Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California: November 2014

Friday, November 28, 2014

Michael Brown, a horrible tragedy. My two cents - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

I believe the death of Michael Brown was a horrible tragedy. No one wants to kill an unarmed man or any man. His parents and others don't believe the Officer's story because it sounds a little crazy which it does. Brown's behavior made no sense. Why walk into a mini-mart, steal $45 worth of cigarillos then grab the shop manager by the collar and threaten him knowing you are being videotaped? Here is photo of Brown doing this from the security camera.

Michael Brown robs mini-mart, Ferguson, St Louis, Missouri, shot dead, Officer Darren Wilson

Here is video of what happened in the convenience store. He grabs one pack of cigarillos and hands them to his friend behind him. His friend looks at the pack. Ultimately his friend put the pack back on the counter. He obviously did not want to buy or steal them. Then Brown reaches over the counter and grabs a big box of packs of cigarillos. He clumsily drops them on the floor then picks up the packs. Then he walks out the door with the store person trying to block his exit. Brown shoves the person, goes to leave, turns around and goes after the clerk again. This is not normal store robbing behavior. A sane thief would have just grabbed the item and ran out the door. They wouldn't have merely walked or shoved the clerk or come back after the clerk.

http://fox2now.com/2014/08/15/raw-video-surveillance-video-believed-to-show-michael-brown-robbing-convenience-store/

This is Officer Wilson's description of what happened next. After robbing the store Brown walks down the middle of the street. Officer Darren Wilson approaches in his car and asks him to get out of the street. He doesn't. Officer tries to get out of the car but is blocked by Brown. Brown then puts his upper body into the Officer's Tahoe SUV and starts punching him. Officer Wilson draws his gun and says "get back or I'm going to shoot." Brown states "you are too much of a pussy to shoot me" and grabs Officer Wilson's gun. Brown's DNA is found on the gun. Finally Officer Wilson shoots Brown in the hand. Brown still goes after Wilson then Officer Wilson shoots again and misses. Brown takes off down the street. Wilson gets out and tells him to stop with gun pointing at him. He again says "stop or I'll shoot." Brown stops, turns around then starts charging Officer Wilson. Wilson shoots him in arm, chest but Brown continues charging. Finally Wilson shoots Brown in the head and he drops down dead.

The above scenario makes no sense. A normal sane person would not rob a mini-mart for $45 worth of cigarillos, walk down the middle of the street, cops asks you to get out of the street, you don't, instead you charge the officer, grab his gun, try to shoot officer, get shot once, keep hitting officer, finally you run away, cop tells you to stop or he'll shoot, you turn around and charge officer, get shot a few times and keep charging until you are shot in the head and drop down dead. I can clearly see why people think the cop's story is crazy because it is. Nonetheless, multiple eye witnesses, evidence, autopsy report supports this crazy story.

Here is the toxicology report of Michael Brown. Only drug in his system was marijuana. He didn't even have alcohol in his system.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2014/11/24/ferguson-evidence/assets/reports/2014-5143-toxicology-report.pdf

Michael Brown, toxicology, cannabis, cannabinoid, thc, ng/ml

This other young healthy man ate an edible cannabis cookie. He had slightly less THC as per ng/ml in his system than Michael Brown. Because it is ng/ml it takes into account difference in sizes. "They showed a Delta-9 THC reading of 7.2 ng/mL and a Delta-9 Carboxy THC of 49 ng/mL." Brown had 12 and 45 respectively.

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2014/04/marijuana_edible_factor_levy_thamba_death_denver.php

A man took a "bad batch of synthetic marijuana" and went crazy, "Michael Daniel, 22, allegedly smoked spice in his Waco, Texas home before he assaulted his housemates and then ran out of the house into his yard, where he began crawling around on his hands and knees. He barked and growled at a neighbor and chased him back into his home.Daniel then allegedly took his housemate's dog, a medium-sized spaniel mix, out onto the house's porch. He allegedly beat and strangled the dog, according to Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton, and then began chewing "hunks of flesh" from the animal."

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/man-bites-dog-eats-dog-high-spice/story?id=16660512

I personally feel that Michael Brown was acting erratic because he may have had a cannabis edible, cannabis oil, synthetic cannabis or other undetectable drug which caused him to temporarily act insane. I totally understand why it's so hard to believe the Officer's story. I know that racism exists. I know there are some really horrible police officers who break the law and kill people. Still, the evidence supports the Grand Jury's ruling. If a police officer feels his life is in danger, he can use lethal force. Brown had his hand on the Officer's gun. Based on his behavior I believe he was going to try to shoot the Officer. The Officer followed the law. Brown unfortunately did not. I believe he didn't because he was under the influence of a large dosage of cannabis or some other undetectable drug. I would bet he used cannabis oil or had an edible. You're much more likely to have a crazy, violent reaction from the oil and edibles. If not that, he had another drug in his system which current toxicology cannot detect.

I'm sure most readers remember the case of Rudy Eugene who ate homeless man Ronald Poppo's face.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/27/rudy-eugene-face-marijuana-medical-examiner-results_n_1632253.html

The only thing in his system was also marijuana. One expert stated he could have had a drug which current toxicology tests cannot identify. The families and friends of Michael Brown, Levy Thamba and Rudy Eugene all stated that they were acting completely out of character like demons. Hopefully they have preserved blood samples which they can test at a further date when the labs have better blood tests.

Wu-Tang Rapper Andre Johnson smoked some marijuana, went crazy, cut off his own penis then jumped off a balcony to try to commit suicide. He admitted he smoked some pot and obviously had some very strange and violent thoughts.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/wu-tang-rapper-explains-cut-penis-article-1.1788008

Young white girl bought some legal synthetic weed from a store. She took some, went to sleep, woke up hallucinating and violent. Parents called cops and paramedics. She was trying to attack and bite people, just like the guy who bit off the homeless person's face or the one who bit and ate the dog. They put her in a coma, a lot of brain tissue died, she's now blind and paralyzed.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/04/health/synthetic-marijuana-irpt/

Drug dealers keep changing the formula because each new chemical becomes outlawed when ER visits spike. There are no lab tests for all synthetic marijuana or drugs. Some can be 100x as strong as per the article. One type Bizarro Incense killed a young man.

Research has shown that cannabis intoxication can lead to acute transient psychotic episodes in some individuals. I personally believe this was the case with Michael Brown.

"There is little dispute that cannabis intoxication can lead to acute transient psychotic episodes in some individuals (D'Souza et al, 2004) and that it can produce short-term exacerbation or recurrences of pre-existing psychotic symptoms (Thornicroft, 1990; Mathers & Ghodse, 1992; Hall & Degenhardt, 2004)."

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/184/2/110.full

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Ferguson protesters on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Residents, stay home. - Mary Cummins

Last night after the St Louis, Missouri grand jury verdict was read Ferguson protesters made their way to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills to protest. Most just laid down on the street and blocked traffic. Some stood with signs demanding "revolution" and the shut down of our government. This is at intersection of Wilshire Blvd and Rodeo Drive in front of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel and Rodeo One. Locals, stay at home if you can especially at night.

Ferguson, protest, protester, riot, rodeo, beverly hills, los angeles, michael brown, officer, darren wilson, mary cummins, real estate, animal advocates

Ferguson, protest, protester, riot, rodeo, beverly hills, los angeles, michael brown, officer, darren wilson, mary cummins, real estate, animal advocates. Man is holding an Afro American flag or black liberation flag.

Ferguson, protest, protester, riot, rodeo, beverly hills, los angeles, michael brown, officer, darren wilson, mary cummins, real estate, animal advocates

*A quick note. Never ever put a stick on a poster to hold it up. You can be arrested for carrying a weapon, i.e. the stick.

**Another quick note. Don't ever mess with Beverly Hills Police Department. They were even harsher than LAPD after the Rodney King riots and we were thankful. You'd have to be a huge idiot to even think of rioting in Beverly Hills. BHPD will protect them. Shop owners have own security with high powered weapons.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Monday, November 10, 2014

How to prevent Google glasses from blocking peripheral vision - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

As a motorcycle rider and car driver I don't wear sunglasses that block my peripheral vision. I don't wear sunglasses with thick temples, i.e. the "arms" of glasses. Google glass has the same problem. The temples are solid and wide. That part should be above the line of sight or back where the battery is near the ear.

Google glass blocks peripheral vision becaise of solid wide temples

Based on the chart below there should be no obstruction on the left temple of the glasses. The DMV states that people need peripheral vision to drive. I would think it'd also be a good idea just walking on the street.

Peripheral vision, horizontal, vertical

I see no reason why Google glass can't just relocate the hardware on the temple farther back or higher to get it out of the line of peripheral vision. They can connect it with a wire on the top of the temple.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Friday, November 7, 2014

9505 Lanai, Beverly Hills, California 90210, $195,000,000 Jeff Greene. Mary Cummins, Real Estate Appraiser

9505 Lanai Lane, Beverly Hills (post office), CA 90210 is owned by Jeff Greene a Forbes 400 real estate investor.

"Magnificent one-of-a-kind Estate compound w/ total privacy & security up a 1/4 mile private driveway. Fabulous Mediterranean Villa sits on 25+ prime acres minutes from Rodeo Drive. Suited for royalty, incredible room proportions, exceptional detail, amazing entertaining areas, extraordinary city & country vistas. Wine producing vineyards, tennis court, beautiful gardens, commercial kitchens, discotheque, fabulous master suite. Available fully furn, immediate occupancy & short term lease possible."

Currently listed for sale at $195,000,000. Has a $29,000,000 loan with JP Morgan Chase.

http://www.palazzodiamoreestate.com/

9505 Lanai Lane, Beverly Hills, California 90210. Jeff Greene Forbes 400 billionaire

9505 Lanai Lane, Beverly Hills, California 90210

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Los Angeles City halts tear downs and mansionization in Los Angeles - Mary Cummins, real estate appraiser

I was wondering why so many people were contacting me about my mansionization articles. I didn't realize Paul Koretz made a motion to temporarily halt demolition of historical type homes and the approval of permits for homes too big for their lot. This will cover Beverly Grove North where I lived. They will be reducing the FAR with some bonuses for green building and specific designs.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-mansionization-demolition-20141104-story.html

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

Mary Cummins home, house at 359 N Sweetzer Ave, Los Angeles, California 90048.

Mary Cummins, home, house, 359 N Sweetzer, Los Angeles, California 90048

Pictures, photos of my old house which I sold in 2008 for $1,100,000.

http://mary.cc/h/

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,

McMansion update - This was just built next to my old home. This is 363 N Sweetzer Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90048

363 N Sweetzer, Los Angeles, CA 90048 - Modern McMansion over built for neighborhood

363 N Sweetzer is right next door to the home I sold for $1.1M in 2008. It was a 3 bed, 2 bath 1,500 sf home on a 6,500 sf lot. All the homes are just like this in the area. They are Spanish or Traditional all about the same size and age 1920-1930.

363 N Sweetzer sold for $1.2M in 2013 and was torn down to build the modern totally out of place McMansion. The home is almost triple the size and two stories. If they had tried to build this when I lived there, I would have shut them down. This is way over built for the area. Whoever buys this had better buy it to live in and not as an investment. Over built homes like these have limited buyers, take longer to sell and you generally don't get a good return on your investment. Below is a pic of what the home used to look like.

363 N Sweetzer Ave, Los Angeles, CA before it was torn down

363 N Sweetzer Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90048

"Custom state of the art pool home adjacent to Beverly Hills and Hancock Park. This home features four bedrooms and five and a half bathrooms with almost 4,000 sq ft of living area. This home will have a state of the art Viking kitchen, an open floor plan with high ceilings and a custom pool with (sic) jaccuzzi."

Before and after side by side.

363 N Sweetzer Ave, Los Angeles, California 90048 - Before and after. 1,500 sf home turned into 4,000 sf modern mcmansionized monstrosity.

The problem here is old zoning called for 25' front setback, 5' side setbacks, 15' rear setback, 33' maximum height (3 stories), two car garage or carport on this lot. The lots are 50' x 150'. In theory you could have a three story square block home with built in garage or a maximum of 9,126 sf. Here is the specific zoning. The lot is R1-1. The FAR is 3:1, i.e. three times the buildable area. LA I think just reduced it or is trying to reduce it to 1:1. In this instance a 6,500 sf lot with a FAR of 1:1 could build a 3,600 sf home. If it stays at 3:1, you could build a 9,126 sf home which is ridiculous. 3:1 FAR is for multi-family residential in any other city. Normal FAR is 1:1 and in some areas it's .5:1. I think this 3:1 FAR is something leftover when you could build apartments, four plexes in the area. Across the street is a huge duplex which is two story built in 1928 which was featured in AD.

http://cityplanning.lacity.org/zone_code/Appendices/sum_of_zone.pdf

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, real estate, appraiser, appraisal, instructor, teacher, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Brentwood, Bel Air, California, licensed, permitted, single family, condo, pud, hud, fannie mae, freddie mac, uspap, certified, residential, certified resident, apartment building, multi-family, commercial, industrial, expert witness, civil, criminal, orea, dre, insurance, bonded, experienced, bilingual, spanish, english, form, 1004, 2055, land, raw, acreage, vacant, insurance, cost, income approach, market analysis, comparative, theory, appraisal theory, cost approach, sales, matched pairs, plot, plat, map, diagram, photo, photographs, photography, rear, front, street, subject, comparable, sold, listed, active, pending, expired, cancelled, listing, mls, multiple listing service, claw, themls,