Huell Howser on Redevelopment

The Orange Punch blog has some very interesting comments on a forthcoming public television series about redevelopment in California, hosted by Huell Howser. As Steven Greenhut puts it,

Howser has agreed to host a 14-part series that is nothing short of hard-core propaganda for one of the most nefarious organizations in the state — the California Redevelopment Association.

According to a CRA statement, “The series presents an opportunity for us to tell the redevelopment story in a compelling and intimate way. Huell and his crew will be visiting redevelopment projects in cities and counties throughout California that demonstrate inspiring, positive elements of redevelopment efforts.”

How outrageous, especially since this will be on taxpayer-funded TV and the program is funded by a group that gets its funds from government agencies.

CRA is the state’s biggest proponent of eminent-domain abuse and regulatory takings, and its agencies actively drive people off their property so that the land can be handed over for pennies on the dollar to big developers. Howser will be shilling for these corporate-welfare projects but will ignore the people whose lives have been disrupted or even destroyed by them.