Posted on 06/05/2009 11:33:22 AM PDT by AbeKrieger
SOMERSET, Pa. -- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the U.S. government will not use eminent domain to seize people's land for a permanent Flight 93 memorial and instead will renew negotiations with landowners near the terrorist crash site in Somerset County.
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Salazar met with families of victims and landowners on Friday in Shanksville to discuss issues surrounding the planned national memorial for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, fatal hijacking.
Specter's office said Friday's meeting also focused on what still needs to be done for the memorial to be complete in time for the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2011.
Recently, the National Park Service said it would use eminent domain to seize land from seven property owners needed for the memorial. But Salazar said those plans are now changed.
(Excerpt) Read more at thepittsburghchannel.com ...
That’s harder to do than this memorial.
This one will require a staff the size of an Army battalion and a 30 bureaucrats to oversee them.
Well, I believe they already have the land.
Well, maybe there’s an ‘interfaith’ islamic center design in the offing in the ‘buffer.’
The landowners will be victims of totalitarianism regardless. Damn this government!
I’d be interested to know exactly WHO, by name,
designed this mockery of a memorial.
Some farmers are going to be rich the almighty Uncle Obama has spoken.
What better way to commemorate the murder of Americans on 9/11 than to steal more private American land! It isn’t theft if it is patriotic!
/unfunny
Why bother? Zero will just print up a wad o moolah and pay em off... gets better press that way, and he still gets to build his tribute to mecca.
I don’t understand the need for such a huge tract of land.
A small pull-over area by a nearby road that overlooks the area would suffice, imo. It was enough a horror without snatching someone’s home as well.
They want to encompass the ENTIRE crash site.
Currently, the site is off limits because of possible souveneir seekers.
By taking that much land, they can dig it up completely or cover it with concrete.
We're here from the government...
...to memorialize you
I find this news surprising in light of the fact that Obama hasn’t planned to sieze United Airlines as yet...
According to Wikipedia, of the $57 million required to build this thing, as of April 2007 only $11 million had been raised. It may be a real long time before we see the revamped version of the “Crescent of Embrace” (that was the real name, folks), architect Paul Murdoch’s red, crescent-shaped memorial that just happened to face toward Mecca. Gee, I wonder if Murdoch is a conservative. /s
Move it to NYC !why have memorials all over the place.
It's not like the Obama Administration suddenly gives a damn about NOT infringing on the property rights of Americans.
The National Park Service, Interior Department, Specter nor Obama deserves NO credit for this "decision"— it's more about the negotiations between the land owners and a National Park Service "misunderstanding":
Parks service officials have said they needed to take the land because negotiations with landowners weren't successful, but landowners said those negotiations never took place.
Landowners will receive fair market value for their property, Salazar said. The government still has the option to use eminent domain but said it will do so only as a last resort.
Yup. Eminent Domain is not off the table; it’s just a “last resort”.
After the New London CT case I doubt the locals will get anywhere.
But maybe this’ll delay it so much we can in the meantime get a decent redesign, and get rid of the homage to Islam.
Specter actually does something that’s right? Color me surprised.
What the hell? I believe it's something like 660 acres for a square mile. They actually though they needed four square miles of land?
We're talking about a very large tract of land here.
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