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Supreme Court rule for Florida property owner in land use case

(Reuters) - In a victory for advocates of private property rights, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said a Florida property owner may be owed compensation from a government agency that declined to aw

The Fiscal Cliff and the Showdown Between Redistribution and Property Rights

The original article at this page is good but the discussion in the comments at the bottom of the page is outstanding.

‘Tulip Mania’: Agenda 21′s Carbon Nuts Getting Money For Nothing

How about a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program? The problem was that CO2 is not a pollutant, and therefore the EPA had no authority to cap its emission. Al Gore took office in 1993 and almost immedi

REED: Wayne Hage and the rout of property rights: An American tragedy

It didn’t make headlines, but it should have. A July 26 ruling released to little fanfare by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., was a landmark blow to prop

America can't trust the public trust

In March 1972, in the case of Lynch v. Household Finance Corp., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that "A fundamental interdependence exists between the personal right to liberty and the personal right in

The Last Line of Defense: Property

"Property is theft." Proudhons classic anarchist paradox is more than a catchy slogan for international leftism. It encapsulates a complete and comprehensively absurd view of humanity -- one which f

Sustainable Communities’ Impact on Property Rights

“Sustainable communities” are the blueprint for future property development in the Bay Area of California. You will be told where to live and how to commute. You will be “encouraged” to use p

Bonner County moves for caribou coordination

SANDPOINT — Bonner County is pressing ahead with efforts to challenge the designation of habitat for endangered woodland caribou.

The board adopted a resolution Tuesday insisting that the U.S. Fi

Earmark investigation: Rep. Norm Dicks and Puget Sound

Olympia, Wash. — In January 2007, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) became chairman of a congressional subcommittee that gave him the power to secure millions in federal funds to environmental projects in h

Woman faces jail time for planting vegetable garden in front yard

When Julie Bass planted a vegetable garden in her front yard, the last thing she expected was facing jail time for refusing to remove the plants.

Economists in the Wild

Far from damaging brains and killing seals, applying basic economics to the environment preserves it.

The industrial revolution that began about 200 years ago has changed humanity’s relation to,

Tea Party network emerges as counterbalance to state-level green pressure groups

Across the country, private citizens and business owners are joining forces with Tea Party activists to push back against well-funded green pressure groups that work with government officials. Over th

Texas House passes property rights bill

AUSTIN — The Texas House tentatively approved a bill on Wednesday that clamps down on governments' ability to seize property using eminent domain, an issue Gov. Rick Perry declared an emergency at t

One Man's Trash Is Another's Treasures

ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. -- The country is colliding with suburbia southeast of Denver, where Elbert County commissioners Wednesday unanimously passed a proposed law on rubbish.

Ordinance 11-01 passed

The Floating Dollar as a Threat to Property Rights

TO BEGIN, consider one of the most important measures of property, the kilogram. It’s a measure of mass or, for non-scientific purposes, weight. According to the papers last week, a global scramble

Residents win $2.5M settlement after blaming Seattle for floods

Twelve Madison Valley residents, tired of being flooded out of their homes, have won a nearly $2.5 million settlement with the city of Seattle.

They claimed the city chose to let their homes flood

THE HORRORS OF AGENDA 21 AND ICLEI IN FLORIDA

This horrendous threat to our lifestyle and the Constitution is making rapid progress, infiltrating every aspect of our lives from the air we breathe to the food we eat. It has to be stopped and only

BIG NEWS: Federal Court Halts Shocking Property Rights Abuse

When my son came back from Kuwait he couldn’t believe it. He said, “Mom, what’s going on?” And I said, well they want to get rid of us and they’re finally doing it. He was upset. He s

San Diego County Supervisors Disagree About Private Property Rights

San Diego County Supervisors disagree over the effects of their new general plan for future growth in the unincorporated areas. The board is grappling with requests from more than 200 property owners

Property rights upheld Monday

Homer property owners shouldn’t have it spelled out for them how many crab nets or recreational vehicles or cars can be stored on their property.

