Story Archive

Knocked Out

Hurricane Irma knocked over Celso Perez’s fence in Miami-Dade County, Fla. “The mayor said that the county would help us recover from the storm and were there to help us,” Perez said. And indeed, a county worker did come by. “He said he would have to cite me for having my fence down.” He warned Perez that he’d come back after preparing a report. “And if my fence had not been put back up when he came back, he would have to write me a fine or fine me for that.” Meanwhile, Perez said, stores were closed, so he couldn’t buy anything to replace the fence. Miami-Dade issued 680 notices to people like Perez whose pool barriers were affected by the storm. “The safety notice is neither a notice of violation warning nor a citation,” claimed a county official. “Taking steps to protect life is a critical part of the recovery process.” (AC/WSVN Miami) ...And what steps are you supposed to take when you can’t buy supplies — break into Home Depot and steal them?