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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Mar 31, 2008, at 7:01 PM, Bunjov AT aol.com wrote:

>  The city used eminent domain to force a hundred
> families from their homes in Chavez Ravine, to build the stadium,  
> and L.A.'s
> economy.  The irony? Today is Caesar Chavez day, here in  California.

Texas power-mongers did the same ugly thing to build a place to play  
ball. Here is part of the story:

The Governor's Sweetheart Deal

BY ROBERT BRYCE

Governor George W. Bush and the other owners of the Texas Rangers are  
deadbeats. Rich deadbeats, but deadbeats nevertheless.

In early January, Bush and his baseball partners hit a home run,  
selling the Texas Rangers to Thomas Hicks for $250 million. Bush  
himself hit a grand slam. For his 1.8 percent share of the club --  
which cost him $605,000 -- the Governor gets paid between $10 and $14  
million. That is a return of up to twenty-three times his original  
investment -- in less than nine years. But even though Bush and his  
cohorts are making nearly three times what they paid for the club in  
1989, they haven't paid $7.5 million they owe the city of Arlington.

The Rangers owners owe the money because of a court judgment against  
the Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority (ASFDA), which  
was set up by the city to condemn land for, and administer, the  
Ballpark at Arlington project. In May of 1996, a Tarrant County jury  
found the ASFDA had not paid a fair price for thirteen acres of land  
it condemned, and awarded the sellers (the Mathes family) more than  
six times what the city had agreed to pay. A year after the jury's  
decision, the city decided not to appeal and paid the plaintiffs $7.5  
million. That's where the Rangers' obligation arises.

In 1990 the Rangers agreed to pay any costs that exceeded $135 million  
on the Ballpark project. Under those terms, the city's position is  
that the $7.5-million judgment should be paid by Bush and the Rangers.  
Two days after Hicks purchased the Rangers, Arlington city attorney  
Jay Doegey told this reporter, "We have a contract with them that says  
they will pay anything over $135 million. The costs in the  
condemnation case are over that amount." But Doegey has not demanded  
payment; it appears that Arlington city officials don't want to  
irritate the owners of the Rangers.

The rest of the story is at:

http://www.bushfiles.com/bushfiles/SweetheartDeal.html