Housing association rules, and more

Housing association nixes Welcome Home decorations

A Florida family who decorated their house with flags and balloons to welcome their daughter home from Iraq had the decorations confiscated by their housing association. The parents of Spc. Lauren Boitet, who has served 15 months in Iraq, say association officials told them the flags and “Welcome Home” sign might be construed as “political” statements in support of the war and thus violated the rules. “I’m just glad to be home,” said Boitet.

Unpaid taxes and late-filing syndrome

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An aide to the governor of New York is blaming a $300,000 unpaid tax bill on a rare medical condition called late-filing syndrome. A lawyer for Charles O’Byrne, an aide to Gov. David Paterson, said that his client is psychologically incapable of filling in his tax return every April. Most of those afflicted with LFS are, like O’Byrne, “high-functioning people,” said attorney Richard Kestenbaum, “who otherwise complete all the other ordinary tasks of life.”