Below The Beltway

In the second part of an editorial series, the Virginian-Pilot takes a look at the state of property rights in Virginia and finds that things are far from encouraging in the land that was once the birthplace of liberty:
For example, Virginia is one of only sixteen states that have not passed a law to prohibit [...]

In the first of a two-part series on the state of property rights in the Old Dominion, the Virginian-Pilot demonstrates that the idea of “just compensation” for takings is largely an illusion:
When the state takes somebody’s property, Virginia’s Constitution entitles them to “just compensation.” But Meeks discovered that her rights to that just compensation were [...]

As the neighboring counties of Prince William and Loudoun, both controlled by Republicans, take steps to slow the growth of housing, Fairfax County, where the Board of Supervisors is controlled by Democrats, is resisting the urge:
This week, Loudoun County supervisors voted to approve a one-year freeze on rezonings for home construction. The Prince William board [...]

The so-called “slow growth” movement has been building steam for the past several years in the Northern Virginia/Suburban Maryland region Yesterday, that movement received a significant boost as three separate counties passed measures that will limit the growth of housing:
The map of land available for new homes in the Washington area shrank yesterday as officials [...]

Outside of elections, I don’t usually write about Virginia politics, but this article, which I wrote about yesterday at The Liberty Papers, has me outraged:
Prince William County supervisors, angry that the state government is not responding to residents tired of traffic congestion, say they will approve a radical plan Tuesday to halt construction of new [...]

I grew up in New Jersey in a bedroom community called Piscataway. It wasn’t (and isn’t) all that much different from any other Central New Jersey town, except, perhaps, for the fact, that it was one of the only towns north of Princeton that had an actual working farm. Cornell Farms was a little dairy [...]

In January, I wrote about a case being argued before the Ohio Supreme Court that was, without question the first major test of local government eminent doman powers since the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision. The case involved the city of Norwood, near Cincinnati, and its attempt to use eminent domain to take the propety of [...]

This time by passing a law that effectively nullifies any condominium or homeowners association that regulates the display of the American flag:
The Senate has approved a measure that would override rules set by homeowners’ associations and other groups that limit displays of the American flag, clearing the way for President Bush to sign it into [...]

The Washington Post has an interesting article today about the virtual lack of smaller sized homes being built in the DC area. I don’t know what its like in other parts of the country, but around here a “small” single-family home is typically no smaller than 2,500 square feet, and they just get bigger from [...]

Kilo at Spark It Up!!! reports that Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor (and likely 2009 Republican candidate for Governor) Bill Bolling has come out in favor of reforming Virginia’s eminent domain laws to prevent the abuses that resulted in the Kelo decision:
Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling became the first statewide official to pledge his support to a conservative [...]