The gist of the story is this:

In the mid-1980s the city of Los Angeles forced Ralph Horowitz to sell a piece of land to the city for $4.8 million through the city's use of eminent domain. The city was going to use the land for a trash-to-energy incinerator. The city never started the project and instead turned the land over to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. The community garden was begun in the early 1990s. Mr. Horowitz sued to get the site back. LA settled the case (as opposed to going to trial) and sold the land back to Mr. Horowitz for $5 million in 2003. Mr. Horowitz allegedly intended to evict the gardeners and put up a commercial project. He also offered to sell 10 acres of the land for $16.3 million to the farmers via a trust fund. However, the farmers failed to come up with the money before the May 22, 2006 deadline. Mr. Horowitz then got an eviction notice

Is the concept of eminent domain over-utilized? Are there any boundaries to it? When does the "common good" trump the rights of the individual?

How much is a community garden worth in terms of improving the health of people (more veggies = better health = lower medical costs = lower insurance), lowering their food costs (grow your own veggies is cheaper than buying -- and they are probably organic to boot), and the environment (trees trump buildings every time)?

Why was it necessary for a Spanish-language Internet site to accuse him of being part of a "Jewish Mafia" that controls Los Angeles? It didn't help the situation at all, and reportedly caused Mr. Horowitz to refuse a new offer and stick to his plan of bulldozing the garden.

Was there a better solution than forcible eviction of farmers and activists?

If you were Mr. Horowitz, what would you do?

For more links to stories, please see my blog: http://cdawes.blogs.com/wisewomanshining/