Remember the Supreme Court's 2005 eminent domain ruling in Kelo v. New London that the constitution did not prevent the City of New London, Connecticut, from seizing private homes for a redevelopment project anchored by Pfizer? Newsbusters.org provides a useful update. Pfizer's pullout in 2009 attracted some press attention at the time. The latest news, reported Friday in a local newspaper, is that a new developer wants to build rental townhouses on the property — but only if it gets tax abatements from the city. As Newsbusters.org notes, "This outcome makes a complete mockery of the Supreme Court majority's belief that a 'carefully formulated ... economic development plan' was ever in place."
In more cheerful Kelo-related news, the Institute for Justice, a non-profit libertarian law firm, reports that last week it won a significant victory in an eminent domain-abuse case in National City, California.