Comments for Burlington Vermont Homes, Condos, and Real Estate For Sale

Comment on Burlington School District and Magnet Schools by Pike

Pike — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:26:19 +0000

While getting information for this post I received an email from a member of the school board. The email exchange exemplifies how controversial the new magnet schools are. I have removed the name of the school board member:

Pike,

Just so you know, moving into a particular area of town does not at this time guarantee that one’s children will be able to attend the school closest, especially if registering late, if that is the intent here. Some grades will be full at some schools, so it depends on the age of the children in question.

*****

—- Act Locally. Connect Globally. Burlington Telecom: It’s Your Network.

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Hi *****,

thanks for the clarification. It is the intent of the family to have their children enroll in one of the schools I had listed. What is a family’s option if they do not want a child to attend one of the magnet schools?

thanks

Pike

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Register the children, and the District will place them where there is space in a classroom. They may get lucky and there will be space in the grade and school they prefer, but they may not have many options. Registration started a while ago.

Honestly, Pike, my first thought when you ask “What is a family’s option if they do not want a child to attend one of the magnet schools?” is to say their best option is to stop being classist and closed-minded or find another place in the world to live. We don’t need bigots in this community. Just my gut reaction.

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Hi *****,

I didn’t mean to, and not sure how I offended you; and I’m not sure how not wanting children attending a school which has an emphasis in a subject matter the child has no interest in is bigoted and classist. I have not had the privilege to see the enrollment applications parents fill out to rank the order of preference of elementary schools, but I would hesitate to say that all of those parents who do not choose either of the magnate schools as their first choice should find another place to live.

Magnate schools, or at least the magnate schools I and my sister attended, are designed as an alternative to a traditional education. Not taking the time to consider the value in the decision of the parent who makes decides that a traditional education will best serve the needs of their children is in my opinion just as closed-minded and more hypocritical.

Thanks again for the information.

Pike

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Well, like I said, that’s just my first reaction. You make a good point. I did interpret the desire to avoid those schools as being based upon negative stereotyping or ignorance of the real culture of the schools at least. Perhaps, as you imply, the integrated curriculum approach in our magnet schools is not for them. Point taken.

I will note a couple of things. The magnet schools are not officially neighborhood-based, but city-wide enrollement schools, so there is nowhere to live where you wouldn’t ever have the chance to apply to go there. Also, there is not an emphasis on subject matter that the child has no interest in, unless, like many kids, they are not interested in math and reading and such. The IAA isn’t an ART school, it’s a school that utilizes the arts to teach all parts of the curriculum. Similarly, the SA is a regular school with a different approach to curriculum that utilizes the framework of human ecology.

My kid goes to the IAA, is in the 1st Grade, and reads at a 4th Grade level. I can’t imagine why anyone would purposefully avoid a neighborhood in hopes of avoiding such a great educational opportunity. Especially if they are renting, this neighborhood is more affordable… kids are gonna get placed where there is room at this point anyway. Depends on the grade level, really.

I am just tired of hearing people bash these schools, so I apologize if I was overly sensitive.

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Comment on FHA Loan Advertising by Pike

Pike — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:02:11 +0000

The posting above was posted at the request of Micheal Blumreich. In his original email to me he wrote:

Michael Blumreich
michael@plus1-media.com
[your-phone]
Pike,
My name is Micheal Blumreich and I am the Director of Online Content for FHAMortgageCenter.com, a site specializing in everything FHA mortgage and financing. I was browsing E Powered Professionals, came across your site and am contacting you in regards to your real estate page. I enjoyed the content of your site regarding your “For Buyers” page as well as the variety of listings you have. I did however notice that you don’t have a lot of content regarding mortgage and financing options for those great listings which could be problematic for first time homebuyers. A guest post from http://www.FHAMortgageCenter.com could correct that problem being as we are FHA loan specialists who could contribute valuable information concerning financing options for home buyers along the lines of FHA loans. If you are interested take a look at our site and get back to me. I can have an article to you in a couple of days and if you are not happy with it than don’t post it. I look forward to hearing from you Pike.
Thank you for your time,
Michael Blumreich

Mike is correct that I don’t have much about financing the home, I’ll have to add more content. The problem is that financing rules and regulations are changing so rapidly, or at least have this past year, any information I provide might very well be outdated by the time you read it.

Comment on Sloan Toilet Tanks – Gerber Ultra Flush Toilets by Pike

Pike — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:59:33 +0000

Good luck with it.

