Red Stuff In The Lane

I feel like Quincy. There's a trail of red in the back lane. But what is it? Is it paint? I am no expert of fluids. My training is actually bones; both animal and human, I can identify them. But I don't do soft tissue. And I don't identify fluids.

I have some knowledge of splatter. But that is based on shows like CSI, and an exhibit that was at the Museum of Man and Nature some years ago, put on by the Police Forensics department. Based on the the splatter of said red fluid, I would hazzard a guess that it started at the fence, and moved to the middle of the lane.

And based on the slight outward splatter in the center of the lane, the item would have dropped straight down. It doesn't really look like ketchup, and doesn't really look like paint. Anything further than that, I cannot say for sure, and am not going to speculate to the blog-o-sphere. I am not about to touch it, smell it, or taste it. And I am not bringing a sample home for testing. It can just stay where it is, in the lane.
Further news in the lane today - it's Thursday and the garbage is still there. Here's hoping it gets picked up tomorrow.

What Were Those Screams In The Night

I don't know what it was, but it was loud enough to wake me up. It sounded like a woman was screaming for her life. Or it sounded like a woman was getting stabbed. I don't know, but it didn't sound good.

The screaming started just before 2am this morning. Someone called out asking if the woman needed help. Next thing I heard was talk about getting a shotgun. Then the swat team showed up, no sirens. They arrived in stealth mode. We had four cars in the back lane within 10 minutes of the incident starting.
The police and swat team were speaking with a group that had formed in the back lane. And nothing was happening. It almost seemed like a false alarm, except there were screams.
About an hour later a fire truck and ambulance showed up further down the street to tend to a person who was hurt. Not sure if it was related or not. It's hard to tell around here. But word from the EMTs at the scene was that the swat team was down a block further at the time.
Then at 4:26am something was happening on the next street over.
After that I went back to sleep, slowly getting used to summer in the hood.
I can't wait for this weekend to be over. And I am sure, as usual, we will hear nothing of this in the police reports or the news. It all just blends into the night.

Rainy Days and Burning Houses

Can a house burn in the rain? Apparently it can. Last night a house burned down on my street. One neighbour said the flames were coming out of the roof already before the fire trucks arrived. And they did arrive. The street was lined with them.
This is a house that had already burned once, about six years ago. It was a work in progress, slowly getting repairs done to it. I have always known the house as the one with house wrap on the front. I have never known it to be home to anyone, and I guess it never will be.

After the fire was extinguished, the heavy equipment was brought in to knock it down. The burned timbers got loaded into trucks and hauled away. I am surprised at how quickly the process is, when a house is burned to that extent. The rain did not stop a thing last night. It did not stop the fire, and it did not stop the removal of its remains.

Once the work is complete, we will be left with a vacant lot. I think that will be an improvement to the street. We seem to be gaining boarded houses lately, so a vacant lot is the lesser of two evils. And the way the housing market is going, that lot may soon hold a new infill house.
I am starting to pay attention to the vacant lots now, watching for those yellow variance postings. I am no longer going to let those variances go uncontested. You know the ones, the ones that change a single lot to a multi dwelling unit. In the last year or so, I have had two lots close to me change their zoning; one went to a duplex and the other a four-plex. My thinking is that single family dwellings are far more likely to go to people who live in their owned home, and improve the street. The multi dwelling houses are always rentals, and the likelihood of bad tenants moving in is pretty high.
So, this soon to be vacant lot is going to stay a single family dwelling. Rain or shine, they are not changing the zoning on that one.

It's Official - Landlord Caught Illegally Dumping

Not sure if you remember, but back on May 2 I was strolling down the lane, when I came across a landlord emptying the contents of his 4-plex into the back lane. He had hauled out a pile of mattresses, dressers, tables, and other items, stacking them beside the dumpster. He said he called 311, so I should just leave him alone.

Well, today I spoke with the City By-Laws people, and apparently what he was doing is considered illegal dumping. So, I guess I am waiting to be called down to  make a statement. And when the time comes, I will go to court to see that this person gets fined for the illegal dumping of materials into the back lane.

This is the same person that tried to run me down with his van two days later, when I walked past his property. I think he needs to take an anger management course.
It's nice to know the system works sometimes. I reported this guys shenanigans, and the By-Laws department contacted me for more information. After a nice conversation with the By-Law officer, it was decided that we had enough information to prosecute this person.
Score another one for the good guys!!