Angry resident paints giant lemons on her condo's windows in protest
ABC13 Eyewitness News
(6/15/05 - HOUSTON) — A homeowner has found an unusual way to speak out against her homebuilder...Heather Michelson headed to court over large yellow lemons painted on the window of her quarter million dollar Montrose condo. It was art -- and a statement. "The only voice I had," she said. "I put lemons up and I moved out." ... "I had bloody noses at night, nauseous, dementia," recalled Michelson. "I was fatigued. I'd sleep for 18 hours a day." The symptoms, she says, disappeared when she moved out... Janet Ahmad with Homeowners for Better Building explained, "Anyone can be a builder in Texas. But only in Texas are the home builders unregulated and the buyer is regulated."

Builders group backs construction reforms
"Even now, in reading this letter sent to Governor Codey by the New Jersey Builders, it is almost laughable the way they (builders) still skip around the current system," said Marie B. Crosby of Jefferson. "The way many of them use the courts as a merry-go-round and in the meantime livelihoods are lost, and families suffer irreversible damage."..."The public should not waste time on the recommendations, task forces, and reforms because this is all after the fact; things have already gone wrong," said Manalapan resident Violet Peterson. "We should concentrate on upholding the law, properly inspecting new homes, requiring developers to repair homes that are not code compliant, and holding violators identified in the SCI hearings — builders and construction officials — accountable."