From the Orlando Sentinel:
"In a bizarre ending to a quirky story, Mayor Nick Girone will have to publicly apologize on behalf of the city to a couple who racked up more than $10,000 in fines for painting their home in the likeness of Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting 'Starry Night.'"
I had not heard about the story until this denouenment. Mount Dora, Florida, is home to about 12,500, large enough to have a professional city manager. According to the City's website, that manager is Robin R. Hayes. It's impossible to know what Ms. Hayes provided in the way of professional guidance to Mayor Girone. Hopefully, it was that the city's dogged bullying of homeowners Lubomir Jastrzebski and Nancy Nemhauser was doomed, particularly when the couple decided to retain legal counsel.
The judicial branch indulges a good bit of tomfoolery from local governments, but takes a dim view on trampling the First Amendment, particularly when a citzen's expression is creative/artistic.
I have no doubt that neighbors and local scolds found the "Van Gogh House" irksome. And apparently the reason the couple chose to make their home into an objet d'art--an autistic son--did not thaw the ice of disapproval. But Mount Dora is not a homeowner's association where individuals can agree contractually to a color palette approved by an architectural committee. It is a city where its citizens enjoy the protections of the Bill of Rights.
Mayor Girone presumably will deliver a public mea culpa, but he owes an apology to the Constitution, not just his constituents.
