Pompano Beach – Missing and rusted window screws, mismatched doors and holes in their building are some of the problems that have the residents of the 27-story Renaissance 1 condominium angry and anxious. Work stopped June 6 on a concrete restoration project for the building because the engineer left the project. “We cannot allow the job to go forward,” said Sandra King, public communications director for Pompano Beach. When a new engineer [with] approved plans comes in, work can begin again, King added. Until then, the residents of Renaissance I, 1360 S. Ocean Blvd., will be left with holes in their building and hurricane windows improperly installed. A stucco project running the vertical length of the building has also received criticism. Orange markings are sprayed at equal points up and down. “It looks so unprofessional,” said one resident.

To fix the windows, which were not installed properly and could be vulnerable to hurricane force winds, the residents have been asked to pay about $3,500 each. But after paying $2,000 last year for improvements that were later found to be done incorrectly, some residents are demanding the plans for the windows in writing. “What are we paying for if there’s nothing on record?” asked resident Joseph Longobardo. “There’s nothing to say what you’re getting . . . it’s like throwing money at the ocean.  Read more:

A Florida veteran who is facing foreclosure for insisting on displaying a small American flag in a flower pot on his front stoop is telling his homeowner’s association to “bring it on.” “The flag is worth fighting for,” 73-year-old Larry Murphree, of Jacksonville, told FoxNews.com Friday. “If they want to foreclose, bring it on. I’m getting calls from all over the county to stand up. That’s what I’m going to do.” Murphree’s homeowners association at Tides Condominium at Sweetwater began hitting him with fines of $100 a day last year for violating his homeowners association’s flag display rules. But instead of paying the fines, Murphree let them pile up – and kept his flag on display. Now he owes more than $8,000, and neither side will budge.

“I just kind of dug in my heels,” he said. “It’s worth fighting for. It’s a small flag but it stands for a big thank you and it shows the love and respect I have for my country.” On Wednesday, Murphree told Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends that his fight for the flag is with the board that runs the association. “I would think if anybody on that board told me they served in the military, I’d have to ask them which side,“ Murphree, who served six years as an Air Force air traffic controller during the Vietnam War, said on the show.

The fight started in 2011 and landed in court a year later where the two sides reached a settlement in which Murphree agreed to display his flag in compliance with association rules. But two weeks later, the board changed the rules, saying flags could only be displayed on a pole outside the garage and that flower pots were only for flowers.  Read more:

A former board member of a homeowners’ association is facing arraignment Thursday on a felony charge alleging he embezzled from the group. According to Livingston County District Court records, Justin Randy Hyatt-Oshea faces a charge of embezzling at least $1,000 but less than $20,000 from Hiawatha Beach Homeowners Association, a nonprofit organization in Hamburg Township.

It is alleged Hyatt-Oshea used the association’s debit card and cash for his personal use between Sept. 26 and March. A message seeking comment from the association was not returned Monday.

Houston – Nearly six months after at least two dogs fatally mauled Christina Bell in southeast Houston, homicide investigators have turned the case over to Harris County prosecutors. City authorities initially responded to the attack by vicious dogs last January by issuing 12 misdemeanor citations to Tiara D. Thomas, 26, for allowing unvaccinated and unlicensed pit bull mixes to run loose. Animal control and Houston Police Department officials confirm that at least one of the dogs attacked Bell, a 43-year-old often homeless woman.

In the ensuing months, the deceased woman’s husband, Benjamin Franklin Bell, has filed a negligence lawsuit against Thomas as well as her rental unit’s owner and the condo association that governs the complex where she resided.  Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jeff McShan said that District Attorney Devon Anderson will decide whether to present the case to a grand jury but could not provide a timetable. Read more:

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. —  Neighbors in a DeKalb County condominium complex were upset after they say management arranged for their cars to be booted over outstanding homeowner’s association fees.  “I can’t even sleep at night, I get up and come look over the banister to see if I got more boots,” a resident who didn’t want to be identified told Channel 2’s Amy Napier Viteri.

She said she got a flat tire after her car got booted at the Ridge Creek condos in Clarkston. Several people said the same thing happened to them. Heritage Property Management, which maintains the complex, sent a letter to residents telling them anyone with outstanding HOA dues would be bootedu June 18. The neighbor told Viteri her boyfriend owns the unit and showed emails saying the HOA Board approved a payment plan for his dues.  Read more: