Mary Cummins Investigative Reporter Los Angeles, California: services

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Thursday, July 18, 2013

Cummins Real Estate Services supports Lockwood Animal Rescue Center

Mary Cummins

Cummins Real Estate Services

645 W. 9th St. #100-140

Los Angeles, CA 90015-1640

Direct: (310) 877-4770

Fax: (310) 494-9395

www.MaryCummins.com

Mary@MaryCummins.com

July 18, 2013

As per telefax (805) 654-2509

Josias Gonzalez

Ventura County Planning Division

800 S. Victoria Ave. L-1740

Ventura, CA 93009-1740

Josias Gonzalez,

I am a real estate appraiser and expert witness with over 30 years of experience in California. I wrote and lobbied to get an amendment to Los Angeles County zoning to allow wildlife rehabilitation in 2006 i.e. Ordinance 2006-0019 amending section 22.08.180 ( http://planning.lacounty.gov/assets/upl/data/ord_drp-wild-animal-ord.pdf ). I wrote and lobbied to change the wildlife policy for the City of Los Angeles so it would comply with Fish & Wildlife regulations in 2004 ( http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040824005654/en/City-Los-Angeles-Approves-Wildlife-Policy ). I have been a real estate expert for noise and animal legal cases for 30 years. I am familiar with legally acceptable sound levels and planning and zoning issues as they relate to all types of animals including exotic, wildlife, farm or domestic animals.

I am also President of non-profit Animal Advocates in Los Angeles. Animal Advocates rescues ill, injured and orphaned native wildlife for release back to the wild. We have rehabilitated coyotes, bobcats, foxes, raccoons... We have also rehabilitated a wolfdog with guidance and help from Lockwood Animal Rescue Center. We highly recommend their center.

We have worked with Dr. Lorin Lindner, Matthew Simmons and their veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Conrad for over ten years. My volunteers and I have visited the facility quite a few times. Their facility has always been very well maintained, clean and secure.

As a real estate expert I can confirm that their facility does not have a negative impact on the neighbors or neighborhood. I support Lockwood's application for a conditional use permit. I am willing to testify to this at the public meeting for the conditional use permit. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Mary Cummins

President

Cummins Real Estate Services

Over 30 years of experience!

http://www.marycummins.com/letter_lockwood_conditional_use_permit.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.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Mary Cummins gives expert witness testimony in legal case

"As events unfolded, though, it became questionable if Jimmy was actually living on Union Pacific property. The LAPD, for example, was unsure if the homeless man lives on railroad land, and L.A. City Councilman Greig Smith's office, which represents Northridge, told the Weekly that Jimmy lives on "county property." Longtime real estate expert Mary Cummins, in fact, said that she had no doubt Jimmy resides on county land.

Since two of the three charges against Jimmy involve trespassing on Union Pacific land, the findings were a major blow to the city attorney's case. Incredibly, the private/county property question came as a surprise to Atteukenian, whose boss is Carmen Trutanich.

When Atteukenian was confronted with Cummins' findings during one of Jimmy's court hearings this summer, the prosecutor was caught off guard, said he would make some calls, and asked for a continuance. Atteukenian obviously hadn't done the basic homework of finding out if Jimmy lived on private or county property -- if justice, in fact, was being properly applied to the homeless man's case.

Atteukenian's less than exemplary work as a prosecutor only got worse from there.

At another court hearing on August 3, Atteukenian started to realize the impact of Cummins' and City Councilman Smith's findings. Before the hearing started, the prosecutor approached Jimmy and his friend, Edward Muzika, holding out a business card. With his fingers purposefully obscuring most of the card, Atteukenian used it as proof that he had a contact with the county's Department of Public Works, and said that the unnamed official wanted Jimmy off county land."

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2009/09/is_la_city_attorney_carmen_tru.php

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 gives expert testimony in legal real estate case

LA Weekly. "Jimmy on the edge of town."

"Mary Cummins, a longtime real estate assessor, has independently deduced that he is, indeed, on county-owned land. But she questions whether or not Union Pacific issued a valid citation for trespassing. If Jimmy is living on county-owned property edging the railroad spur, Cummins’ logic goes, then the railroad company may not be able to charge him with “trespassing” on the railroad’s “private property” or of “lodging without [their] permission.”

As an expert real estate assessor for more than 25 years in the Los Angeles area, Cummins knows how to read tract maps. Just recently, for example, she was hired to testify in court over a major real estate dispute at the Ambassador Hotel. Feral-cat activist Muzika started looking into Jimmy’s case, and he asked Cummins, a friend from animal-rights circles, to help.

