Take It or Leave It

You own the property, but the government says you can't do anything with it. Does that constitute a "taking" under the Fifth Amendment? I thinks so. Reagan thought so too.

Portlander seeks to drill, mine, build at Newberry

A semi-retired Portland mechanical engineer has filed a $203 million Measure 37 claim against Deschutes County, seeking the right to drill for geothermal energy, mine for pumice and develop 100 vacation homes on his 154-acre parcel in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.

Miller bought the property on the shore of East Lake in 1969. Congress created the "monument" in 1990.

If Congress wants Miller's property they have an option. They can buy it from him. Under Measure 37 they have a cheaper option: just pay him for what they took.