Beware of the Leopard

A couple from Tacoma has lost their battle at the Washington State Supreme Court to keep Sound Transit from stealing their land. Um. . . eminent-domaining their land?

But the part of the article that caught my eye was how the agency claimed to have "notified" the owners about the board of director's meeting to take their land. They posted it on Sound Transit's website, not actually bothering to mail or call any of the owners.

Which immediately made me think of Arthur Dent's conversation with Mr Prosser of the Town Council about where Arthur discovered the notification of their intent to knock down his house: "It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard.' Ever thought of going into advertising?"

Twenty-some years on, and governments still don't bother to inform the people they're actually taking land from. You'd think the people would learn, at least.