Posted on 04/23/2011 7:05:23 AM PDT by Servant of the Cross
There are no private parties anywhere that exercise the power of "eminent domain". Even utilities incorporated in the same manner as municipalities (e.g. just about every high energy power line in America) only exercise eminent domain through government agencies designed to take care of the details for them. In most cases the power company is after an easement and not full ownership. Farming, et al, continues to be done UNDERNEATH THE WIRES.
I doubt you could find a politician in the country who'd agree to a private agency or individual doing eminent domain!
Private RE developers using quasi-public sleight of hand through state administrative processes does not make casino/mall/housing development a “government work”.
Look, I don't know if your discontent arises out of the fact that gambling is involved, or a small hotelier was inconvenienced, or you don't like Trump, or you don't quite understand where Bob Guccione comes into this.
What happened to Bob in Atlantic City is particularly deplorable ~ although he'd once had $400,000,000 net wealth, a drop in the art market, a minor recession, and various changes in his marital status (plus his wife died of cancer) ~ because he got involved building a "too small" casino on property where he didn't have full control. An adjacent property owner made his life miserable, interfered with his construction schedule and did a variety of other things that ran the project well over its budget. That was too much for Bob who later (2010) died of lung cancer which was discovered at about the same time.
I guess beating down a sick man and driving him to banruptcy is a big win for some people.
But an Asian man from LA owned the 38 acres that Trump needed to build more facilities near the course. He wasn’t a “holdout,” he merely wanted to be paid for his land.
It was strongly tempting to our Fresno city leaders including conservative mayor Alan Autry (Bubba from “In the Heat of the Night”). The newspaper, Fresno Magazine, radio and TV people all pressured him. But after all kinds of wrangling, the owner said he wanted $38K per acre, the going rate for Central Valley farm land with water rights. The Donald didn't want to pay so much, and asked Fresno City/County to condemn the land using eminent domain, but both entities said no despite the prestige and money it would have brought us.
I was always proud of them for standing up for the Constitution in a state that seems to want to ignore or repeal our founding document. God bless them all.
Hasnt the GOP learned anything?
We cant run a person because he is against someone. He has to stand for something as well.
Are we going to settle for someone as putrid as Romney or Trump, or are we going to demand a better canidate.
Trump is a sleaze. A two bit huckster with a slick PR machine.
Romney double ditto. Both are below what should be our standards.
All I am is saying is that we have become so desperate for a Anti Obama that we would choose a “Anyone but Obama” no matter who that person may be.
No More McCains, No More Doles, and no more rinos.
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