That was the consistent message to the Homer City C

City’s Beef With A Poultry Processor

Katy Grimes: The city of Sacramento is quickly on its way to infringing on the life, liberty and property rights of yet another business and land owner.

New American Poultry, a family owned Sacrame

City officials rally for redevelopment; Brown wants to divert money to other uses

Local officials are taking part in a six-figure League of California Cities media campaign to whip up public support for redevelopment.

The campaign centers on a petition warning legislators agains

Don't take away private property rights with buffers

Regarding the article “Bill would undo trout protection,” (AC-T, March 5), I have studied the rules of the N.C. Department of Natural Resources. The area of private property affected is much more

City council shouldn’t be messing around with property rights

I am very concerned, as we all should be, regarding what Delta City Council is trying to pull with Joyce and Rudy Rodriguez’s property rights! The “grandfather clause” was devised specifically t

Populist before it was capitalist

The United States is often held out as the world's principal beacon of free-market principles. To the extent that it backslides, there is thought to be little hope for such principles in other countri

Thomas Sowell on Property Rights

“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner the

The Retributive Theory of Property

Property rights are collections of rights. In the first place: for something to be your property you must have the right to use or enjoy that thing. In the second place, you must have rights of contro

Neal Boortz: Take note of Marx’s mark in classroom

The beginning of another government school year is right around the corner, and with that comes your child’s first experience with the government’s attack on private property rights.

Now I kno

Independence and the Right to Private Property

It is truly a tragic sign of the times, that to be in favor of private property is increasingly viewed as being extreme. Witness the manner in which the New Left demonizes the political right, sneerin

Dorothy English is not the end of the story on land-use planning abuse

Advocates of land-use planning laws should celebrate rather than mourn the victory that the Oregon Supreme Court has granted to the estate of Dorothy English. If they are wise enough to respect this a

Americans relate to Founders, not Progressives

Democrats are reportedly planning to raise $125 million for a campaign to sell Obamacare to the voting public. Apparently the idea is that what 50-plus presidential speeches and statements and months

The battle to preserve property rights is in danger of being lost

It would be nice to find effective means of alerting the public as to what’s happening to our property rights without necessarily shouting at the top of one’s lungs.

A more graceful way of com

Ugly debate embroils beautiful Salt Lake City neighborhood

Walking the dog by her 1922 Tudor, a woman winces at two behemoth homes that eclipse hers from a block away. On Yale Avenue, another lives in the shadow of an ambitious builder's latest redesign and f

The Horcrux Theory of Property

Among the several thousand articles I'm allegedly writing is one tentatively entitled The Horcrux Theory of Property. A confluence of events and ideas this week has prompted me to write about it here

Hotel Conference Center May Trump Private Property in Eminent Domain Case

In Auburn, New York, the city is threatening to invoke eminent domain to seize private property for a private hotel conference center, saying the public good outweighs the private property rights of s

Historic Preservation vs. Private-Property Rights

The recent battle between a property owner and the Morrison Historic Preservation Commission in Illinois has again reinforced the importance of private-property rights.

The battle centers around a

Man urges repeal of growth plan

Educate yourselves in Montana law, Dan Cox told more than 80 people at a Tuesday night meeting supporting repeal of Flathead County’s growth policy.

Only then, according to Cox, will private land

Ancient Indian Village in Rhode Island Pits Preservation Against Property Rights

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — Long before this town existed, there were Indians of that name who lived, camped, hunted, fished and grew maize in the woods and fields along the shoreline.

