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[Marcia <msmartin AT ccbeunet.br>]

What a great idea!!....
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http://www.concordmonitor.com.
Jun 29, 2005
Weare 'Hotel' targets Souter's home
Property rights advocates make protest personal
By MEG HECKMAN
Monitor staff

A letter that emerged yesterday from the fax machine in the Weare Town  
Hall has thrust Supreme Court Justice David Souter's beloved farmhouse  
into a national debate over property rights.

Souter, a longtime Weare resident, joined in a court decision last week  
that allows governments to seize private property from one owner and  
turn it over to another if doing so would benefit a community. Now, an  
outraged Californian wants to test the ruling -- by asking Weare's  
selectmen to let him replace Souter's farm with a posh hotel.

"A recent Supreme Court decision. . . . clears the way for this land to  
be taken," Logan Darrow Clements wrote in a letter faxed to town  
officials yesterday. "The justification for such an eminent domain  
action is that our hotel will better serve the public interest as it  
will bring in economic development and higher tax revenue to Weare."

The letter, which included Souter's street address, was posted on  
conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh's Web site yesterday afternoon,  
spurring concerns in town about the reclusive justice's safety and  
privacy.

Souter was attacked last year while jogging in his Washington, D.C.  
neighborhood, although the police there believe it was not related to  
his work in the court. While most locals here know where he lives, they  
respect the justice's desire for solitude. Yesterday, for example, town  
officials blacked out his address before sending a copy of a letter  
about the hotel project to the Monitor.

Souter couldn't be reached by phone yesterday and had not yet returned  
to Weare last evening, but a few police cruisers were parked on the  
edge of his property.

"It was a precaution, just being protective," said Lt. Mark Bodanza.

Clements is the CEO of Freestar Media, a Los Angeles-based outfit that  
fights "abusive" government through a Web site, a fledgling cable show  
and efforts like the one in Weare. Clements, who could not be reached  
yesterday, plans to move to New Hampshire soon as part of the Free  
State Project, a group that supports limiting government powers.  
Thousands of Free-Staters plan to move to New Hampshire in the next few  
years because of its small government, few taxes and "Live Free or Die"  
motto. (Other members of the project stressed that Clements's hotel  
plans are not affiliated with the group.)

Clements's request fascinated the staff at town hall, and Code  
Enforcement Officer Charles Meany said he passed the letter on to the  
board of selectmen.

"Am I taking this seriously? But of course," said Meany, who handles  
building requests. "In lieu of the recent Supreme Court decision, I  
would imagine that some people are pretty much upset. If it is their  
right to pursue this type of end, then by all means let the process  
begin. . . . I have to allow the law to take its course."

Clements dubbed his project the Lost Liberty Hotel, and says it will  
include a dining room called the Just Desserts Café and a museum  
focused on "the loss of freedom in America." And those Bible-leaving  
Gideons won't be welcome. Instead, Clements wants to tuck copies of  
Atlas Shrugged into the night stands, giving visitors a chance to read  
author Ayn Rand's individualistic tome.

Souter's two-story colonial, assessed at just more than $100,000,  
brought in $2,895 in property taxes last year. A hotel, especially one  
as unique as Clements's, would likely net the town a much greater tax  
payment -- not to mention a potential tourism boom for local  
businesses.

By mid-afternoon yesterday, Meany had received two more letters about  
the project -- one from a women in Houston, Texas vowing to visit Weare  
if the hotel were allowed and another from a man in McMurray, Pa.  
pledging financial support if town leaders choose to hand Souter's land  
over to Clements.

Both letter writers signaled their distain for the court's ruling in  
Kelo vs. City of New London. The case stems from a battle between a  
group of Connecticut homeowners and a city government that wants to  
boost tax revenue by replacing a neighborhood with an office complex.  
The majority opinion, written by Justice John Paul Stevens, said it was  
up to states, not the federal government, to craft regulations around  
property. Souter supported Stevens along with justices Anthony Kennedy,  
Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

Weare's selectmen planned to review the letters at its meeting last  
night, and will decide how to proceed, said chairwoman Laura Buono.

"It was an interesting e-mail," she said.

Even if the five-member board were to endorse Clements's project,  
zoning laws would have to be changed and the hotel would have to garner  
approval from the planning board. After that, the project would fall  
under Meany's watchful eye.

"The big thing is, you have to own the land before you deal with me,"  
he said.

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