November 18, 2008 a.m.,Carrick v. County of Santa Cruz, CA . Paul Carrick is challenging the county's request to dismiss (demurrer) his right to a jury trial that is necessary to defend his modest homes on mountain land from destruction. County of Santa Cruz Planning Department and Code Enforcement agents have filed building code violations (red-tags) against Carrick . The County wants to collect exorbitant fees from Carrick or they say, Carrick will have to destroy the structures. Details and more legal documents to come.
It is seldom that we find a community so devastated by a lawsuit that it faces bankruptcy. It is even more unusual to see the exposure potentially repeat itself in a similarly explosive lawsuit. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case in San Mateo County.
In January, I published a Viewpoint article about the case of Joyce Yamagiwa, Trustee v. City of Half Moon Bay. The City of Half Moon Bay had prohibited development on a 24-acre parcel because the parcel was determined to constitute wetlands. The California Coastal Act prohibits residential development on wetlands. However, the California and United States Constitutions mandate the payment of just compensation for the taking or damaging of private property for public use.
Restoring the Heart of America: American Crisis Newsletter Part 1
by Clyde Cleveland
At the end of 1776 Thomas Paine wrote a series of articles entitled "American Crisis." This series played a critical role in saving the Revolutionary war against the British. Most of the British officers returned home for the winter thinking that the war was over. It was a very bleak time for the colonial army after their humiliating loss in New York. Most of the troops went home for the winter, and those that stayed were freezing and starving. Many defected to the British.
Paine's first letter in the American Crisis series shifted the public awareness, and troops enlisted and people donated essential materials. Paine’s articles made a major impact.
"The density of our population makes us all rats in a maze without a place to roam. Perhaps, rats in a frenzy is a more appropriate description." JoAnn Revoir
Unless you are talking about China or India, the density of "our" population in California is rather illusory. Not that you won't find people packed closely together in various places in our State or nation, but they are either choosing to live in crowded conditions voluntarily, or are PREVENTED from settling in vast areas of open space, usually by government.
The Unalienable Right to Use and Enjoy One’s Property
by Michael Shaw
Our ancestors recognized the idea and the ideal that every individual possesses unalienable rights. When this idea is respected it provides great advantages to individuals and society.
From one end of the country to the other, "Smart Growth" has become the politically-correct buzz-word to mask a variety of policy initiatives designed to bring about sustainable development of sustainable communities that will produce sustainable lifestyles - as determined by the authors and promoters of Agenda 21... Anything less is a major erosion of the first principle of freedom: legitimate government is empowered by the consent of the governed - not by the recommendations of Agenda 21, the President's Council on Sustainable Development, or by the "visions" on non-elected professionals, no matter how well-meaning they may be.
Sustainable Development: Global to Local Action Plans (BRAND NEW PAMPHLET! - 68 pages)
NEW! The Taking of Private Property by Mob-Rule & The Stop The Real ID Coalition