Now, archaeologi

S.F.’s housing mob and the death of property rights

By Michelle Malkin • April 5, 2010 10:13 AM

I’ve reported many times about the housing entitlement mob over the past several years. Boston has self-proclaimed bank terrorist and housing entitle

Banks, Basketball, and Property Rights

On March 11, Barclays Capital took out a full-page ad in the front section of the Wall Street Journal to declare that it is “proud” to celebrate the groundbreaking for the new Barclays Center in t

Setting Boundaries for Property Rights

The U.S. Supreme Court surprised many when it decided it would review an unusual Florida property rights dispute this fall. That case, Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida, involves some of the mos

Avatar’s hidden pro-property message

Forget its left-wing themes. At its core, the movie is about defending property rights — something conservatives should embrace.

Conservatives have been very critical of the Golden Globe-winning

Erosion of ownership rights

Property rights are under assault on at least six different fronts, from all branches and levels of government. The only encouraging news is that a seventh front - the beachfront property of Supreme C

PLF scores win in fight to save Puget Sound homeowner’s property

The Washington Court of Appeals this week handed a major victory to a Lummi Island homeowner, represented by Pacific Legal Foundation attorneys, who has been blocked by county officials from protectin

No economic reality for Redford

Robert Redford is an example of the human species at its finest — rich and good-looking, I mean — so naturally he would never consent to live in anything so tawdry as a "subdivision." During hi...more

Experts: County should focus regulatory energies on upland areas rather than shorelines

An estimated 300 islanders crowded into Friday Harbor High School's Hall Gym on Tuesday to hear a panel of well-credentialed experts take issue with the state's best available science and pending chan

65% Taking Declared Illegal

County Sued in Federal Court

The County of Santa Barbara isn’t in the clear yet when it comes to litigation from Adam Brothers Farming, Inc., which had a lawsuit filed in federal court on its behalf by attorneys from the Pacifi

Can't Keep Them Down on the Farm

Rural King County residents are fighting back against environmental restrictions imposed by Seattleites. And they’ve just won a key battle.

Limitations put on challenges to growth

A Supreme Court ruling limits the ability of outside groups to challenge past growth decisions in Thurston County, a decision that has ramifications for property owners, developers and environmentalis

Rural property owners win one

Almost four years ago, urban area members of the King County Council launched an outrageous assault on property owners in the unincorporated areas of rural King County.

Over opposition from some o

Court rules against KC land clearing regs

In a July 7 decision, a panel of three Court of Appeals’ judges ruled that King County’s land clearing regulations, which are part of the so-called Critical Areas Ordinance that became effective i

King County's rural-land restrictions go too far, court rules

In a case that could determine how far local governments can go in limiting forest-clearing across entire watersheds, a state appeals court ruled Monday that a King County law went too far.

Rural p

Landlords may be held accountable for drug houses

RENTON, Wash. - King County may soon push for landlords to be held accountable in helping to shut down drug houses.

Councilman Reagan Dunn is pushing for an ordinance that would require landlords

Eminent domain measures' battle ends

A pitched battle between two ballot measures promising eminent domain reform - one of them backed by the California Farm Bureau - came to an end this week, with California voters choosing Proposition

Old law lets developers use old rules, thwarting Puget Sound protection, critics charge

On a forested parcel of land in Burien, above streams, wetlands and steep slopes, a new condo development is being built.

When it's done, the Westmark Development Company's Emerald Pointe condos, p

Paying landowners to protect Puget Sound

Everybody, it seems, wants to save Andrew Albert's farm.

The 90 acres of green hay fields and barns near Arlington hug the Stillaguamish River, which, with some restoration, could be home to abunda

The Cascade Agenda: a new conversation

The Cascade Land Conservancy is welcoming 1,800 of its closest friends to breakfast today. The annual awards program — the 13th — combines honors and coveted recognition of community leaders with

‘Smart growth’ plan met with opposition

Two dozen ranchers, contractors and real estate agents—most from the North County — asked county supervisors this week to delay or, preferably, kill the county’s long-awaited “smart growth”

Pilot project, or land grab?

The King County Council's comprehensive plan committee held a meeting last week at Snoqualmie Middle School to take input from the public on several proposals. The change proposed for Snoqualmie Valle

Support landowners who keep their property in forestry

Conversion of forestland is at an all-time high and accelerating.

