it’s still just a pocket watch
Here are three items coming to us via Knoxville and KnoxNews‘ Michael Silence:
Robert Johnson, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, veteran of the First Gulf War, and current thoracic surgeon, found himself on the no-fly list.
Meanwhile, someone who probably should be on the no-fly list, Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, a "former ambassador-at-large for the Taliban, is now studying at Yale on a U.S. student visa."
Finally, given those two bureaucratic blunders, let’s look at some government power potentially being given to bureacrats closer to home:
[Tennessee] Lawmakers from both parties have introduced a flurry of bills to restrict government from using eminent domain to seize property and turn it over to private developers.
One of the bills introduced has this restriction:
Before land can be condemned for an industrial park, the joint committee bill would require "good faith" negotiations to buy the land before condemnation. Also, the government condemning the property would have to obtain a "certificate of public purpose" from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.
So if a property owner won’t sell, then the government just has to go before a commission to get "Official Proof" in the form of a certificate, that the intended use is a public purpose?
Just because a committee of bureaucrats says that it’s a public purpose, doesn’t make it so. It’s kind of like the "wizard" giving the tin man a "testimonial" declaring a pocket watch to be a heart.
March 1st, 2006 at 9:43 am
The restriction mentioned to obtain a cert is no different than what Knoxville has now with the KCDC. KCDC claims property is blighted or should be taken for “public use” and the city council votes for it every time then gives it to a well connected private developer with either tax abatement or tax incentive financing.
It’s happening at such a rate that one has to believe there are no owners(campaign contributors) in downtown Knoxville paying property taxes anymore. Therefore, the city squeezes the outlying businesses and residential property owners with higher taxes and fees to offset this mercantilism.
October 6th, 2008 at 9:05 am
The City of Cookeville and Putnam County have been pursuing by eminent domain to take property from a private land owner for a proposed business park for the local Chamber of Commerce. On Wednesday, October 9th at 6pm, the Cookeville City Council will “consider” applying to the Building Finance Committee of the Tennessee Board of Economic Growth for a certificate of public purpose and necessity for the proposed Highlands Business Park. Not only was the certificate not necessary to file a suit, as evidenced by the delay, but 11 of the 15.4 acres being condemned are not even in the proposed business park. This development which had one time been advertised as 400 acres is now being advertised as 325 acres to more accurately reflect what the City and County own of the 500 acre tract pictured. There are at least another five private land owners with 175 acres in the area. They apparently do not plan on condemning the land of the other private owners as the drawing of the Highland Business Park that is shown on their website wraps around these properties. I would like to request that concerned citizens of the power and land abuse come to the Cookeville City Council meeting on October 9th at 6pm and voice your concerns.