the four of them conspired to break into the nursing home caring for Sen. Cochran’s wife, Rose, and take a photograph of her to use in a “hit piece” against him.

When the photograph surfaced online, the Cochrans’ attorney notified police.

The McDaniel campaign immediately distanced itself from the four, releasing a statement in which the then-candidate expressed his “abhorrence for the reprehensible actions” of his supporters.

“This criminal act is deeply offensive and my team and I categorically reject such appalling behavior. My thoughts and prayers are with Senator Cochran and his family. Politics is about the exchange of ideas and this type of action has no place in politics whatsoever and will not be tolerated.”

Mayfield’s case would have gone to the grand jury sometime in early July.