Posted on 10/04/2013 9:29:35 AM PDT by don-o
The Pisgah Inn, a private hotel that holds a concession on the Blue Ridge Parkway, has become a national sensation as it defies "intimidation" and a National Park Service order to close its doors.
After a tumultuous few days, inn owner Bruce O'Connell told The Washington Times on Friday morning that he had just reopened his doors for customers, despite the park service telling him he had to shut down. He says he's essentially private property, on a road that's still open, and uses no government personnel, so he sees no reason to quit operating
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Looks like they may have reversed course...:(
Even better, they shut down the ocean off the coast of Florida. No fooling!
We spent a night of our honeymoon there in 1994. I was pretty sure it was owned by the Park Service. Maybe not. The employees sure acted like Gov. employees.
For various reasons we weren’t impressed.
The setting is gorgeous, right at the base of Mt. Pisgah. Beautiful vistas.
And for birders, it’s in a location that is part of the raptor migration flyway.
I started to say ‘somebody’s going to get shot before this is all over with’, but that happened yesterday. Perhaps I should say ‘somebody else is going to get shot before this is all over with’.
I love people like him, willing to take the pricipled position even if they must do it alone. They are the seeds from which resistance to tyranny grows.
UPDATE:
The Pisgah Inn has closed for the duration of the shutdown.
I suspect they were threatened with failure to renew their concession in 2014, swallowed their pride and shut it down.
Asheville Citizen Times has the story.
Hmm..did the NPS close Fort Sumter?
It’s not very far from Asheville. Get on the parkway at Asheville and go about 20 miles West from I-26.
It’s worth the effort.
Several years ago, we stayed in the Inn over the Independence Day weekend. Other than Hurricane Cindy going through it was a wonderful trip. Watching fireworks go off down in the valley and across the land was quite stunning.
When I was a Boy Scout in the early 70s we camped about 1000 feet below the Inn down in the valley. It’s just beautiful country.
“What are they going to do arrest 20, 50, 100+ Americans for walking on public property?”
Just don’t bring your dog. They will shoot it.
Just. Damn.
The Asheville Citizen Times is no go for FR. But the story IS there.
They set the example for all of us, don’t they?
Yes, and I’m trying to think what better I can do other than to harrass my congressmens’ staffs by phone. I already decided that if Levin’s march for the vets happens, I’m there. Right now, one of the park police or whatever they’re called is trying to flip the script and the focus off the vets (like 90 yo men in wheelchairs after a long road trip) to her, by claiming “mistreatment” by a congressman after an app 30 second non-violent contact. These people are so despicable, I couldn’t hate them more if I tried. Let them keep it up, stirring up hatred in people is a great motivator.
But the Park Service decided to let the Blue Ridge Parkway remain open as a thoroughfare. Why not let the services along the thoroughfare remain open?
I heard 2nd hand that here in Wisconsin, they *shut down* the flyways.
Those darned birds have got to be Tea Partiers, right? Not to mention: just how do you convince the birds not to migrate? (Yeah, I know: they mean shut down to the tourists and birders, but they can just walk along the other side of the road and take the same pictures from State and private property.)
Then they came for the Innkeepers, and there was no one left to speak for them.
-PJ
Reuters has the story now.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/us-usa-fiscal-inn-idUSBRE9920W220131003
October is the peak season for the area's vibrant fall foliage, and travelers such as Julie Andreacola of Indian Trail, North Carolina, book hotel rooms months in advance.
"The government is taking punitive action on a private business at the peak of their season," said Andreacola, who had weekend reservations at the inn. "It should not be permitted."
So, this is this weasel's opinion.
I would check the deed to the property to see if the government can shut down access to the property and under what circumstances.
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