#3 Blast Off – On Saturday (2011.01.08), my father, brother, son and I witnessed a sporting event which is only topped in my mind by one other – The Miracle on Ice. Here though, the Seattle Seahawks, despite their losing record, were crowned the champions of the NFC West after beating St. Louis in the final game of the regular season. As a result, the Seahawks not only gained a wildcard playoff bid, they had the opportunity to act as host. Host to whom? Host to the reigning Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints! Well, in a high scoring game in which the spread was never greater than 14 points, the Seahawks won 41-36. What a game Seahawks and good luck in Chicago!
#2 Blast Off – On Friday, LexBlog’s Colin O’Keefe listed the blogs that were [hard] launched in the first week of the decade on the LexBlog network. Thank you Colin for leading off your blog commentary with the following about The Boundary Dispute Law Blog (BDLB):
“Niches lead to riches” is the mantra often heard when it comes to the practice of law and legal blogging. Robert Zierman of Justice Smiles, PLLC is off to an excellent start towards owning his niche with the launch of the Boundary Dispute Law Blog. Already in touch with a member of a Washington State Legislature House of Representatives as a result of the blog, Zierman will be one author to keep an eye on as he continues to offer up great insight.
Well to a tremendous extent, I owe my early success to the help of my project manager at LexBlog – Josh Lynch. You can read my full compliments to Josh at his LinkedIn page here. For those of you who may be interested in blogging after reading my January contribution to the King County Bar Bulletin: Blasting Off into the Blogosphere Community, you will likely find that any and all of your questions about legal blogging are already covered by simply going to www.LexBlog.com.
#1 Blast Off – This Thursday (2011.01.13) at 10:00 in Olympia at HHR A, the House Judiciary Committee will hear public comment on the newly proposed Adverse Possession Bill – HB 1026. You may see my previous comments on HB 1026 here.
At any rate, both Chris McKie of End Adverse Possession Now and I plan to testify. That said; I also hope that we will receive word from industry spokespeople for surveyors, real estate agents, and title insurers.
Moreover, yesterday I personally snooped around the University of Washington School of Law and Karr Tuttle Campbell where none other than William B. Stoebuck is Professor Emeritus and worked as Of Counsel respectfully. Unfortunately, I was unable to reach him and so will make a personal entreat via email.
Why is Professor Stoebuck so important? Well, the law review article: Stoebuck, “The Law of Adverse Possession in Washington,” 35 Wash. L. Rev. 53 (1960) to this day remains the most important academic document on this subject AND was the first of many law review articles and treaties about Real Property Law that Professor Stoebuck would go on to produce over his illustrious career. It also later served as a one of the key reasons for the judicial elimination of the element of Subjective Intent – or Good Faith.
Quite simply, there is no other individual who knows Washington’s Adverse Possession Laws and how changes to it will affect other areas of Real Property Law than Professor Stoebuck. His input would be invaluable. If unable to be coaxed into providing testimony on HB 1026, the State of Washington may soon lament something akin to: “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo).“
Notwithstanding my lionizing of Professor Stoebuck, your comments and experiences are just as important. We live in a democracy. As such, if you have opinions on this issue, I would encourage you to offer your testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. While the time limit is 3 minutes, your voice is valuable. I respectfully encourage you to use it.