Free Republic

There are dark clouds on the horizon for cities, which for decades have used eminent domain or its threat as a tool to replace run-down neighborhoods with tax-generating, job-creating businesses. Not only are courts across the nation beginning to side with private-property rights' advocates, the Utah Legislature is cracking open the door to have a look. This is at the behest of educators and Gov. Olene Walker, who note the loss of revenue to schools from some redevelopment projects. Cities also are paying attention to Kelo v. City of New London, a case scheduled for arguments before the U.S. Supreme...

California: The Golden State's recall vote won't be held until Oct. 7. But the state's citizens already began voting quite a while ago — with their feet. For Californians, the recent report from the Census Bureau was a shocker. From 1990 to 2000, the Census found, the number of Californians leaving the state was greater than the number of those arriving from other states — a first. Even during the high-tech boom, people left. From 1995 to 2000, 1.4 million Americans moved to California. But 2.2 million left. "Unprecedented" is how Hans Johnson, a demographer with the Public Policy Institute...