Eminent Domain Gone Wild!

Jesus, this is the kind of stuff that scares me. Elected representation and property rights be damned, those with the most gold win. Omaha is going to annex Elkton, despite the protests of citizens in each town.

Omaha had argued that its westward expansion would be blocked if Elkhorn were not annexed.
Elkhorn said that its quality of life, services and small-town character would be lost if it were to become part of Omaha.

In the July 2005 census, Omaha's population was estimated at 414,521, while fast-growing Elkhorn's was 8,192.

The fight began in early 2005, when Elkhorn said it planned to annex 21 subdivisions to give it a population of more than 10,000. Under state law, that would block Omaha from annexing the town.
But the next day, Omaha announced that it intended to annex Elkhorn and adjoining subdivisions. Omaha's plan was approved March 8 -- just a week before Elkhorn completed its annexation plan.

A Douglas County judge later ruled in favor of Omaha and said Elkhorn's attempt to annex the surrounding subdivisions was illegal and improperly motivated.

Elkhorn leaders also said Omaha was not adjacent to Elkhorn, so could not annex the town.
The state Supreme Court agreed with Omaha, too, saying Elkhorn's claims would "lead to the absurd conclusion that the Legislature intended to give Omaha power to annex large tracts of land in any direction, but not the cities eligible for annexation within that land unless they shared a common border."

A town of over 8,000 people can just be folded into a larger entity with, apparently, no say in the matter. I am not familiar with the political landscape there, but if that were to happen in my town, I would be rabid.

I could imagine Norristown being annexed by Philly, and suddenly having John Street as my mayor, and having a local representative given to me, not elected by me. Local income tax, property tax, sales tax, business tax, L&I changes, all with no representation.

After the Kelo Supreme Court decision, I'm not surprised, just angry and more than a little disappointed. It's bad enough when WalMart drives out or swallows up a small business. When local govenments follow that model, we can only pray for a backlash.