Save the South Central Farm arrests
Posted By RichC on June 14, 2006
It may seem that I’ve become a bit too interested in the events at the South Central Farmers in Los Angeles, California, considering I’m from Ohio, but once started, I have a desire for closure.
🙂
Yesterday the “Save the Farm” campaign came to a head as arrests were made and evictions began. I’m posting a clip below from Greta Van Susteren’s “On The Record” program which began national coverage by walking “the South Central Farm” with Daryl Hannah about a week ago. (see post) USAToday reported that 16 were arrested besides Ms. Hannah, and that the 14-acre sixteen million dollar piece of property that has operated as community gardens would be forcibly return to the land owner. (planing for a warehouse) About 100 officers including a ladder truck from the fire department was used in arresting the protesters.
A little history from the article: Mr. Horowitz was forced to sell the land to the city in the 1980s as a site for a trash incinerator. That project never happened, and the city turned the site over to a food bank, which let 350 families grow vegetables and flowers there. Horowitz sued to recover the land. The city settled in 2003, selling it to him for $5 million. But the gardeners, who had been using the property for 14 years, wanted to stay. They tried to raise enough money to buy the land under the name South Central Farmers but failed to make a deal by a deadline last month.
LA’s Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa gave a statement of disappointment as tried to mediate an agreement that would “preserve the land for farming.” The eviction, he said, was “disheartening.”
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