Cummins, who normally charges $100 per hour for her expertise, took up Jimmy’s cause for free. She looked up Jimmy’s location on Google Earth, found an L.A. County Assessor’s map, and placed the Google map on top of the county’s map. “You can clearly see Jimmy’s on the L.A. County flood-control channel” land, Cummins says. She is also “absolutely certain,” and would testify in court, that Jimmy is on county-owned property, not the railroad’s.

Cummins sent her findings to Muzika, who e-mailed the maps information to Councilman Smith’s office, and alerted the city attorney at Jimmy’s court hearing on July 1 in the Los Angeles Superior Court in the small town of San Fernando, in the far northeast Valley.

In court that day, the prosecutor handling the case, Apraham Atteukenian, looked surprised when Muzika, with Jimmy near his side, offered up the disputed land-ownership evidence. It’s clearly very basic land-ownership homework that Los Angeles city prosecutors should have done before hauling a man into court for trespassing on railroad property. The prosecutor promised to “make some calls.” Jimmy is defending himself pro per, having dumped a Los Angeles County public defender who advised him to plead guilty to trespassing against Union Pacific. Jimmy is now facing trial August 3, yet, Cummins says, even now, the city attorney and Smith’s office have not responded to her finding that Jimmy is not on railroad land."

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.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Mary Cummins gives real estate testimony in legal case

"So Jimmy, along with his animal rights friends Edward Muzika and Mary Cummins, took a trip to the Los Angeles Superior Court courthouse in the city of San Fernando to fight back. It had been an interesting few days for Jimmy, whose story was featured in last Thursday's issue of L.A. Weekly, titled "Jimmy on the Edge of Town."

After the article came out, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department came by his tent for a quick visit and several new friends, who apparently read the piece, dropped in and offered him food and money.

"They offered me financial help and I refused," said Jimmy, taking a break from the courtroom. "I said they could give me cat food."

On Monday, the City Attorney's Office wasn't so charitable.

In the courtroom, a prosecutor named Apraham Atteukenian appeared now and then, suggesting to Jimmy and Muzika, who was acting as a kind of advisor to his friend, that the city had a slam dunk case.

Attenukenian refused to back down from his stance that Jimmy was trespassing on the private property of the Union Pacific railroad, even though Los Angeles City Councilman Greig Smith and longtime real estate assessor Cummins had independently concluded that Jimmy lives on county property -- a finding that would seem to hurt the City Attorney's case."

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2009/08/jimmy_nasralla_city_attorney.php

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.

Sunday, July 20, 1986

Mary Cummins in LA Times, People in Westside Real Estate

Los Angeles Times
July 20, 1986

Mary Cummins joins Merrill Lynch real estate in Beverly Hills.

Mary Cummins joins Beverly Hills Merrill Lynch in LA Times

http://www.latimes.com

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.

Meet up

Animal Advocates custom Facebook name

Cummins Real Estate blog

Animal Advocates on Google maps

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates

Mary Cummins biography resume short

Mary Cummins Real Estate Services

Animal Advocates fan page at Facebook.com

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Squirrel Rescue

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates on Flickr photos

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates on Twitter.com

Mary Cummins on Picasa web photo albums

Mary Cummins on MySpace.com

Mary Cummins on Google Blogger Blogspot

Mary Cummins on YouTube.com videos

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates on Classmates

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates on eHow

Thursday, September 16, 1976

Mary Cummins in LA Times, swim, run, swim in San Diego

September 16, 1976

Los Angeles Times

Mary Cummins in LA Times, swim, run, swim

"IN TRAINING - Mary Cummins, 10, left, runs along beach in Santa Monica training for annual Swim-Run-Swim at Pacific Beach in San Diego on Sunday, Sept. 19. She will represent the Culver City Swim Club. Running with her are her sister and coach, Juliette, 12 and their dog Charlie. Contest consists of a 1/2-mile swim around the pier, a 3 1/2 mile run on the beach and a return swim around the pier. The ages of those who have entered race range from 9 to 68."

This was Tug's Tavern annual swim-run-swim. Even though Tug's closed in 1985 they have a Facebook page. Tugs Tavern's owner Tom Warren won the Ironman Triathlon in 1979. His appearance on Johnny Carson and in Sports Illustrated was a big part of the popularity for the sport of Triathlon.

Tug's Tavern 2nd annual swim-run-swim September 19, 1976.

I just found the results. I came in 8th for girls 14 and under. The article also ran in the Beverly Hills Independent newspaper and the Beverly Hills Courier.

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.