Judgment Against Joplin Landlord.

Attorney General Chris Koster announced he has obtained a consent judgment against a Joplin landlord for alleged price gouging and other violations in the aftermath of the May 22 Joplin tornado.

Koster said David Box, Jr., rents out apartments at Northside Apartments and Classic Townhouses. Following the May 22 tornado, Box notified tenants that their rent was being raised and required that they contact him within three days or their rental unit could be leased to someone else.

Koster said his office received complaints from 13 renters who had received the notice from Box. In one instance, a renter was notified his rent would go from $475 per month to $595 per month, a 25 percent increase. Two other renters were notified their rent would go from $475 to $550 per month, a 16 percent increase.

Koster said Box is ordered to provide restitution to those harmed by his actions and send them a letter of apology for using duress in a time of tragedy, and to pay a $5,000 civil penalty and all court costs. Should Box violate any terms of the judgment, he will be assessed an additional $5,000 penalty.

Jasper County Jail Count

188 October 12, 2011

Total Including Placed out of County

NASCAR THIS WEEK

By Monte Dutton

A.J. Allmendinger Has ‘Kingly’ Goals

A.J. Allmendinger earns the interest of thousands of fans just on the basis of the No. 43 on the side of his Ford Fusion.

"43" is the number made famous by Richard Petty, the owner. Petty won a record 200 races carrying that number. No one else ever come close to that total, and it’s almost unthinkable that anyone will ever approach it. It’s among many reasons why Petty is uniformly regarded as NASCAR’s King Richard.

Allmendinger, 29, came reasonably close to making the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He moved up from 15th to 14th in Sprint Cup points after finishing seventh at Dover International Speedway in the AAA 400. To date, the Los Gatos, Calif., native has collected one top-five and seven top-10 finishes during the current season.

The one-time Rookie of the Year in the ChampCar World Series (2004) began competing regularly in NASCAR in 2007. He finished third in the 2009 Daytona 500.

Allmendinger’s goal, obviously, is to restore Richard Petty Motorsports to the position of royalty enjoyed by Petty. Teammate Marcos Ambrose picked up a victory earlier this year at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

"The Chase doesn’t define our season," Allmendinger said. "If we get to Homestead (Fla., site of the final race) and are a lot better than we were last year, I’ll be happy with that."

Regarding his performance at Dover, he said, "You just want to put yourself in that position, but we weren’t quite good enough to win. Depending on what call and where you restarted, I think we might have been top-five there at the end."

The race began disastrously but also spectacularly. After his Ford was bumped from behind by Denny Hamlin’s Toyota, Allmendinger made a spectacular save, keeping the car out the Dover walls and recovering.

"Denny had a nose right there, but it was lap four," Allmendinger said. "Those guys would expect you to give them some room, but he just stuffed it down in there and jacked me sideways. It was no surprise, and as I started spinning toward the wall, I just hammered the throttle. I didn’t think it was going to hit the wall, but then I was afraid that everybody behind me would come piling in.

"I’d like to say it was all driver, but luckily, I tapped the brake and kept it on the throttle, it straightened back up to where I didn’t stop in front of anybody and, thank God, everybody behind us was alert and kind of got it slowed down. I’d say it was 60 percent driver and 40 percent luck. I’ll give myself a little bit of credit."

Sometimes technology is really scary.

I was walkin’ up to a convenience store the other day and I heard this voice.

"Attention. This car is backing up!"

At first I thought it was the gas pump talkin’ to me. They’ve scared me a few times too, but the sound was closer than that.

Then I realized I was behind a large van that was creeping toward me. How’d it know?

After gettin’ out a the way, I’m figurin’ the thing just automatically does that when the backup lights come on, but maybe there is a tiny camera watchin’ out for us pedestrians, makin’ sure we don’t end up in harms way. Either way, in this instance it worked, however it works.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

Weekly Column

CLICK and CLACK

TALK CARS

I do not have an air conditioner. "So what?" you say. "There are many cars on the streets without any air conditioning, most of them old, rusted-out beaters." But I have a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt, base model XFE. My boss bought it for me because he couldn’t pass up a $6,000 brand-new car.

So now I am driving hell on wheels ... literally. It would be one thing if I lived in Alaska or Siberia. But I’m in the middle of the country, where temperatures were regularly 95 this past summer. The dealer wants $2,500 to install air conditioning. Are there any cheaper alternatives? Thank you so much, guys. I am truly grateful. -- Thomas the "Roast Duck"

TOM: Unfortunately, there are no really good alternatives, Thomas. Because almost nobody buys a car without air conditioning these days, your car doesn’t even come with vent windows.

RAY: They had to unload this car for $6,000 because it sat on the lot for almost two years and no one gave it a sniff. And the only reason your boss bought it is because he knew HE wouldn’t have to drive it.

TOM: Fortunately, your car is pre-wired and -ducted for air conditioning, even though there’s no air-conditioning equipment in it. All cars come that way now. And $2,500 is about the right price.

TOM: One way or the other, you should reason with him, Thomas, and ask him to rectify this situation. Remind him that he’s still getting a great deal. Even with the AC, he’s getting a new car for $8,500.

RAY: So tell him that his credentials still will be excellent. He’ll still be able to walk into any cheapskate convention with his head held high.