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-Short Attention Span Theater-
CA Supervisor to Kelo Conway
2005-07-26
Evidently, the will of the voters still doesn’t count here in California – at least not to Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan. I can’t remember if I voted for this knucklehead, or not. Regardless, this is without a doubt one of the most self-serving, feel-good-for-the-moment-cause-developers-are-evil-people decisions I have ever seen. The Davis Enterprise reports:

At issue is the “fate” of 17,000 acres of land in Yolo County, California called the Conway Ranch. This is one of those pieces of land that the "greens" have been mulling over for years. So much so, that you would think that they own the land. Well, they don’t and it ain’t for sale. But wait, it gets even better.
All buckled in? It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
A survey underwritten by the owners of the Conaway Ranch found that opposition to the county's efforts to acquire the property ranges from 50 to 73 percentage points countywide depending on the question asked.

Funny use of the word acquire. The word they are trying to avoid is “condemn” or “steal via eminent domain.”
At 39 percentage points, Davis residents support the county's acquisition attempt more than residents in any other Yolo County city. A town hall meeting called by the ranch owners, the Conaway Preservation Group, will be held in Davis on Thursday, Aug. 11, with the time and place to be announced.
On Friday, Yolo County Supervisor Mike McGowan said he could not comment on the specifics of the poll because he had not seen it. But McGowan made clear that even if county voters did not support the board's action to buy the ranch, he was still convinced it was the right thing to do.
"We need to do the right thing regardless," he said. "In the long run people will appreciate what we are trying to do or our grandchildren will. We are doing the right thing for the right reasons and I cannot imagine a scenario that would dissuade me."
McGowan said people should know by now that Yolo County electeds past and present are committed to protecting agricultural land and open space. Real estate investors do not share that commitment. "Yolo County can pass the test of good stewardship over and over," he added firmly. "There's a reason why national parks are not owned by private entities," he said.

One point that the good Supervisor is missing is that the County does not own the land --- a handful of local real estate investors do.
Respondents were then read the following description of the Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians' involvement in the county's eminent domain action:
"The Rumsey Band of Wintun Indians, which owns the Cache Creek Casino in Yolo County, has agreed to finance the county's eminent domain action to acquire the ranch."

Hmmm. A Sovereigh Nation, which owns a casino, is fronting the county the money??? What could possibly go wrong here? The tribe wasn't recently granted approval for a massive expansion to their resort / casino, were they? Hmmm.

Care for more...

Jibtrim
Posted by:Gramp Phick1875

#2  Davis = UC Davis college town, very Green, beautifult town, that would shrivel without the taxpayer-paid college. In a nutshell, easy to say "take it" when you don't own any proerty yourself, and you aren't paying for taking it, no?
Posted by: Frank G   2005-07-26 20:21  

#1  I can't go pheasant hunting in a casino, at least not with a shotgun. Dmnt, why don't they do something useful and repave Mace and Tremont Rds. out there instead, that way I won't drive off the county roads in the winter when I'm trying to avoid those packs of lane-hogging bicyclists.
Posted by: Armchair in Sin   2005-07-26 19:19  

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