I read this comment from an old newsletter: “The new Eminent Domain decision had just been handed down by the Supreme Court, which states that if your local government thinks your Cabin On The Lake isn’t generating enough tax revenue, they can pay you what the tax rolls say it’s worth and sell it to a developer who wants to build condos on it. This is one of the most fundamental and far-reaching confiscations of personal rights in the last 100 years, altering the very nature of property ownership.”

The Supreme Court ruling of course is Kelo vs. The City of New London.

In 2005, the U.S. House overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the decision. Several representatives said a U.S. Coast Guard museum built on this land would not receive federal funding.

The promoters of the museum said though the proposed location was not land taken by eminent domain, the Fort Trumbull location was so tainted in the public’s mind that they would no longer consider putting the museum there.

Now New London is the victim of two blunders, the eminent domain boondoggle and the current perilous, inaccessible proposed location for the Coast Guard Museum. Public apologies are long overdue from certain bad actors of 15 years ago.

Stewart Walton

Mystic