Plants can protect from fire too

California has a plan for firesafetythat involves banning plants within 5 feet of homes. The linked article says "Hey, wait, green plants can actually protect houses (they show a dramatic example). Especially if they're properly watered.

Properly watered. Um, the big fire was in the LA area. Maybe the regulators are right.

Fees

I chuckled when I read about the Visions decision, but on reflection I wonder: are the rules so byzantine that you can overlook fees for a core feature of your business? (They'd not paid their adult entertainment license for half a year.)

The same committee also rejected an alcohol license for a hotel: "the hotel’s license is void because the company is not registered with the state, so there was no license to renew."

The hotel also owes more than \$200,000 to the city in room tax fees, is delinquent in property taxes and has not honored payment plans, Zilavy said.

Verveer said Howard Johnson is one of the hotels that is partnering with the city and Dane county to provide housing for the homeless during the COVID-19 crisis. He said that partnership shouldn’t be impacted if the council decides not to renew the hotel’s alcohol license.

If the bit about unpaid fees and taxes is true, I wonder what that conversation was like in which the hotel agreed to "partner with the city."