Across America|News|
When It Comes To Parking, Territorialism Is A 2-Way Street|Block Talk
Homeowners don’t have legal rights to the street parking in front of their homes, but ignoring their emotional claim is rude, readers say.

Homeowners don’t have legal rights to the street parking in front of their homes, but ignoring their emotional claim is rude, readers say.

Yeah, yeah, it’s a public street and fair game for parking, but is it OK to be territorial about the spots in front of your house?
It’s fine for service dogs to be in stores, but most survey respondents said pets shouldn’t. Poop and slobber were big sticking points.
Americans increasingly treat their dogs like family members, but should they take them shopping to the grocery store and other places?
Rethinking street designs, speed traps, speed bumps and traffic enforcement cameras all got votes from readers. So did common sense.
Three people have died in the time a Patch reader has been trying to stop speeding in her neighborhood. What should she do?
Confronting litterers is a bad idea, readers say. Instead, do your bit, pick up trash and before you know it, you may inspire a movement.
We’re better than we were. Still, some people think nothing of throwing trash from their cars or leaving it for someone else to deal with.
Noise, parking, driving and inclusion also got mentions in our survey of what readers would change about their neighbors and neighborhoods.
If you could change one thing about your neighborhood or community, what would it be?
No holiday tradition symbolizes the joy of season quite like caroling, and readers say they’d like to see it come back.
If you could bring back a once common neighborhood custom — such as caroling, cookie exchanges and drop-in open houses — what would it be?
Has “tipflation” — the explosion in the number of service providers expecting a tip — changed the etiquette of holiday tipping?
As the peak of parcel-shipping season nears, readers offer some tips on how to curtail package thefts, a multi-billion-dollar criminal enter
Porch pirates stole $12 billion in packages from about 58 million Americans in the past year. What can you do to prevent delivery thefts?
Thanksgiving is the “middle child” of holidays caught between over-the-top Halloween and Christmas decorations, several readers said.
It’s tradition in many neighborhoods to wait until Thanksgiving to turn on holiday lights, but the Christmas season is short this year.
The gig economy flourished during the pandemic, changing the tipping culture in America; let’s walk that back, readers overwhelmingly say.
A seismic shift in how Americans make a living changed the culture of tipping, and now workers at every turn seem to expect a fat gratuity.
Patch readers responding to our Halloween candy throwdown survey don’t want this candy. Do you agree?
What candy is best on Halloween? What “treats” — or, more likely, “tricks” — make people the scariest in their neighborhoods?
Often, a polite talk will resolve issues with intrusive outdoor lighting; it may be time to ask local officials to address light pollution.
A Patch reader wonders if it’s really necessary for her neighbor to keep their intrusively bright LED and halogen lights burning all night.
One reader wants her neighbors to complain that the upkeep of her property bugs them, thereby shaming her husband into getting off his bum.
Most of us want to have cordial relationships with our neighbors. But when they do things that bug you, how do you talk to them about it?
From neighbors who have barking, snarling dogs to “basement tenants from hell” to smokers, tokers and fire stokers, readers dish.
Do your neighbors party and play loud music all night, let their dogs bark, or have zero cares to give about the upkeep of their property?
Readers said getting the kids out of the car without delay is the code, but another pointed out “there are challenges you cannot see.”
The school drop-off and pick-up lane is torture because of some parents. Does it have to be this painful? What constitutes proper etiquette?
Bullies, conspiracy theories and politicizing everything can suck the fun out of interacting on community social media forums, readers said.
Your community’s social media page may bring out the best in your neighbors. Or the worst. What’s the best way to keep discussions civil?
Just who are these people, readers wondered, and do you really want to know them if they’d keep packages delivered to them by mistake?
Do you take the package to the intended recipient? Is it OK to check the addresses on a neighbor’s packages as you search for yours?
What gives the person with a chemically toxic lawn more rights than the person trying to “rewild” their properties, one reader wondered.
Not everyone in the neighborhood shares the same passion for landscaping, but what do you do about the eyesore next door?
Some readers threw shade on the “shopping cart theory,” which says people who don’t return them are of questionable moral character.
The “shopping cart theory” holds that a person’s moral character is revealed based on whether they abandon or return carts.
Loud music, especially loud bass, topped readers’ complaints about noisy neighbors. Dogs, fireworks and exhaust fans got mentions, too.
Aside from the normal sounds of summer, how much noise should you reasonably expect from people living next door, upstairs or downstairs?
If a neighbor’s security camera is pointed at your back yard, no matter how tempting to do otherwise, keep your clothes on, readers say.