Excellent op-ed against eminent domain

Ironically, I am not against eminent domain authority. But like any weapon, it must be used very carefully and judiciously. Too often, it is not.

This well-written piece from the LA Times, "Don't destroy my neighborhood, LAUSD: His house, along with many others in his community, may be forcibly condemned to make way for a public school," shows yet another example of a poorly thought out process.

The school system proposes to condemn one of two occupied blocks. In either case, 22 occupied houses would come down. Yet, a church owns a large empty lot nearby, which could just as easily be condemned without losing taxable property, and the School System already owns another nearby block qcquired through condemnation--the houses are empty but still extant--that lies fallow and unused.