Free Republic

The federal judge who ordered the removal of the Mount Soledad cross from city parkland yesterday rejected a bid by a private group to join the litigation, saying its efforts to save the cross come “much too late.” The decision means that San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial cannot appeal the judge's decision ordering the city to remove the 29-foot concrete cross by Aug. 1 or pay $5,000 daily fines. The group was behind Proposition A, a public vote last summer to donate the cross to the federal government for a national park. It says it wants...

Surprise Bill Disempowers Communities and Privatizes Surplus Public Lands. With less than 24 hours before a scheduled vote, a radically different bill for disposing of state surplus land was unveiled yesterday. According to Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities (MCHC) board member Nat Fortune "The Legislative leadership is using summer vacation and a last-minute release to get the bill passed before there can be a public response. Considering what’s in this bill, it’s no surprise its proponents were keeping it under the radar.” Jill Stein, MCHC president noted, “This bill takes disempowerment of communities to a new extreme. Like the other...