The Mineo is “officially” not in DP but is also well known and covered. If little known stories outside of our little slice are covered (like the ones you mention), it’s (I assume) because they are potentially interesting to DP neighbors or timely and NOT as covered as the Mineo case.

I don’t see this blog as anything but a great place to get local information and also information that might be interesting to locals. Those are two different things.

Sometimes information about close neighborhoods fall into the second category, though they aren’t IN DP. And many times, things that are in the local area beyond DP are covered enough in other media not to be mentioned.

For those who want to read more, here’s the summary and latest from the Times http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/michael_mineo/index.html .

ALSO: There is a neighborhood blog in Prospect Lefferts that’s provided regular updates on the case, http://www.hawthornestreet.com/.

To the extent that it may be protected speech – writing in the snow may be a legitimate exercise of First Amendment rights – one has no privacy interest in actions in public. In other words, one may have a right to write in snow on public land. The community has a right to observe it.

This incident shouldn’t be regarded as harmless; it’s intended to intimidate one person or household. If there’s no community response, there’s a risk that the offender will feel emboldened.

J.S.