Free Republic

New Orleans has a far greater proportion of vacant homes than any other city in the country, due in large part to a lagging recovery in about a third of the neighborhoods that were badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, new analyses show. The nonprofit Greater New Orleans Community Data Center released two reports Thursday, one of which used U.S. Postal Service data compiled in March to compare New Orleans with seven other American cities that have large inventories of blighted or vacant housing. When it comes to abandoned homes, New Orleans is in a class by itself, the report indicated,...

The U.S. Supreme Court created a huge political backlash when it ruled that local governments could use eminent domain to seize private property and transfer it to other private owners for "economic development." Since the Kelo ruling in 2005, 42 states have enacted limitations on eminent domain — not always effective ones. But like lawmakers in many other states, some California officials are trying to block real eminent domain reform. On June 3, Californians will vote on Proposition 99, a ballot initiative sponsored by groups representing cities, counties, redevelopment agencies and other pro-condemnation interests. It purports to protect property rights...

Once in a while, almost by accident, the California Legislature sets aside pettiness and venality and does the right thing. It happened last week, although you won't find any official record, when legislation that would have changed a city's redevelopment powers in ways that could lead to widespread abuse was quietly killed without a committee hearing. Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, dropped the bill that the City of Industry was promoting after getting an earful of complaints from other local governments, especially Los Angeles County, and redevelopment reformers. Redevelopment, for those who aren't familiar with it, is the process by...

The New Jersey State Supreme Court issued a blow Wednesday to the way municipalities use their power of eminent domain to acquire private land. In an unanimous ruling, the court said that for land to be taken against the owner's wishes it must be "blighted" and not merely "not fully productive." The ruling is a victory for private property rights but could make it more difficult to redevelop some communities. The case centers on a 63-acre tract in Paulsboro made up mostly of wetlands just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia International Airport. The Gallenthin family started using the land...

The mortgage crisis in America has deepened so much that family homes can now be bought for less than £15,200 - the price of a new car. A four-bedroom home near the original Motown recording studio in Detroit recently sold for £3,700 ($7,000), less than most used cars. A boarded-up bungalow fetched £685, and a three-bedroom house listed for £276,000 attracted just £69,000. Detroit, which made its fortune on the back of the car industry, now holds a more dubious distinction: the capital of home repossessions. The decline of its main industry has seen Detroit suffer more than other areas...

BROOKLYN, NY-On Monday the Empire State Development Corp. approved the modified General Project Plan for the Atlantic Yards project and authorized eminent domain to seize the final properties needed for the project to go forward. The Public Authorities Control Board is the final hurdle developer Forester City Ratner Cos. must overcome. The PACB is expected to vote on the plan Dec. 20, although given the board’s track record it is uncertain if the project will receive the unanimous decision required. “Today’s approval is another important milestone in the creation of tens of thousands of construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs,...

In a week marked by Philadelphia's 300th homicide of the year, Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter said Mayor Street should declare a state of emergency in pockets of the city that have endured the worst violence. Such action, according to the city code, would allow the government to clear people from public sidewalks, close bars, prohibit liquor sales, and establish curfews for children and adults alike. The proposal topped several crime-fighting ideas Nutter pushed in an interview this week. Others included policing more aggressively to recover illegal weapons and encouraging experienced officers to postpone retirement. Saying he was angered and...

09/29/2006   GAAS:706:06   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Protect Private Property Rights Gov. Schwarzenegger signed legislation today that protects the rights of private property owners.   “Government must respect the private property rights of our citizens,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger. “I am proud to sign legislation to further enhance the protection of property rights of Californians.”   Specifically, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed the following five bills:   SB 53 by Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) requires an agency to make additional findings of blight if the agency wishes to extend the time limits on its authorization for eminent-domain actions. This bill would...

Wearing work boots and carrying flashlights on a spring day last year, a band of architects and developers picked their way through the dim interior of the American Brewery. They looked like archaeologists combing through an ancient ruin, which, in some ways, is exactly what the brewery is. Built in the 1800s, the American Brewery has stood empty these past 33 years, a ghostly reminder of a distant past when the city's manufacturing muscle was on display in working-class neighborhoods such as this one in East Baltimore. Rain drips from a hole in the roof and puddles on the floor....

Vandals spray-painted gang-related messages across an area of Georgetown overnight, leaving an elementary school, a community center, a park and close to a dozen other buildings damaged. Residents woke this morning to find royal blue graffiti, most reading "Crips 4 life" or "Crips" in reference to the notorious gang, on buildings from East 14th Street to East 19th Street in the neighborhood surrounding San Jose Park south of U.S. 29. Portions of the walls of Annie Purl Elementary School, the Getsemani Community Center and buildings at the playground in the park were spray-painted. Some of the messages were as large...

The city of San Diego, with its much-admired downtown ballpark and Horton Plaza projects, has long been the poster child for the wise use of eminent domain: the right of government to seize private property, with just compensation, for what it deems public benefit. But after two outrageous stories in two weeks, a pair of local government bodies may find themselves held up as poster children for eminent domain's misuse – and deservedly. First came a report on the San Diego Model School Development Agency's push to seize and demolish 188 homes in the thriving City Heights neighborhood to build...

NEW YORK — As a sufferer of the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis (search), talk show host Montel Williams (search) has long been lobbying as an advocate for the use of medical marijuana. He has said he uses it each night to alleviate his pain.

3m homes 'should be demolished' to cut global warming By Charles Clover (Filed: 30/05/2005) Some 3.2 million homes must be demolished over the next 45 years to fulfil the Government's aspirations for tackling global warming, academics have warned. The report, by researchers at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute and Heriot Watt University, is bound to re-ignite the controversy caused by the proposed demolition of 400,000 homes in the Midlands and the North. Households account for around 30 per cent of Britain's total energy use and the researchers conclude there is a "desperate need" for a clear strategy for housing stock...

Here is what the domestic enemies are doing these days. FOOLISH WEBSITE The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in their 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 4, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children...

<p>Kevin Kelley only has to drive a few blocks east from his office in the Redford Township hall to see the worst case scenario for the future of his community.</p> <p>The township’s north end borders Detroit’s Brightmoor area. The city’s renaissance hasn’t reached Brightmoor yet, and may never. Its streets are marked with the rubble of collapsed and burned-out homes, shuttered businesses and a general scene of devastation that makes Baghdad look inviting.</p>

<p>When Gov. Gray Davis unveiled his $10.2 billion down payment on closing the state's immense budget deficit, now calculated at about $35 billion, a significant chunk was grabbing the estimated $500 million in housing money that local redevelopment agencies have accumulated but not spent.</p>