Abolish The Riverside Redevelopment Agency
Last night (Wednesday, August 8, 2007) Jane Henson (RCLP
Secretary) and I attended a meeting intended to found a local
group to push for abolition of the Riverside Redevelopment
Agency.
The meeting took place at The Life Arts Building in downtown
Riverside, and about 17 people attended. Jane and I were able to
make contact with several people involved in the Save Riverside
group, including one longtime LP activist (Steve Pencall).
An out of town activist in the movement to end redevelopment
had copies of the initiative petition to limit eminent
domain which is being circulated.
As it happens, the initiative - being circulated by the
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association - includes a prohibition on
rent control, and this led to some controversy at the meeting,
with an older person objecting, along with at least one
left-wing opponent of redevelopment.
I was able to make a statement about the Libertarian Party
opposing eminent domain, and supporting "Free Development - not
Redevelopment."
I pointed out the the mayor wants to bring national chain
stores into Riverside, but the major chain stores all started as
individual stores in their own communities.
Best Buy was once a single electronics stores in Minnesota,
and Barnes & Noble started as a used textbook store in New York
City. If their city leaders had decided that chain stores were
preferable to local merchants, there would not be a Best Buy,
and thus there would be no Best Buy in Riverside.
Karen Renfro plans to have monthly general meetings in the
future, and hopes to have a workshop meeting every month as
well.
As for organization, Jane & I will pursue our contacts with
Save Riverside, and continue to have some involvement with the
abolitionist meetings that Karen is doing.
I will be sure to notify people of meeting dates for both
groups.
Riverside County Libertarian
Party
The Riverside County Libertarian Party supports
The California Property Owner & Farmland Protection Act
which is being circulated as an initiative
Constitutional Amendment by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation.
The California Property Owner & Farmland
Protection Act will prohibit the use of eminent
domain for purposes of Community Redevelopment, or any
other use in which private property is taken for the
benefit of a developer or other private business.
The Urgency of
E-voting Reform:
Two Cato Institute scholars report on the
vulnerability of electronic voting machines, and conclude
that "The most important step to safeguard our elections is
to ban the use of paperless voting machines and require
audits of the paper record."
Liberals Vow to Block
Continued Iraq Funding
Read the story here.....