Comment on AT&T’s Motion to Amend Findings and Order by Pike

Pike — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:59:11 +0000

I decided not to go with the iphone and instead bought an unlocked Nexus One Google Phone. Like you, I love my new phone. The phone was pricey–over $550–but now that I can get my mail on my phone, I find that I don’t need to boot up my computer every day. My data plan is cheaper without the iphone.

It is not too late for you to take action against AT&T for the messages, either through a court of law or through their arbitration process. I filed a notice of dispute with AT&T for other violations of the TCPA unrelated to the violations I’m litigating: for three of the many times their customer service represnatatives did not provided me with a copy of the company “do not call” policy when I requested it and subsequently demonstrated that they were not trained in the TCPA, I filed a notice of dispute. We have agreed to a $3,500 settlement of those violations, though I have not yet seen either the paperwork or money from AT&T. The total statutory damages for these 6 violations of the TCPA would come to $9,000, but I have enough on my plate with the other two suits. They did offer me $20,000 to settle all three cases, but I declined the offer.

Comment on Keller Williams comes to Vermont by Pike

Pike — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:44:46 +0000

Hi Lora,

and thanks for the comment. It is not quite true that independant real estate agencies don’t have open book management. As you probably know, many organizations are moving to open book management. Castle Porter Real Estate has always been open book, as are many other members of Vermont Business for Social Responsibility like Castle Porter Real Estate. I can’t say that I do approve of the business model, or any real estate franchise business model I have seen. I feel that real estate is a local product is better sold by local companies than national frachises.

I read Gary Keller’s book The Millionaire Real Estate Agent when deciding if I was interested in opening a KW franchise, and he reinforces some good common sense idea that all Realtors should always be practicing. Folks thinking about a Keller Williams agency may find the book’s sections on lead generation and marketing seller listings for more leads illuminating.

Agents need to continually keep themselves educated and aware of the most recent regulations that effect real estate transactions. Two recent courses approved by Vermont Professional Regulation for real estate agents’ continuing education credit have had really poor content, so I’m glad to hear that Keller Williams appreciates a well-trained agent.

Good luck with the new endeavor.

Comment on Sloan Toilet Tanks – Gerber Ultra Flush Toilets by DH

DH — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:25:56 +0000

I can report the same problem in a 10-year old Flushmate. A pinhole on the seam where the two halves of the tank join. It causes water to leak onto the floor.
Like you, I am annoyed to need a $100 replacement part after 10 years. I will try my luck with epoxy. If that doesn’t work, I will buy a new toilet that will be anything but Flushmate. Thanks for posting your experience.

Comment on Keller Williams comes to Vermont by Lora Wilson

Lora Wilson — Mon, 10 May 2010 19:59:33 +0000

Thanks for this imformative overview of Keller Williams, Vermont’s newest, and fastest growing Real Estate company. As a Realtor at Keller Williams, I applaud others, such as yourself, who see the benefit of this model. Traditional franchises and independents don’t offer long-term profit sharing (a retirement strategy, not a “Scheme,”) an open books management style or the Keller Williams training philosophy that makes us ALL better agents. Keller Williams opens up it’s state of the art training room to the entire board. Next up is a training based on the Millionairre Real Estate Agent which will teach agents how to maximize their systems and team model based on the number one best selling book by Gary Keller. It is worth a look!

Comment on AT&T’s Motion to Amend Findings and Order by Mel

Mel — Thu, 06 May 2010 21:28:00 +0000

You know, I eventually switched over to AT&T (summer of 2009) and asked them to stop texting me, sending me letters and such. They assured me they would, but of course didn’t. I was appalled by the letters they sent, basically verbatim of what you posted, that said we would be left in the cold if we didn’t switch soon. I was also told by a few AT&T representatives that my phone wouldn’t work on the AT&T network after some upgrades – which finally compelled me to switch. then I learned that my phone would have worked after all. I now have an iPhone and actually love it, and have no complaints about the service they are providing me, but feel the tactics used to get me into that contract were quite aggressive, if not illegal. Look forward to following the outcome.

Comment on Missing Dog on Shelburne Road in South Burlington by steve

steve — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:41:49 +0000

my friends found a dog similar to this (yours looks more yellow) in our neighborhood behind Pizzaria Uno. I emailed them with your link but you may want to call. Her name is Monica –

802-399-2060

good luck!

Comment on More on Burlington Telecom and Comcast by Pike

Pike — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:30:16 +0000

Hi Mark,

thanks for offering to help. The referrer logging issue was with Burlington Telecom. My problem with Comcast (other than the incredibly slow Internet speed) was the the hour and 45 minutes I was on hold waiting to speak with a customer representative. I’ll never get those minutes back.