The main force behind this is the difference in the value of land for development, versus growing timber.

Property rights are lawyer's passion

Hanging in the Sarasota conference room of law firm Brigham Moore is an earth-tone print of six Plains Indians seated and standing around a table with a parchment copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights in th

Forget global warming: Welcome to the new Ice Age

Snow cover over North America and much of Siberia, Mongolia and China is greater than at any time since 1966.

Big land deal, big questions

When the government sells public land, the law usually requires competitive bids so taxpayers get the best deal.

But King County is bypassing that rule for one of its largest land sales in recent y

Permanent burn ban planned in rural areas

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which is in charge of air-quality laws in the three counties, announced Monday that it is planning to impose a permanent ban on burning related to land clearing and a

Let ferry users pay

I sent the following letter to each member of the King County Council regarding the taxes that will be levied to support the creation of the new ferry district and surprisingly, received only one repl

$36.8 million award for undevelopable land

Half Moon Bay city officials said Thursday they are stunned by a federal judge's order that the city pay a landowner $36.8 million for coastal property the court says the city damaged.

Bigger floodplain, bigger worries

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in the middle of a dramatic revision of the country's floodplain maps that could curb development on several billion

Proposal jeopardizes future property rights

What's Measure 49 really about? The future. If Measure 49 passes, that future is bleak.

King County raises taxes to rebuild levees

King County residents will pay an additional $32 million in property taxes next year to rebuild levees that protect low-lying areas from floods.

Property rights group forms to fight Upper Sims project in Port Townsend

PORT TOWNSEND - A property rights group has formed to fight a proposed redesign of Upper Sims Way and creation of a taxing district to finance the project.

Property rights battle rages in Bonney Lake

The rights of private property owners are being debated in Bonney Lake these days.

A little "donut hole" creating a big problem for Maple Valley

MapleValley marks its 10th anniversary this week. The desire for self-determination of how the Maple Valley area would develop, and frustration and disagreement with the vision that King County held f

Higher taxes? Court clears way

Homeowners in some parts of the state could see larger local property-tax increases as the result of a state Supreme Court ruling on Thursday.

U.S. Sues Property Rights Ranchers Over Grazing on Federal Lands

WASHINGTON, DC, August 30, 2007 (ENS) - The U.S. Justice Department Wednesday sued two ranchers and the estate of a third rancher for trespassing on federal lands in Nevada. The ranchers, both living

On property rights, no better friend

John McCain has done a service to the conservative cause by injecting the issue of private property rights into the presidential campaign.

Foot ferries nearing a rebirth

A new-style Mosquito Fleet could ferry passengers across Puget Sound, and maybe even Lake Washington, under a plan approved unanimously Monday by the King County Council.

County parks levies get panel's OK

The Metropolitan King County Council has moved a step closer to asking voters in the August primary to levy $217 million in property taxes to maintain and expand parks.

Making a loud noise for fair use of property

The property-rights movement, said the speaker, "is not going away." He added, "At some level I think they're going to be successful."

Mole traps can lead to mountain of trouble

The surveillance meant hours in an unmarked car, staring down at a Kenmore home, waiting for something to happen. But, in the end, wildlife officer Lance Stevens Jr. got his man.

David Krick, aka,

L'Eggo My Lego

Some Seattle school children are being told to be skeptical of private property rights. This lesson is being taught by banning Legos.

A ban was initiated at the Hilltop Children's Center ...more

CAPR has given birth!

It's official. CAPR has a brand new San Juan chapter due to the organizing efforts of Frank Penwell. Frank has rounded up some willing helpers and has started our first official chapter. Stayed tuned

Regulation chokes housing market

For many years, people of all income levels were able to buy homes in the Puget Sound region because there were houses available within affordable price ranges. Today, a shocking proportion of the pop