California: The San Diego Union-Tribune has a lengthy article on the proposed expansion of the redevelopment area in Vista–it looks like the city might be in the business of creating blight to give itself an excuse for redevelopment, too.
New Jersey:
- More on the dropped redevelopment plans in Westville…the Courier-Post reports that the developer could no longer afford to build the necessary infrastructure for the project and blames the economy and the housing market, while the Gloucester County Times describes life in a redevelopment zone constantly under threat of eminent domain. On Monday, the Courier-Post came out with a strongly-worded editorial stating, “Eminent domain must be taken off the table.”
- There’s a good letter to the editor in today’s Asbury Park Press on the need to ban eminent domain in nearby Neptune.
- In Newton, the political fight over eminent domain moves forward; most recently, the city has been claiming it couldn’t enforce an ordinance that would take eminent domain off the table. Such a claim is false.
Missouri: For Arnold dentist Homer Tourkakis, it’s a matter of when, not if the city uses eminent domain.
Illinois: Medill Reports, a publication of Northwestern University, has a story about residents living around Washington Park in Chicago, where the city’s proposed plans for the 2016 Olympics would place a temporary stadium and other venues where houses and businesses now stand.