Will the Feds Take Over Local Zoning?
One of the Biden Administration’s first executive orders has revived the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule.” This rule was proposed by the Obama Administration, but time ran out before it could be fully implemented. The Trump Administration rescinded the rule. The rule requires communities which receive grants from the […]
Supreme Court Groundwater Ruling May Lead to More Litigation
In February 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit held that sewage pollutants at the County of Maui, Hawaii, were traceable to wells which discharge into groundwater. That is a violation of the Clean Water Act. In September 2018, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not […]
Judicial Extortion in California
The California office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) under what is called Proposition 65 “…must warn Californians about the presence of chemicals that are known to the state to cause cancer.”
In July, OEHHA issued an opinion declaring that glyphosate or Roundup was to be added to the list of chemicals which are “known” to California to cause cancer and thereby be subject to the requirements of Proposition 65.
OEHHA did not conduct any scientific review to conclude that glyphosate is carcinogenic. California relies on the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to support its decision. IARC’s conclusion “…is opposed by every global regulatory body that has examined the issue, including OEHHA itself.”
Your Government Will Take That!
Suzette Kelo bought what she thought was her dream house, a little pink cottage in Connecticut with a great view, where the Thames River flows into Long Island Sound. She lovingly restored the home, but her dream didn’t last. When a pharmaceutical plant was built nearby, the City of New London decided the residential section […]
Federal Land Grab is An Assault On Private Property
Utah’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit in February 2016 against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service (USFS) in the Department of Agriculture. Utah claims that in 2015 a federal plan was issued which amounts to grabbing control of millions of acres of ranchland and directly prohibiting mining […]
The Obamacare of Real Estate
Top Senate Banking Committee members released plans this week to wind down mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and replace them with a complicated apparatus disturbingly similar to Obamacare. While the proposal by Senators Tim Johnson (D-SD), the chairman, and Mike Crapo (R-ID), the ranking member, was announced with great fanfare, it simply follows […]
Taking the Bogey Out of Government-Run Golf
How many golf courses does the Commonwealth of Virginia own? No, that is not a ‘how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb’ question. Owning and operating golf courses is not a core government function. It is effectively competing against private enterprises that usually do the job at a lower cost […]
Unnoticed Private Property Victory
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 25, 2013, said “Extortionate demands for property in the land use permitting context run afoul of the (Constitution’s) Takings Clause not because they take property but because they impermissibly burden the right not to have property taken without just compensation.” What does that mean?Last week the news media was […]
Zoning Out on Property Rights
A little-noticed vote in Richmond last week shows the difficulty of keeping government within reasonable bounds when a significant private-sector player, allied with officialdom, seems to prefer the status quo. A bill to make life easier for farmers with small commercial sidelines lost by a wide margin in the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee, even though the […]
Smart Growth for Conservatives (Part 3 of 3)
First of all, they’re monopolies, which are not known for their dedication to cost control or public service. Second, they’re government-owned monopolies, which means that critical decisions on routes and fares are driven by politics, not economics. That’s inefficiency squared. Not only do transit monopolies represent a drain on taxpayers but they limit competition and […]