Pols Master Their Domain [Karl]

At RealClearMarkets, Steven Malanga observes the third anniversary of the US Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London — which allows governments to use eminent domain to transfer land from one private owner to another to further economic development — by returning to the scene of the crime: [T]he very redevelopment project that sparked the Kelo lawsuit, an effort by the town of New London, Ct., to turn its Fort Trumbull waterfront into a haven for high-priced homes and 21st century jobs, has sputtered. The ground where Susette Kelo’s home stood is now barren, because the townhouses that the city-sponsored developer was supposed to build there have never gone up. Interest in the area isn’t very great and the developer hasn’t been able to get financing. In fact, what began more than a decade ago as an extravagant... [read full story]