J.K. Rowling Is Pissing Off Her Neighbors

Where's Professor Sprout when you need her? The Guardian reports that Edinburgh residents are blaming J.K. Rowling for roadworks causing traffic congestion. What does the beloved Harry Potter author have to do with it? Apparently, the roadworks are a result of her family hiring contractors to cut back the 30-foot Leyland Cypress hedges outside her 17th-century mansion. The roadworks, which include temporary traffic lights and the reduction of the road to a single lane, began Monday and are expected to finish tomorrow. “It’s just taking ages for them to cut the bush back,” an onlooker told reporters on the scene. “It’s chaos around there. The lights are taking too long to change, especially on the side roads. There are long queues tailing back from the lights.” The City of Edinburgh council, meanwhile, denied to the newspaper that Rowling was getting preferential treatment. "Any individual or business may apply for a permit to occupy a public road for activities such as placing a skip or erecting scaffolding," a spokeswoman told The Guardian. "This particular application was approved following a site visit to agree the scope of the works and necessary traffic management. Off-peak temporary traffic lights were allowed to facilitate the works, the safe flow of traffic and to minimize disruption for all road users.” Rowling hasn't publicly commented on the matter, but if she feels any guilt, a few signed copies of The Goblet of Fire wouldn't go amiss. How about giving the guys stuck in traffic something to do?