We're going to start in Ardmore. Last week - and NO we aren't giving a hyperlink because by now everyone has read the editorial that was basically titled and screamed "We Don't Need Affordable Housing in Ardmore"...

And while we truly believe the author believes what she wrote about in her column, we have to disagree in part, because well it was elitest and had some racial and socioeconomic bias to it as well, didn't it? Seriously, if you are going to shill for the boss, just say you're going to shill for the boss, right? And all those Ardmore groups the author belonged to, how do they feel?

We don't want to be accused of attacking anyone, so we are going to leave it at that...and if THAT author is entitled to her opinion, so are all of us. We also find it unfortunate that any good points contained within the op ed got a bit lost in translation, and perhaps someone who has only lived in Ardmore or Lower Merion for a couple of years should actually get to know people who have lived around here for generations.....There now, we have that off our collective chests and feel better.

We bet it is not the only editorial that will come of Schaeffele Plaza, but seriously, isn't everyone a little tired of the chronic debate over those condos? Here ya go, the best song for ARDMORE, courtesy of the The Clash:

Should I stay or should I go?
If you say that you are mine
I'll be here 'til the end of time
So you got to let know
Should I stay or should I go?

Always tease tease tease
You're happy when I'm on my knees
One day is fine, next is black
So if you want me off your back...

.....Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know

This indecision's bugging me...
If you don't want me, set me free....

And now for an eminent domain case courtesy of The Institute for Justice, that is all too timely all things considered:

Kick out the poor, bring in the rich. Those are the goals of a bogus “blight” declaration that National City, Calif., is expected to move forward tonight. In renewing a declaration that two-thirds of National City (a predominantly Hispanic San Diego suburb) is “blighted,” the city government’s goal is not to remove blight, but rather to remove the poor and minorities who have managed to purchase property and replace them with the rich and politically powerful.

But National City did not count on the Institute for Justice (IJ)—a public interest law firm with a long and successful history of fighting eminent domain for private gain—taking up the cause of National City property owners and fighting back.

On June 19, 2007, the Community Youth Athletic Center (CYAC)—a gym in National City that helps low-income, minority kids stay off the streets and avoid gangs—announced it would join the Institute for Justice to challenge the decision by National City, Calif., to target the gym, as well as many other properties, for eminent domain.

“We’re going to fight the city’s outrageous plan to take away our gym so a developer can build condos for rich people,” said Victor Nuñez, vice president of the CYAC and a San Diego County Deputy District Attorney. “We’re doing what we teach our kids to do; we’re standing up for what is right.”

“With its bogus blight designation, National City is laying the groundwork to destroy flourishing small businesses, churches and service organizations like the CYAC,” warned Jeff Rowes, a staff attorney with the Institute for Justice. “Each of these pieces of property may not be put to its so-called ‘highest economic use,’ but each provides the owner with the opportunity for a better life. If that property is taken, only to be handed over to someone else with more wealth and political influence, these industrious but poor individuals will lose their American Dream.”

What is happening in National City is part of a nationwide trend of eminent domain abuse where the vulnerable are victimized. In a study released today analyzing U.S. Census data, the Institute for Justice documented that eminent domain abuse disproportionately takes land from the poor, less-educated and minorities across the nation. The study, “Victimizing the Vulnerable: The Demographics of Eminent Domain Abuse,” ....

HEY NOW! Come to think of it, isn't Ardmore still categorized as "blighted"? How come that designation hasn't been reversed, hmmmm?